Central, Hong Kong

Two weeks ago, I went to Hong Kong for one of the last times – though I'll visit again for a day or two as I fly out of Hong Kong to go home for good – to mainly get a haircut. I went to the Central district of Hong Kong on Hong Kong Island which is where a lot of the skyscrapers are. After getting my haircut in the morning, I visited three attractions.

It started drizzling as I walked to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Museum. It is located in Kom Tong Hall and the museum opened in 2006, so as to commemorate the 140th birthday of the influential Chinese statesman. The hall was a residence until 1960 when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased the building. The building was subsequently sold to the government in 2004 and turned into a museum. The three-story building is one of the very few surviving structures in Hong Kong dating back to the early 20th century. Admission was 10 HKD ($1.25). It was in Hong Kong where he went to school and nurtured his revolutionary ideas.

The hall, completed in 1914, marks the blending of Chinese and Western architectural styles. The building is really beautiful inside with a grand staircase, numerous rooms, and stained-glass windows. The exhibitions contain reconstructed scenes, photographs, election results, edicts, school-work, models, mannequins, clothing, China, letters, etc. There is also a lecture hall, reading room, video room, activity room, and shop. See the three pics below.

 

After visiting the museum, I walked about 10 minutes to Man Mo Temple. This is the second Man Mo Temple I have been to in Hong Kong. From what I read off the web, a Man Mo Temple or Man Mo Miu is a temple for the worship of the civil or literature god Man Tai / Man Cheong and the martial god Mo Tai / Kwan Tai. The two gods were popularly patronized by scholars and students seeking progress in their study or ranking in the civil examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are several Man Mo Temples in Hong Kong. The temple I visited on this day is the largest and was built between 1847-1862 and is a fine example of traditional Chinese vernacular architecture. It is decorated with ceramic figurines, granite carvings, plaster moldings and murals; reflecting traditional craftsmanship. Just like some of the other temples I have been to, I love the giant incense coils hanging overhead.

 

For the last attraction, I walked about 20 minutes to the waterfront to go to The Golden Bauhinia Square which is an open area in North Wan Chai. The square was named after the giant statue of a golden Bauhinia at the center of the area, situated outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, where the ceremonies for the handover of Hong Kong and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was held in July 1997.

The “Forever Blooming Bauhinia” sculpture, a gilded flower bauhinia, is 20 feet high. The structure stands on a red granite pedestal, which is cyclindrical in the upper part and takes the shape of a pyramid in the lower part, representing Chinese territory. The rendering of the Great Wall on the pedestal symbolizes the motherland. The sculpture itself is coated with gold and plated with gold foil. The pedestal is made of red Sichuan granite. The sculpture was presented as a gift to the HKSAR by the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The golden sculpture is in the shape of a bauhinia; the regional flag and emblem of the HKSAR also bear the design of this flower. I like the first pic below, as you can see Hong Kong's flag to the left and the PRC's to the right.

 

Afterward, I headed for a few drinks (and a slice of pizza) and traveled back to Shenzhen in the early evening.

Lantau Island, Hong Kong

A couple weeks back, Laila and I went to Hong Kong to visit Lantau Island mainly to see the Po Lin Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha Statue.

It is the largest island in Hong Kong, located at the mouth of the Pearl River. Originally the site of fishing villages, the island has been developed in recent years with the construction of Tung Chung New Town on its north-western coast and the completion of several major infrastructure projects, including Hong Kong International Airport (1998), Hong Kong Disneyland (2005) and Ngong Ping 360 (2006). Lantau Island has a relatively low population density, with a population of 45,000, compared to 1.4 million on Hong Kong Island.

To get to the monastery and statue, we had to take the subway via numerous transfers to Tung Chung. I have never been to this town before and it was a little bit of a trek. However, the monastery and statue is on top of the mountainous Lantau Country Park and to get up there, you could 1) hike it, 2) bus it or 3) take the Ngong Ping Cable Car. We decided to take the cable car for $125 HKD ($16). It was extremely crowded and was a long wait to buy your tickets as well as board the car. The cable car provides 360 degree views of Tung Chung Bay, Hong Kong International Airport, Ngong Ping Plateau, Lantau North Country Park, Tian Tan Buddha Statue, and Ngong Ping Village and the ride is about 3.5 miles. At the end of the journey, you reach Ngong Ping Village which is basically a tourist trap based on a fake Chinese-themed style village with a couple restaurants as well as expensive souvenir and gift stores. Next to the village is the statue and monastery.

