Think of construction, and you’ll probably imagine scaffolding made of steel or aluminum. But in Hong Kong, the material of choice is bamboo.

The densely populated city is one of the last places on earth that still uses bamboo in construction, even when building skyscrapers. The organic material is said to be stronger and more flexible than steel.

We spent a day up high with Hong Kong’s deathdefying bamboo scaffolding workers and met one of the last bamboo theater artisans in town.

If you liked this video, we have more stories about Chinese artisans, including:

Carving Mahjong By Hand in Hong Kong
   • Carving Mahjong By Hand in Hong Kong  

The 6FootTall Pottery Brotherhood
   • Making Enormous Ceramics in Jingdezhe...  

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Producer: Clarissa Wei
Fixer: Cardin Chan
Editor and Videographer: Nicholas Ko
Camera B: Mario Chui
Animator: Annie Hall
Mastering: Victor Peña

Music: Audio Network