The Wong Tai Sin Temple is an eminent shrine and major tourist attraction in Kowloon. Dedicated to Wong Tai Sin, or the Great Immortal Wong, the Taoist temple is known for its fortune telling. Styled in a traditional Chinese temple fashion: it features grand red pillars, walls adorned with blue frescoes, yellow latticework, stunning multi-coloured carvings, and a brilliant golden roof.
Aside from the Grand Hall; the surrounding Sansheng Hall and the lavishly coloured Good Wish Garden, a small-scale replica of Beijing’s Summer Palace, which features walkways over a traditional Taoist garden pond, waterfalls and bridges is also worth seeing. The grounds also feature three memorial archways and the Nine Dragon Wall, a replica of the celebrated Nine Dragon Wall in Beijing. The Wong Tai Sin Temple is located in Kowloon North and entrance to the main hall is free of charge. If you’re looking for Hotel Accommodation in Hong Kong, there are several boutique hotels like the Cosmo Hotel Wan Chai Hong Kong nearby for extra convenience.
Many people who visit the temple come in search of spiritual answers through a practice called “kau cim” which translates to “request a stick”; people light worship sticks, kneel in front of the main altar making a wish, and then shake a bamboo cylinder containing fortune sticks until one of the sticks falls out. The stick is then exchanged for a piece of paper bearing the same number and taken to one of the soothsayer stalls to be interpreted. The same piece of paper is sometimes taken to numerous soothsayers to confirm the fortune. Just watching the whole procedure is quite interesting as traditions, fate and fortune telling come together to shape people’s lives. The temple has many worshippers, both local and foreign, so the incense sticks and candles burn all year round, particularly during the Chinese Lunar New Year and on Wong Tai Sin’s birthday.
Catalina Forbes is a travel writer who bases her content on many thrilling escapades experienced across the world.
