Showing posts with label Tin Hau Temple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tin Hau Temple. Show all posts

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Tin Hau Temple @ Repulse Bay

There are a lot of Tin Hau Temples in this City because, a long, long time ago, Hong Kong used to be heavy into fishing.  There are still many fishing villages dotted around the islands.  But, Tin Hau temples were constructed as apart of the City's fishing history.

Tin Hau is the goddess of the sea and protector of the fishermen (Sounds very Game of Thrones!).  On the east side of Repulse Bay sits the Tin Hau Temple.  It's one of many that I have found that are heavily ornamented and frequented by locals/tourists.

There are two sections of this temple.  The upper section (pictured below):






...and the lower section (pictured below), which sits on the beach:

Here's the Bridge of Longevity.  On the plaque it says that if you walk across this bridge once, you'll gain three more days to your life.  We crossed it twice, but I might cross it some more when I make it back down to Repulse Bay.



Of all my years going down to Repulse Bay, I had never thought of checking out the Tin Hau Temple. So, it felt like a great find!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Sunday Inspiration on Monday

I was recently inspired to visit two of the most famous religious sites in this town.  As I was walking down Nathan Road from Mong Kok, I just looked to my right as I was approaching the Public Square in Yau Ma Tei and decided to check out the temple.  Afterwards, I carried on my walk down Nathan Road, looked to my left, and decided to check out the church.  It was just one of those days where I found myself curious with a camera.

The Tin Hau Temple stands in the center of Yau Ma Tei's Temple street (Yau Ma Tei MTR Exit C).

Temple entrance

There are beautiful banyan trees sprinkling the area in front of the temple

It is still a functioning temple, so it is best to be mindful of the patrons within

Like the Man Mo Temple on Hong Kong Island, huge rings of incense burn from the ceilings

The smoke was a bit overwhelming when I visited yesterday

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As I was saying before, I was walking down Nathan Road.  I was meeting my husband down in Tsim Sha Tsui and had some time to kill. My second "inspired" stop was St. Andrew's Church, which is the oldest English speaking church on the Kowloon side.  I got there around 2pm when the Mandarin service was beginning.  But, everyone there was so lovely and let me wander around.  Even though they didn't mind me poking around, I decided to sit and listen to the singing before I took my leave.

It was nice to visit church on a Sunday.

The easiest way to get there is probably by MTR (Jordan station Exit D).

Famous gothic architecture

Beautiful stained glass windows

Beautiful arches and columns 
The praise group practicing 
Have you ever been overly inclined to taking a side trip somewhere along your journey and then finding something inspiring?