Again, the main reason we went here were for the monastery and statue. The Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha, is a large bronze statue of Buddha Amoghasiddhi and was completed in 1993. It is a major center of Buddhism in Hong Kong and is also a popular tourist attraction. The Buddha statue sits on a lotus throne and is surrounded by six smaller bronze statues. The Buddha is 112 feet tall and was the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2007. It reputedly can even be seen from as far away as Macau on a clear day. You have to climb 240 steps in order to reach the Buddha.

We soon came to realize – once we were already in the cable car, and we probably should have realized this earlier – that the fog and mist would be a serious problem. It made our visit not worth the time or effort, at least in my opinion. The Buddha is huge and you're suppose to see it while approaching in the cable car sitting on top of the mountain but you could not really see hardly anything directly in front of you. It was very frustrating. In fact, even at the bottom of the stairs, you would have no idea what was up there due to the fog. Look at the pics below and if you want or have time, go on the web, do a search, and see what the Buddha is suppose to look like on a clear day. Of course, the cable car company knew you would not be able to see anything once you went up there but they're not going to tell you that and let you walk away.

The pics below are of the cable car and from the cable car. The third pic below is the airport – which I'll use to go home for good shortly.

The next few pics were taken of a gate in the village. The fog was insane. These pics were taken like two in the afternoon.

The next few pics are of the Giant Buddha. The fog was terrible. I did meet four girls who stopped me – as I was wearing my Villanova tee – as they all went to Drexel. Small world; here we are thousands of miles away yet our universities are not even ten miles from each other in PA.

Next to the Giant Buddha is Po Lin Monastery which is a Buddhist monastery founded in 1906 by three monks visiting from Jiangsu and was initially known simply as "The Big Hut.” It was renamed to its present name in 1924. The main temple houses three bronze statues of the Buddha – representing his past, present and future lives – as well as many Buddhist scriptures. The monastery had a delicious vegetarian cafe/restaurant in which we enjoyed some lunch – I had some rice, a spring roll, and three different versions of mock meat. See pics below of Po Lin.

 

The fog was very depressing but we took the return cable car and got a beer next to the cable car terminal – of course, it was clear at the bottom – before we traveled back on the subway to go to downtown Hong Kong. We then headed back to Shenzhen in the early evening.

Lychee Park, Shenzhen

A couple weeks ago, I went to Lychee (Litchi) Park in the Futian district of Shenzhen. It's right in the city center and I had to take a bus and then the subway to get there.

It was created in 1982 and the park covers an area about 30 hectares. The park is really a green oasis amongst the downtown skyscrapers with plants, birds, flowers, shrubs, pavilions, a lake, and of course, lychee trees.

Outside one of the park's entrances, near a major intersection, is a huge picture of Deng Xiaoping.

It was really hot but a very nice park and a nice escape from city life...

Tin Hau Temple, Repulse Bay

Also located in Repulse Bay, right next to the beach, was another Tin Hau Temple dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea.

This brightly colored temple was different than the other ones I posted about; mainly it being located on the waterfront. But what made it also different were the numerous statues along with a pavilion, bridge (Bridge of Longevity), and a small pier area. By the way, there was an inscription on the bridge that read, “Each time you cross this bridge, your life will be prolonged 3 days – Lau Hon-Wah.” But the temple was different with it being two floors. There also were some statues and walkways behind the temple too.

I liked that stretching off the little pier was a white/red concrete walkway (see first pic below) about a foot or so under water that you could walk out and get your feet wet or pray or something.

I thought it was a unique little temple and was glad I had gotten off the bus and stopped at Repulse Bay. I took the bus back to downtown Hong Kong, hung out for a bit, and then headed back to Shenzhen to end my day trip of Stanley and Repulse Bay.