Binding bamboo bonds

An aerial view of a temporary theatre made of bamboo scaffolding, built around a cliffside temple on Po Toi Island. — Lam Yik Fei/The New York Times

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 manoeuvring 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.