Vignettes of the World
In the last entry I discussed the Hong Kong Red Swastika Building. Lying not far away from the Hong Kong Red Swastika Building is the Tin Hau Temple of Causeway Bay. That was one stone, two birds for me. The History of the Tin Hau …
Oh, the Swastika! Surely that it is a symbol of horror, but in China it stands only for a charitable purpose. For a very long time, I thought the Red Swastika symbol for the Chinese religious and charitable organization was a flipped version of the …
I was looking for a place of worship that has both historical and architectural significance. It came to my attention that the Hung Shing Temple in Wan Chai is a declared monument. I decided to pay a visit.
Also known as the Tai Wong Temple, Hung Shing Temple is traditionally a place of worship for the fishermen community. The conventional view is that the temple was first built in 1847. A comprador named Lee Foon Wai bought this piece of land in 1847, with a “carer of the Joss House” named Lee A Mui as the witness to this transaction.
Standing next to the Hung Shing Temple proper is the entrance to the Pak Shing Hau Temple. It is part of the temple as the two are interconnected within their interiors.
Hung Shing Temple’s history is the perfect illustration of the idiom “the vast sea turns into mulberry fields.” This idiom expresses the idea that with time even natural landscapes will undergo a complete reversal. At its inception, the Hung Shing Temple was merely an altar set up by the fishermen community. At the time, the atlars overlooked the sea in Wan Chai. At its back the altar leaned against the great boulders that lined the shoreline.
In fact, these great boulders remain inside the temple now.
In 1860, the 10th year of the Xianfeng Reign, the temple underwent an expansion. The current temple structure that houses the altar and the boulders was built then.
Now, those who have been to Wan Chai know that the Hung Shing Temple is now pretty much at the heartland of Wan Chai District. By walk, it takes one about 15 minutes to reach the current Wan Chai Pier from the Hung Shing Temple. Tall (and short) commercial buildings now surround the temple. But Queen’s Road East was the seaside throughway in the early colonial times. That is how much reclamation has changed the face of Hong Kong.
Across the temple, two cross streets of Queen’s Road East are named after this temple, namely Tai Wong Street East and Tai Wong Street West.
Hung Shing Tai Wong, meaning the Great King Hung Shing, is a deity that protects those who sail at sea. One version of his life story has it that Hung Shing was named Hong Xi. He was a very important imperial official during the Tang dynasty. With his expertise in matters of astronomy and geography, Hong Xi helped the fishermen a lot. He died young, however, so people deified him as the god that protects those at sea. Another version has it that Hung Shing was the God of the Sea, and since the Tang Dynasty he was conferred the title of King Guangli of the Southern Seas.
As a figure of worship, Hung Shing has a much longer history than other deified figures in Hong Kong, such as Hau Wong (believed to be of Song dynasty) and Tam Kung (believed to be of Yuan dynasty).
There are quite a number of Hung Shing Temples in Hong Kong. In Lantau Island alone, there are 6 Hung Shing Temples. In Kowloon, there is only one. In Hong Kong Island, there is another Hung Shing Temple in Shau Kei Wan.
The temple is a rather small one, with a one hall, three room format. On its face, the temple seems to bear all the common features of a local temple: lined with Chinese glazed tiles on a gabled roof, with an elaboration of clay figurine adornment atop. There is a couplet on the two sides of the main entrance. A stone plaque inscribed with the temple’s name in gold lies on the top of the entrance. Yet there are also some unusual features.
On the exterior, there is a mural showing Lu Ban. Lu Ban is revered by the craftsmen because he was a very skilled carpenter. This reference to Lu Ban at the Hung Shing Temple is perhaps the only such reference other than the Lo Pan Temple (located in Sai Wan) itself, which is also a declared monument.
The lanterns are also very beautiful. The lanterns are in a lotus shape likely because there are two female deities in residence at this Hung Shing Temple. Both of these female deities protect the feminine qualities of their worshippers.
The golden dragon boat is clearly an acknowledgement of the faithful followers that sail the seas.
There are the bronze bell and the plaque. But surprisingly, the other usual item in Chinese temples, the drum, was not seen in the Hung Shing Temple.
The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals manages the Hung Shing Temple. The Hung Shing Temple of Wan Chai is a declared monument. Its address is 129 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai.
The Wikipedia on Hung Shing Temple.
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, The Hung Shing Temple of Wan Chai (Chin).
坐言集，灣仔洪聖廟 (Chin).
