Man Mo Temple - Incense Coils on Hollywood Road
Photo: Aethelfirth, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
A stop on Hong Kong: Star Ferry to the Peak, a free self-guided tour.
Step through the doors and look up. Huge spirals of incense hang from the ceiling, smoldering slowly and filling the hall with a soft haze. Many coils carry red paper tags bearing the names and wishes of the people who paid for them.
Chinese merchants funded this temple in 1847, only a few years after the British arrived. It honors two gods: Man, the god of literature, whom students ask for help with exams, and Mo, the god of war, also known as Kwan Tai and admired for loyalty. Next door, the Kung Sor served as a meeting hall where the Chinese community discussed local affairs and settled disputes in the early colonial years.
The temple is still a working place of worship, so move quietly and let worshippers come first. Outside, Hollywood Road is one of the oldest roads on Hong Kong Island and is lined with antique and curio shops, good for browsing on the walk back east.
Getting here: Step off the escalator at Hollywood Road and walk west along it for about 6 minutes; the temple is on the right, at the corner of Ladder Street.
Did you know?: Since 1908 the temple has been managed by the Tung Wah charity, under a law written specifically for it, the Man Mo Temple Ordinance.
Photo op: Cross to the far side of Hollywood Road to fit the temple's low roofline and ornamented ridges in one frame against the towers behind.
More on Wikipedia: Man Mo temples in Hong Kong · Hollywood Road · Guan Yu · Tung Wah Group of Hospitals
Stops on this tour
- Clock Tower - Last Call for the Kowloon Terminus
- Avenue of Stars - Hong Kong Cinema by the Harbor
- Star Ferry - Ten Minutes Across Victoria Harbour
- Statue Square - Named for Statues Mostly Gone
- Court of Final Appeal - Justice on a Timber Raft
- HSBC and Bank of China - Two Banks, Two Landmarks
- Mid-Levels Escalator - Riding Uphill Through SoHo
- Man Mo Temple - Incense Coils on Hollywood Road
- PMQ - Police Flats Turned Design Hub
- Tai Kwun - Police Station, Court and Jail
- Peak Tram - Asia's First Funicular
- Victoria Peak - The View That Built a Neighborhood