I think the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin temple (to give it its full name) is probably the busiest temple I’ve been to in Hong Kong. I’ve been a few times now and it’s always been bustling with people – some are tourists but many come to pray and have their fortunes told.
To get to the temple, go to Wong Tai Sin MTR station and leave by exit B2 or B3 and it’s right next to you – you can’t miss it. Very simple!
The temple isn’t actually very old, about 40 years, and it’s a mix of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian. It’s a complex of several shrines and worship areas, which all mean different things, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about it to be able to explain it to you! This is the main area where people go to pray, present incense to the shrine, or tell their fortune by shaking sticks out of a tin (the sticks have inscriptions on and the ones that fall out will tell you something about your future). Next to this area are also a large number of fortune telling booths.
And here is me in front of the entrance to the main worship area! (a Chinese tourist insisted on taking my photo for me!) Obviously, this was pre-pregnancy ;)
In front of where the above photo was taken are some quite interesting statues representing the Chinese zodiac:
And here are some other views around the temple:
I quite liked this hexagonal building!
At the back of the temple complex is the Good Wish garden, which is generally pretty quiet. It’s not the finest example of a Chinese style garden I’ve seen in Hong Kong (I think the Kowloon Walled City Park is my favourite) but it’s a nice place to sit for a bit. There’s an honesty box which asks you to donate HK$2 (approx. £0.20) if you go in the garden.
I’d recommend a visit to the temple if you’re not familiar with temples of this type and want to see one ‘in action’. It’s an interesting place to visit!
Thanks for reading!
Rachel
the Little Koo blog 