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Hong Kong
Travel Guide
Here are many festivals throughout the year, and
whenever you visit Hong Kong, you may have a good chance to experience
the unique culture of Hong Kong. Lion and dragon dances, fireworks,
festive feasting, carnivals and parades come together to create the
festive atmosphere.
Hong Kong Wong Tai Sin Temple
Features
Large and very active Taoist Temple complex with several halls and
temples and a garden.
Hundreds of fortune tellers.
Mixes Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.
Worshippers worship Wong Tai Sin.
The Taoist organization that manages the temple runs several charities
including a clinic.
Convenient travel. It is only about 200 meters from the Wong Tai Sin
MTR station.
Overview
Wong tai sin temple Wong Tai Sin Temple, Hong Kong
The Wong Tai Sin (黃大仙) Temple is a popular Taoist temple dedicated to
Chinese religions including Buddhism and Confucianism. The founder of
the temple said that the immortal Wong Tai Sin told him to build a
temple at the site and also told him where to build structures and
what to name them. He began to build the temple complex in 1921. There
are several halls, temples and pavilions including the Three Saints
Hall, the Bronze Pavilion that excludes women and girls, the Archives
Hall, the Yue Hing Shrine that has a Buddha, a Confucian hall for the
worship of Confucius, and a colorful garden called the Good Wish
Garden. The complex has a library for Chinese religious literature. At
times, there are hundreds of fortune tellers practicing at the site.
People go there to get a prediction of their future, pray for
happiness and worship the gods.
The temple complex is at the base of Mount Kowloon. According to the
founder of the temple, the temple site is 3,600 paces from a pier in
Kowloon. There are shops nearby where people can buy joss sticks,
incense, and other things. The temple organization has a strong
influence among some of the Chinese population in Hong Kong.
History
It is said that a poor boy named Wong Cho Ping who lived in Zhejiang
Province around the year 330 AD experienced hunger and poverty when he
was very small. At the age of 8, he became a shepherd boy. According
to his Autobiography that is published by the temple, Wong Cho Ping
said that when he was 15, he was visited by a fairy who showed him how
to refine the mineral cinnabar to make a drug that made him immortal.
He lived in a cave. He transformed white rocks into sheep when his
brother came to visit him when he was 55. According to the
Autobiography, his brother also reached enlightenment and became an
immortal.
When the Qing Dynasty fell in 1912, the Chinese people lost their god
because they worshipped the emperors as deities. The Chinese people
needed a religion to replace the old one of emperor worship. In 1915,
Leung Renyan (梁仁庵) came to Hong Kong and set up a Chinese medicine
shop and put a Taoist altar in the back of it where people could
worship. In 1918, his shop was destroyed by fire. In 1921, Leung said
that Wong Tai Sin told him to build a new shrine at the present site
at the foot of Lion Rock Mountain in Kowloon. It is 3,600 paces from
the Kowloon pier. It has became a popular temple for Taoists.
Touring Activities
See the temple complex.
Walk around and take pictures.
Travel Essentials
Location: In Kowloon. On Lung Cheung Road.
How to go there:
MTR Train: MTR Wong Tai Sin Station Exit B2. The station is only about
200 meters away from the complex.
Taxi: In Chinese, the temple's name is written like this: 黃大仙祠. You
can show the name to the taxi driver.
Best Time to Visit: There is a lot of rain in the summer. Hong Kong is
still fairly warm and is drier in October and November.
Fee: There isn't a fee to get in. But there are small fees for several
halls and the Good Wish Garden. For the services of the fortune
tellers or other people, there might be a fee.
7 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. The garden is open Tuesdays through Sundays
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Nearby Attractions
The temple is only about a kilometer and a half away from Kowloon
Walled City Park. That is where a large crowded complex of flats used
to be. There is now a park there where people can learn a little about
the history of that interesting place in Hong Kong's history.
There is another older Taoist temple called the Man Mo Temple on 124
Hollywood Road. It is dedicated to Man who is a god of literature and
Mo who is a god of war.
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