Metal has begun to replace this distinctive latticework, which is seen on towers across the city. Daisy Pak, a rare female bamboo master, takes pride in the ancient craft.

As a truckload of bamboo poles pulled into a narrow street, Daisy Pak stubbed out a cigarette, pulled a safety harness over her paint-streaked leggings and began blasting Prince from a Bluetooth speaker.

After maneuvering a loaded cart into an elevator, she opened a tiny window on the ninth floor and ducked out onto a narrow pipe, a bunch of zip ties sashaying behind her back like a bushy tail. She called for mid-length bamboo poles that she tied into a latticework clinging to the outside of the building.

Text by Tiffany May

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Hong Kong’s Famous Bamboo Scaffolding Hangs On (for Now)

A young woman climbing a bamboo ladder outdoors under a cloudy sky, wearing workout clothes, a cap, and gloves.
City sidewalk scene viewed through a bamboo scaffolding structure, with pedestrians walking along and buildings in the background.
Woman sitting in a vehicle's passenger seat, smiling and looking at her phone, wearing a beige cap and sleeveless shirt, with greenery outside the window.
A construction site with multiple tall buildings covered in green safety netting and scaffolding.
Two women working on a bamboo scaffolding structure outdoors, surrounded by trees, with one woman wearing a baseball cap and gloves, and the other partially visible in the background.

“I was born with the will to prove people wrong, to do things that they say cannot be done,” she said.

Three people working on a bamboo scaffold, installing a large curved metal structure, with trees and outdoor pavement below.
A woman with sunglasses and a white T-shirt with a cartoon print, wearing red pants, is walking down a concrete staircase by the water during dusk. The scene includes bamboo scaffolding, colorful flags, and bright lights strung along the railing near a rocky coastline with a body of water in the background.
People sitting on a platform watching a traditional puppet theater performance with two puppeteers on stage dressed in historical costumes. The stage is decorated with colorful curtains and backdrop painting, overlooking a water scene. The audience is seated in front of the stage with some on stairs and others under a bamboo scaffolding structure.
Numerous weathered bamboo poles stacked together in a construction or storage setting.
Street view of a building with a shoe store on the ground floor, and the upper floors under construction with scaffolding and green netting. Pedestrians walking by in front of the stores.
Pedestrians crossing the street in a busy urban area with a building under renovation covered in bamboo scaffolding and signs with Chinese characters.
A construction worker wearing an orange helmet, white shirt, and gloves, working on scaffolding high above a city street with tall buildings.