Hong Kong Tourism - 18 iconic images of Temples

2 Nov

15 amazing sites to visit on your Hong Kong Tour

Me Jamie, English and 52 years living in Hong Kong and I know the know the place - I personally completed 2,324 Private Tours (6,000+ guests) from 2011 - 2020 and was considered one of the finest Private Tour Guides in Asia.

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Hong Kong Tourism - 18 iconic images of Temples

15 amazing sites to visit on your Hong Kong Tour

Hong Kong has rather a unique history and as such religion is very much a part of daily Hong Kong culture and we have some amazing sites that should be on your must visit wish list.

I am a strong believer in the concept that the quality of the guide you hire to show you around on your Private Tour of Hong Kong is paramount and all the great guides know instinctively which are the best Temples to visit to give you an important insight into Hong Kong Culture and if you like taking photographs, well you will not be disappointed.

The one thing I learnt very quickly in my early days of being a Private Tour Guide was that a lot of tourists who come to Hong Kong, particularly Americans, Autralians and the Brits always mention first up that they are all Templed out, having visited many Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan and such where Temple visits are a core item on tour itineraries.

This is not really the case in Hong Kong given that there are so many interesting things to see and do but I understand, Religion here is more in the background whilst also being very much a part of daily life (and I realise that, that is a contradiction in terms)

I should also point out that Hong Kong Tour companies that do Group Tours (ie part walking | part bus with 20 - 40 people) have a fixed itinerary, most of them being on Hong Kong Island and naturally because of it’s central location will take you to the Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road.

Let me be clear, locally it is an important Temple but for the life of me I cannot understand why people go there, it is tiny, with 2 sections and frankly even 20 people inside makes it very claustrophobic and hundreds of tour buses arrive daily.

Many mediocre tour guides will tell you it is the oldest temple in Hong Kong which is nonsense, not even close! take it from me, there are many much more interesting “Temples” to visit!

18 images from 15 sites, 3 of the sites have 2 iconic images!

As they say “on with the show”!

Please remember - your Hong Kong Tour Experience is completely dependant on the QUALITY of the Guide

All images taken by me unless I state otherwise

**The Pak Tai Temple, Cheung Chau Island, Hong Kong**
The Pak Tai Temple on Hong Kong’s outlying Cheung Chau Island is dedicated to the Taoist God of the Sea and is quite old with many ancient artifacts, I love Cheung Chau Island, amazing ferry ride and not many people visit, which is a shame

**Random Tin Hau Temple, Aberdeen, Island South, Hong Kong**
A lot of Temples look quite similar from the outside but it is a riot of colour in the gloom inside and you never know what sort of Taoist artifacts you will come across!

**The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon, Hong Kong**
By far my favourite Temple in Hong Kong, it is huge with so much going on, so many rituals to observe, I think it is an amazing place.
I have been well over 1,000 times and I will never get bored and yes, it is selfie heaven and yes, you should make it a priority to visit.

**The Tin Hau Temple, Stanley, Island South, Hong Kong**
I always pop in if I am in Stanley, it is very small with not too many visitors but it is a visual treat

**The Pak Tai Temple, Wanchai, Hong Kong**
Moody does not do justice to this Temple, I love it, medium size and it can get quite smoky with all the incense burning but well worth your time

**The Pak Tai Temple, Wanchai, Hong Kong**
Did I mention the incense burning!

**The Tin Hau Temple, Tin Hau, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong**
Another small Tin Hau Temple which is not easy to find, I love the doors

**The Man Mo Temple, Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong**
Popular simply because it is in a convenient location and a favourite with group tour companies, it can feel very crowded with 20 people in there, basically I never took guests there because it is always jam packed with group tours.

**Random Street Corner Temple, Aberdeen, Island South Hong Kong**
Temples pop up in the strangest places all over Hong Kong, even on street corners

**The Che Kung Temple, Shatin, Hong Kong**
Not at all easy to get to but it is very popular with Hong Kong residents particularly at Chinese New Year

**The Chi Lin Nunnery, Diamond Hill, Kowloon, Hong Kong**
Another of my favourites, the Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden Complex and should be on everyone’s must visit wish list

**The Tin Hau Temple, Temple Street, Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong**
Quite a bit larger than you average Tin Hau Temple and quite easy to get to.

**The Sai Kung Tai Hau Temple, Sai Kung Town, NT, Hong Kong**
You will not often see tourists here as Sai Kung is out in the boonies and takes ages to get to, it is also a very modern temple.

**Tsz Shan Monastery, Tai Po, NT, Hong Kong**
A Buddhist retreat - I have been twice, again, it is out in the boonies and you have to make an appointment to visit as there is a daily quota and you really need to book a Private Guide to take you, personally I think it is a fabulous place to visit

**The 10,000 Buddha Monastery, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong**
A popular place to visit even if it is hard to get to and there is the small matter of packs of wild dogs, packs of wild monkeys, fake monks hassling you for donations and **428 very steep steps** once you get past this section seen in the photograph.

**The 10,000 Buddha Monastery, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong**
If you survive the **428 steps**, well, it is a fascinating place to visit and apparently that “statue” in the glass box is the mummified remains of the founder!

**The OLD Po Lin Monastery at the Big Buddha, Lantau Island, Hong Kong**
The Big Buddha or Giant Buddha is one of the must visit places now for many visitors coming to Hong Kong, next to the Buddha Statue is the Po Lin Monastery (I stayed there in 1972 at a school camp!) - I have been hundreds of times. This is the original and old Po Lin Monastery which is quite something

**The NEW Po Lin Monastery at the Big Buddha, Lantau Island, Hong Kong**
This is the overwhelming and quite magnificent main hall of the NEW Po Lin Monastery directly behind the old one, it really is breathtaking.

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