Sing and I have completely different tastes. In Shanghai we stare at two different sides of the bund – I will lose my breath looking at all the skyscrapers and he will take pictures of the European-style buildings.
I guess the grass is always greener and the architecture and culture is more attractive on the other side of the border.
For the very same reason my husband will force me to visit multiple churches and I will get crazy at the temples.
Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery, Pak Tai Temple (which you can see in my previous post by clicking here), you name it. I’m fascinated by my husband’s culture and I try to embrace it as much as I embrace mine.
There was no way I could miss probably the most famous of all the Hong Kong temples – Wong Tai Sin. It is 
dedicated to Wong Tai Sin, also known as Red Pine Immortal (赤松仙子). It is believed that every wish you make in this temple will come true. Well, Momzilla just booked her ticket to Ireland so I call it fake, but maybe you will be more lucky.
The temple includes a Nine-Dragon Wall , the Three-Saint Hall (三聖堂), Grand Hall, the Good Wish Garden a portrait of Confucius and a collection of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist literature. The temple grounds also feature three memorial archways.
There are people like me who go there to experience this place, but most of the people will actually go and pray. Burning incense or fortune telling is very common. It’s the first time I had a chance to see people offering food to the good in real life – mostly oranges and meat.
These were the facts, but why I chose to talk specifically about this temple? 
Because it made me cry. Literally. I don’t know what that was, but for a period of time I was speechless. Have you ever felt so small comparing to what you’re facing? I think that is the feeling.
The beauty, focus on the details. Faces of statues were so real, like another human looking at you. The smell of burnt incense. The colorful architecture.
And all the people around, praying and sending their wishes. It all felt ‘big’. Then I just snapped and tears were dropping down. I had it few times in my local church as well, I guess I’m that kind of weird, too emotional person.
I strongly, strongly recommend Wong Tai Sin as your ‘must see’. Or maybe I should say ‘must experience’? Hopefully you will feel as moved and amazed as I did.
Let the pictures we took help you in making the decision!
What is your favorite temple/church/shrine etc.? What took your breath away? Let me know if you share my feelings towards foreign cultures! 🙂
If you can’t cry in a church or temple, where can you cry? Sob away. It’s better than bawling over the sad part of a book or blog in the office or on public transportation!
Great photos. Sorry bout Momzilla.
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I cry like a b… when I sometimes see sad puppy videos on youtube and I hope no one sees me crying 😀
Well, at least there will be some blogging material – she can be funny 😀
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Subaru’s more recent commercials are killing me. Especially the ones with dogs.
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I just googled them… I love the mailman one 😀 hilarious!
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I like your phrase “must experience”. It is so much deeper than “see”. I am curious about the meanings behind the anthopomorphied animal scultures. Are they all zodiak?
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You are correct with the Chinese zodiac! They were amazing and since it’s the year of goat there were plenty of goats statues everywhere. I’m curious to see if next year it will be a monkey (I think it’s monkey’s year) 🙂
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Love the dynamic of the video! Feels very interesting to watch it as the info the brain receives is every changing but staying in the theme. However there are few video parts where the camera suddenly drops down (I presume it is usually when you end filming? At least that happens to me and is a pain to cut out for the finished video/ movie)
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Yes, you are correct – I never know when those drops appear and then I have to watch all 200 clips haha 😀 but I’m buying a tripod soon so hopefully it will help me to improve! teach me more, Master 😀
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Nah, can’t teach you much except these tiny things as you have an amazing talent such as you have proven in this video. You should teach me instead!
I never used a tripod for filming thus far, only for taking special pictures but the again I am just still a beginner
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to me you are my master! 😀
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I was there many years ago and remember the fortune tellers who kept trying to get us to talk to them. I didn’t though since my Cantonese is poor.
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we got stopped by a lady saying ‘Fluent English’ and we even found one guy who is ‘in charge’ of Japanese tourists, speaking Japanese to them 😀 maybe I should be Polish speaking fortune teller 😀
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Great photos! I love visiting little Chinese temples, they are so red and bright and colourful and yet so calm and peaceful. You describe it much better yourself though! I went to see a lovely little one today in Can Tho, south Vietnam. The street is all hustle and bustle and then you step inside and it’s like wow, a completely different place…
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Lina, your photography is amazing It captures the sprite of the temple.
I haven’t been up to Wong Tai Sin temple for many years and it looks like it has been expanded a lot since I last went, when restoration and new construction works were going on.
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thank you! but to be fair some of them are taken by Sing and his ‘new baby’ (‘because it’s cheaper in HK therefore I will buy another camera we don’t really need’ :D) so I hope mine are better haha! 😀
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The one close to The big buddha
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i’ve been to this temple once. and i went only because it was for a friend. it’s also where i had my palm/life read. the feedback i got was something about me loosing my chance to be with someone whom could be the potential love of my life back when i was in my 20s. i couldn’t recall any memory then. and i still can’t now. who knows? maybe there is a truth to the reading. i’m still not attached to the temple in any emotional way, but i won’t forget that i have visited that place, only because of the reading that got me confused and curious for years.
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