Hong Kong Trip Part 10: Wong Tai Sin Temple, Nan Lian Garden and Tian Tan Buddha (Lantau Island)

[Introduction]

I traveled to Hong Kong for five days and four nights in the end of November for the first time in five years. While there is a lot of scenery which has been unchanged, I find out something new whenever I visit Hong Kong. In this article, I will write about Wong Tai Sin Temple, Nan Lian Garden and Tian Tan Buddha (Lantau Island) as part of Day 4.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Day 1: Going to Hong Kong
* Day 1: Tsim Sha Tsui
* Day 1: Tsim Sha Tsui (Light-up)
* Day 2: HKU and Kennedy Town
* Day 2: Sheung Wan and Central
* Day 2: Peak Tower and Central (Light-up)
* Day 3: Ocean Park
* Day 3: Montane Mansion, North Point and Causeway Bay
* Day 3: Causeway Bay and Wan Chai (Light-up)
* Day 4: Wong Tai Sin Temple, Nan Lian Garden and Tian Tan Buddha (Lantau Island) [This article]
* Day 4: Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei and Jordan
* Day 4: Sky 100 and Tsim Sha Tsui (Light-up)
* Day 5: Return Home

[Travel Date]
2017.11.26-30

[Main Part]

Macau Restaurant (澳門茶餐廳)

The fourth day of the Hong Kong trip started. To begin with, I will have a breakfast. I had breakfast at “Macau Restaurant (澳門茶餐廳)” near the hotel I stayed.

As the name suggests, “Macau Restaurant (澳門茶餐廳)” is a casual restaurant that serves Macau and Portuguese cuisine.

In the restaurant.

As I started to become tired of Chinese food a little bit since I came to Hong Kong, Macau (Portuguese) cuisine was nice for a change.

I considered taking a day trip or staying overnight at Macau in this trip, but I skipped the idea. Instead, I would like to visit Macau for 3-4 days in the future.

Wong Tai Sin Temple (黄大仙祠)

On the fourth day, I am going to take an excursion to areas I have never been to before. First, I moved to MTR Wong Tai Sin Station by Kwun Tong Line and visited Wong Tai Sin Temple (黄大仙祠).

Wong Tai Sin Temple (黄大仙祠) is a Taoist temple built in 1915 and has been moved to the current site since 1921.

Going into the temple.

When I entered into the temple, I found statues that had animal faces and human bodies.

I moved further.

This was the main building.

As Wong Tai Sin Temple (黄大仙祠) is one of the most famous Taoist temples in Hong Kong, there were lots of worshippers.

I mainly use a wide-angle lens, but I also used a medium telephoto macro lens this time.

Other snap photos.

I left Wong Tai Sin Temple (黄大仙祠) and moved to the next destination.

Nan Lian Garden (南蓮園池)

I moved to MTR Diamond Hill station, one stop east by Kwun Tong Line, and came to Nan Lian Garden (南蓮園池).

Nan Lian Garden (南蓮園池) is a a stroll-round garden. It was developed in the Tang period architectural style.

The most impressive architecture was “Pavilion of Absolute of Perfection”. The garden had good color balance with golden tower, red bridge and green pine tree.

There was a tea house called “Song Cha Xie (松茶榭)” where visitors are able to see ponds.

Rest space.

I circled the garden and took a photo of “Pavilion of Absolute of Perfection” again. Then, I left Nan Lian Garden (南蓮園池).

Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛) in Lantau Island (大嶼島)

I arrived at Tung Chung station, the last stop of MTR Tung Chung Line in Lantau Island (大嶼島).

Lantau Island (大嶼島) is the largest island in Hong Kong that consists of more than 200 islands. Hong Kong International Airport and Hong Kong Disney Land are also located in Lantau Island (大嶼島). The reason why I came to Lantau Island (大嶼島) is because I would like to see Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛).

I took “Ngong Ping 360 (Ngong Ping Cable Car)” to Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛).

In the cabin.

View from the cable car.

I was able to see Hong Kong International Airport.

After about 25 minutes ride, I reached Ngong Ping station.

There was “Ngong Ping Village (昂坪市集)” near the station. Shops and restaurants were located around here.

I moved further.

I just happened to see a cow.

The temple over there was “Po Lin Monastery (寶蓮寺)”.

I saw lots of religious people.

There was “pailou”, a traditional Chinese gate, and Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛) was over there.

I moved up stairs that had 268 steps.

Now I got to see Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛). The buddha was 34 meters tall.

From the back.

From the side.

From the three-quarter.

There were six female statues around the buddha,

Other snaps photos.

Then, I returned by ropeway and left Lantau Island (大嶼島) for the next destination.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about Wong Tai Sin Temple, Nan Lian Garden and Tian Tan Buddha (Lantau Island) as part of Day 4 of my Hong Kong trip.

These places I visited in this article were a little far from central areas in Hong Kong, but if you are a repeater, I would recommend these spots. In particular, Lantau Island (大嶼島) has several tourists spots in addition to Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大仏), so I would like to visit again in the future. Talking of buddha, Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, which I visited last year was also very impressive. If you are interested in it, please see the following link.

Taiwan Kaohsiung Trip Part 8: Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum

In the next article, I will write about Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei and Jordan as part of Day 4.

[Map]

1 Macau Restaurant
2 Wong Tai Sin Temple
3 Nan Lian Garden
4 MTR Tung Chung Station
5 Ropeway Tung Chung Station
6 Ropeway Ngong Ping Station
7 Ngong Ping Village
8 Po Lin Monastery
9 Tian Tan Buddha