Temples, Hong Kong

Apparently there are other Man Mo Temples in Hong Kong (Tai Po and Lantau Island) but I have only been to this one.

Situated on Hollywood Road, closer to Sheung Wan than Central, Man Mo Temple is dedicated to two Gods. The first is the civil and literature God Man and the second is the martial and war God Mo.

Tourists are able to enter the Temple but please remember to be respectful of the surroundings. Photography did not seem to be frowned upon. I was only inside a few minutes but during that time more than a dozen people entered, lit incense sticks, prayed and left offerings.

As you can imagine the air is quite overpowered by the smell of burning incense but take a moment to admire the wood carvings, pewter statues and hanging incense coils.

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Too discreet in the outside, this temple is an explosion of colours as soon as you enter the door.

Small spaces to lots of details, compose a dense atmosphere, where people jostles, moving around for prayer or photo.

Originally built in 1848 and dedicated to Man Cheong, the God of Literature and Kwan Yu (Mo), the god of war, this temple was use to settle all kind of conflicts.

The tradition has faded bu devotees continue to come and burn huge bell-shaped coils of incense that we may see hanging from the ceiling, providing the smoke and intense smell common in all Chinese temples.

This might be the most famous temple's in all of Hong Kong.

In the early 20th century, Leung Renyan spread the influence of Wong Tai Sin from Qiaoshan Guangxi province of China to Wan Chai, in Hong Kong. On the main altar of the temple stands the painting of the Taoist god, which was originally brought to Hong Kong from Guangdong province in 1915. In 1921, under the advice of an enlightened one, they moved the temple to Rosy Garden, its current position.

The temple remained a private shrine limited to only "Pu Yi Tan" Taoists and their family members until 1934, when the government opened the temple to the public during Chinese New Year. Temple historians often describe the shrine as a miraculous structure for surviving the Japanese occupation in the 1940s relatively unscathed.

We spent about 45 minutes there .. more than enough time

The Chi Lin Nunnery was founded in 1934 but was rebuilt in 1990 following the style of Tang Dynasty traditional Chinese architecture. The present-day buildings are wood frame buildings built without the use of any iron nails. This construction is based on traditional Chinese architectural techniques dating from the Tang Dynasty that uses special interlocking systems cut into the wood to hold them in place. The Chi Lin Nunnery buildings are the only buildings to be built in this style in modern day Hong Kong.

The temple halls and the Chinese garden in front of the nunnery is open to the public daily without charge

Easy to get to ... get off on the Diamond Hill metro stop on the Green Line as you exist the metro station look for the signs, can't miss them, it takes about 3 minutes from the metro stop.

There is no admission price !!!!!

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Tin Hau is a goddess that (it seems) has about 60 temples in Hong Kong, some of them classified as monuments.

That's not the case of this one, located in Stanley, and that I visited in minutes, while waiting for lunch in a restaurant close to it.

The Ten Thousand Buddha's Temple, is located on the hillside of Pai Tau Tsuen near the Shatin KCR station. You can clearly see the red pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, from the Shatin KCR station.

This famous Buddhist monastery was completed in 1957 by Reverend Yuet Kai. He got this private land and first he wanted to build a Buddhist college on the site. But some one objected to this plan and that was the start of the building of this Monestary in 1951.

At the entrance you see a lot of golden human size statues. These guide you uphill towards the monastery. There are 500 different statues lined up next to the walking path. The Ten Thousand Buddha's monastery has in total five temples, two pavilions, one hall and one pagoda. The complex is about 8 hectares big.

In the main building, the Ten Thousand Buddha's Temple contains 12800 small Buddha images. If you want they can light a small light for you at one of the Buddha's for good luck and prayers.

This Monastery is worth while the visit. When I came at the entrance, my first impression at the entrance was a whaaaww this is impressive and the further you go up towards the main temple, you feel the grandness of this temple. When the sun is shining you are sweating when you reach the main temple, but on that square you can see again many sculptures and different figures. And you can walk further to a upper level where you can see again other different kind of sculptures.

And did you know that the nine story pagoda, can be found also printed on the HK$100 note, have a look when you get that bill in your hand.

You can find more photo's of this temple in my Shatin page.

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The Man Mo Temple, built by Taoists in 1847 and renovated in 1894, is a delightful little temple near the antiques shops on Hollywood Road in the Sheung Wan district of Hong Kong Island. It is one of the largest (comprising three adjacent blocks namely Man Mo Temple, Lit Shing Temple (No. 128 Hollywood Road) and Kung So) and oldest Chinese temples on Hong Kong Island and is dedicated to two gods, Man Cheong, god of literature, and Mo, god of war.

Man Cheong, who was born in AD 287 as Cheung Ah Tse, is particularly revered by officials, politicians and statesmen. Mo was born in AD 160 under the name of Kwan Yue; he is also known as Kuan Ti or Kuan Kung. He fought against injustice and oppression, and was killed in 219 after being captured by his enemies. In 1594, under the Ming dynasty, the Emperor Wan Li posthumously granted him the style of "Great, Venerable and Loyal Ti, Assistant of Heaven and Protector of the Empire". Both of these gods were emperors in the early period of China, and under their rule the country enjoyed peace and prosperity.

A statue of Mo stands in the centre of the rear altar, with one of Man close by on the left. On religious feast-days both statues are carried through the streets. There are also numerous statues of other gods. Incense is very heavy in the air from large hanging coils.

Open: 8am-6pm

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located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. There are busses that go right there. You can catch a train from anywhere and transfer to bus. Easy as pie.

There are stairs up this, so the disabled may need to see it from below, which is still very large!

There is a temple nearby, a market to buy stuff and some walking paths with nice views.

located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. There are busses that go right there. You can catch a train from anywhere and transfer to bus. Easy as pie.

There are stairs up this, so the disabled may need to see it from below, which is still very large!

There is a temple nearby, a market to buy stuff and some walking paths with nice views.

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The temple of Wong Tai Sin is one of the famous temples in Hong Kong, we go to see Wong Tai Sin when we lost our ways in mind or make wishes especially in Chinese New Year. We believe "He" fulfills your wishes. What you can do to make a wish, it's very easy: Take a incense stick, when prayers just close your eyes and make a wish with devotion, shake the bamboo cylinder and cand take the fortune stick, which falls out. It will carry a number and the stick will be exchanged with a piece of paper with the same number by the priest.
This is one way of knowing your fortune! Believe it or not, why not try it!