|
This temple is located at Tsui Ping South Est.
The roof of traditional Chinese buildings are usually curved.
|
| Traditional Chinese roof |
|---|
|
Joss sticks burned before Chinese God in a shrine. Joss sticks are incense sticks
burned before a Chinese religious image or shrine.
|
|
| Burning incense |
|---|
|
The tiger is the Chinese symbol of strength and power.
The tiger is a popular theme in chinese folk art.
|
| Chinese Tiger |
|---|
|
The Dragon is a symbol of Strength, Goodness, Courage and Endurance.
The dragon also symbolizes success and prosperity.
|
|
| Chinese dragon |
|---|
|
Joss paper are sheets of paper that are burned in traditional Chinese deity or
ancestor worship ceremonies during special festivals.
|
| Men preparing Joss paper |
|---|
The Tai Sing Temple, Temple of Guan Yin and the Shing Wong Temple are housed together at a single complex on a hillside close to Sau Mau Ping roads. In year 2002, the government wanted to relocate the temples on the ground of public safety because they were unauthorised structures. The Buddhist and Taoist temples, built in 1964 without government approval, would make way for a road to meet expected traffic demands from a housing project, which will have 50 000 residents.
|
The worshippers said it was inappropriate to move the temples, which had seen them
through many hardships, because it would affect the area's fung shui.
|
|
| Tai Sing Temple |
|---|
The temples are famous for annual rituals called Monkey God Festival that include blessed possessed medium climbing blades, washing their faces with hot oil and walking on fire with bare feet. The medium remains unharmed.
|
The temples, covering 900 square metres, were built when squatters appeared in the area.
|
| Tai Sing Temple |
|---|
In year 2006, hundreds of Sau Mau Ping residents took statues of their deities from their temples to a protest in Central district to demand that the government not demolish three Buddhist and Taoist temples that have protected them for decades.
|
Each of the three temples has its own area of influence. Tai Sing mainly helps people with bad
luck and health problems, Guan Yin looks after romance matters as she is a lady, and Shing Wong,
who is in charge of hell, handles cases in which people are haunted by evils.
|
|
| Goddess of Mercy Guan Yin |
|---|
|
About 50 people visit the temples daily, while more than 100 worshippers go there on the first day
and middle of each month..
|
| Shing Wong temple |
|---|
It is said that The Buddha designated the site for Tai Sing Temple. There are also other fung shui matters involved.
|
The government had decided to demolish the temples in Kwun Tong because they were illegal premises.
|
|
| Shing Wong temple |
|---|
|
The temples are renovated once every three years, but otherwise did not change much.
|
| Shing Wong temple |
|---|
|
While it is a ritual that worshippers pay tribute to the gods at the beginning and the middle of
each Lunar month, many people, including those from outside Sau Mau Ping, go to the temples to seek
assistance when they encounter difficulties.
|
|
| Shing Wong temple |
|---|
| Home > Tourism > Travel in Kowloon > Sau Mau Ping |
|