The Guia Fortress would be the final stop for this historic excursion into the roots of Macau’s proud history. After lunch at Wabi Sabi, I made me way up a gentle incline to the Guia Fortress. Guia Hill is the highest point in the Macau …
The Houhai Zhongxinhe Park (Houhai Central River Park) has been showing some spring colors and I took a walk there in February. The date of visit is February 8, 2026. The Houhai Zhongxinhe Park Meaning Houhai Central River Park, the recreational space at Houhai Zhongxinhe …
Sam Shing of Tuen Mun is known for its seafood. It is a pretty popular place and people come from all over Hong Kong to have a proper seafood dinner. My parents live in Tuen Mun and so we also go to Sam Shing’s seafood market for special celebratory occasions.
A few features define what is considered a “proper seafood dinner” in Hong Kong. The local diners first purchase the seafood from the seafood vendors and then take the seafood over for cooking at the restaurants. That is the case in seafood hotspots like Lei Yue Mun, Sai Kung and Sam Shing, all of which are former fishermen’s villages. This way, people are assured the quality of the seafood (because they do tend to be expensive, in off-the-tank prices).
Seafood prices in Hong Kong fluctuate by the day. As such, when you go to common restaurants and order seafood, they usually label the price as “seasonal.” From this practice, the term “seafood price” comes to refer to anything that is costly and the price is uncertain in Hong Kong Cantonese.
The restaurant will charge a cooking fee. They also serve some run of the mill dishes like sweet and sour pork and wok fried seasonal greens.
My research for this seafood fiesta I have with my parents returned something surprisingly interesting. Sam Shing has a pretty good story being an actual marketplace for the seafood trade in the past.
This area has been known as Sam Shing (meaning three saints, see Sam Shing Temple below) since the Sam Shing Temple was established. Before then, the southern shore of Tuen Mun is called Castle Peak Bay. It was a vibrant community of fishermen.
Although Sam Shing has had a sea change due to the Hong Kong Government’s development objective in the 1970s, a few things remain to this day. The marketplace features about ten seafood vendors, perhaps quite a bit smaller in scale than in the past. But in today’s terms it is certainly plenty of choices for diners. There are still fishing boats docking at the promenade area, and at least some of them still supply a small amount of seafood to the seafood vendors.
The Sam Shing Temple stands on a small hill in the Sam Shing area, next to Ki Lun Kong. It was the result of the shipping industry pulling funds together to care for the spiritual needs of Castle Peak Bay residents in 1914. Construction of the temple completed in 1921.
It is quite unusual that the resident deities for a former fishermen’s community to be the three learned saints (although there is a Tin Hau Temple close to the Ki Lun Kong Public Park as well). Ru, meaning the Confucian School, is the scholarship that lays the foundation of Chinese culture, in particular in the learning of virtues.
Xi refers to Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), whose teaching as spread to China forms the core of Chinese Buddhism. Dao, as in Taoism, combines philosophy with religion, and a colorful touch of folkloric tales concerning wars between good and evil.
These three schools of thought are traditionally considered to be the interwoven strands of China’s cultural fabric, certainly no less in Hong Kong, especially in the rural communities that remained culturally unmoved by colonial influence.
Fast forward to the times of the Japanese Occupation between 1941 and 1945. At the time, the Japanese wanted to collect brass to make weapons. Legend has it that the Japanese tried to remove the brass bell from the temple and the Japanese solders could not move it at all. The faithful followers of the temple called it a miracle as the three ancient sages manifested their presence against the Japanese.
The Sam Shing Temple is a Grade 2 Historic Building.
The Sam Shing Boundary Rock is located inside the Kei Lun Kong Public Park. After the Hong Kong Government finalized the plans to develop Tuen Mun as a new town, a part of the Castle Peak Bay was reclaimed. The shoreline was extended from what is now the Castle Peak Road to the Sam Shing Estate. The Boundary Rock (a rather large piece of rock indeed) was established to commemorate the former shoreline, right by the Castle Peak Road.
It is also said that the Sam Shing Boundary Rock possesses spiritual power. At the time of the land reclamation, there were many rocks in this part of the shore. People removed the others, but time after time, something happened right before the plans to blow up this rock for removal. Some workers would get sick, or some tragedy befell the government official that insisted on blowing up the rock. Some workers also saw red liquid flowing out from the rock. Eventually, with petition by the locals, the government no longer insisted on removing this rock. The Castle Peak Road, which was then the only throughway between Tuen Mun and Kowloon, had to be built around it.
Right through the southern end of the Ki Lun Kong Public Park stands the Castle Peak Sam Chau A Ma Temple. The history is, briefly, that there was a Tin Hau Temple here. In 1951, he British wanted to build a barracks here, and so they removed the Tin Hau statue. That statue came from Sam Chau of Taishan in Guandong, and that was why this temple was called the Sam Chau A Ma Temple. The fishermen rescued the statue. Eventually, they could rebuild the temple at the original site.
At the Sam Shing Waterfront Promenade I was pleasantly surprised to see some pretty unusual views in Hong Kong’s urbanized landscape. Quite a few fishing boats docked there in the afternoon, along with some medium-sized cargo vessels.
A couple of ladies sat in the area selling some little pieces of fish and an odd selection of seafood. I saw some people dealing with the fishermen themselves, apparently they were buying some seafood fresh from the boat.
The Promenade was surprisingly pleasant and I made plans to come back for a morning walk, perhaps to bring my dog with me as well.
There are a host of seafood restaurants in Sam Shing and my family likes to go to Tong Kee. Tong Kee staff recommend Fat Kee for buying seafood.
So we got our lobster for three and a few huge scallops. The food was yummy.
The Wikipedia on Sam Shing Temple (Chin).
Our China Story, Hong Kong’s Urban Legend: A Bleeding Spiritual Rock in Tuen Mun’s Sam Shing (Chin).
KK News, The Legend of the Spiritual Big Rock of Castle Peak Bay in Hong Kong (Chin).
Fortaleza do Monte in Portuguese, the Monte Fort has great historical significance to Macau. This is the site of the battle between the Dutch and the Macanese during the Dutch Invasion of 1622. The tale is one of heroism at one shot. The Jesuit priest …
Plums do not compete with snow for whiteness; snow, however, pales in comparison in fragrance. ~ Snow Plum, by Lu Meipo The Three Friends of Winter: Pine, Bamboo and Plum Blossom There is Chinese poetry written for almost every flower on …
What I had in my mind for the day is the Monte Fort, but before then, let’s go through the St. Paul’s Ruins and the Na Tcha Temple, both of which are on the way.
Originally the St. Paul’s College and St Paul’s Church (Mater Dei, Church of the Mother of God), what is now the St. Paul’s Ruins was an established institution of religion and learning in Macau during the early 17th century. The Jesuits built the St. Paul’s College between 1602 and 1640. At the time, the intention was to give home to the Japanese disciples of Catholicism that faced persecution by the order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi to ban Christianity in 1587. The Japanese Catholics that made their way to Macau also worked on the building and decoration of the college itself. The St. Paul’s College was also a school to train the missionaries that are called to missions in China.
During the 17th century, St. Paul’s in Macau was the largest Catholic church in Asia, as such, it was also known as “the Vatican of the Far East.” In 1835, a fire during a typhoon destroyed the 17th century structure. Only its granite façade remains now, as the rest of the structure was built in wood. Yet even just a glimpse of the façade is enough to show the holy glory that it once stood for.
Fast forward to the 1990s, there were discussions about pulling down the façade because the structure might present grave risks of collapse. The Macau government then excavated the site between 1990 and 1995. Then it added reinforcements to buttress the structure.
The locals constructed the Na Tcha Temple in 1888 in the attempt to cast away a plague that was going around in the region. The traditional temple reveres Na Tcha, a character in Chinese folklore. He is also a key figure in Taoism.
In Chinese Taoism, Na Tcha is the third son of Li Jing, who is the “heavenly king with a pagoda in hand.” He is a character in the famous novels, Journey to the West and Creation of the Gods. In the Ming dynasty rendition of his life, it was said that he is the son of King Li Jing, but he kills the God of Dragon by mistake. In order to avoid dire consequences for his family, he kills himself. He pleads with the sage Sakyamuni, who then revives him with a lotus. As he lives thereafter, Na Tcha uses the special superpowers given him by Sakayamuni and destroys many figures of the evil forces.
The Na Tcha Temple is a designated site of the UNESCO-recognized Macau heritage. A quick stop at the Na Tcha Temple takes about 5 to 10 minutes for photographs. It is quite beautiful in its own right. A point is raised that its proximity to the St. Paul’s Ruins shows the character of “east meets west” in Macau, where traditional Chinese faith is just a stone’s throw away from a significant structure that represents western religion.
Sources
The Wikipedia on St. Paul’s Ruins.
The Wikipedia on Na Tcha Temple.
Macao Tourism Office on Na Tcha Temple.
The Wikipedia on Na Tcha (Chin).
It is the tail end of the winter foliage season and on this sunny afternoon I went to the Honghu Park to take photographs. The date of visit is January 25, 2026. The Honghu Park is an urban park space spanning an area of approximately …