Vignettes of the World
It is at the tail of our summer and I joined a group of friends on the last yacht trip that they were organizing for the year. The itinerary is Tai Tam Bay and Deity Beach in the southeastern waters of Hong Kong. On this …
I went canyoning with a group of friends at the Ping Nam Stream. This trip came just in time to catch the last stretch of the summer heat. We met at the Nam Chung parking lot at the foot of MacLehose Trail Section 10 for …
I paid a visit to the Shui Yuet Palace of Mong Kok. Seated besdies the Tung Wah College Mong Kok Campus, the Shui Yuet Palace has a distinctive appearance with its red colored walls and green roof tiles. You cannot miss it when you pass by its current location in Mong Kok’s Shantung Street.
The resident deity of the Shui Yuet Palace is Kwun Yam (kuanyin or guanyin), who, both in its Hinduism origin as Avalokitesvara and in its adapated form in Chinese folk religion, embodies the spirit of mercy and compassion. The full name of the deity is Kwun Sai Yam, and it means the “perception of all the world’s sounds.” A Kwun Yam believer told me that as Kwun Yam hears all sounds, but you must actually say your wish out loud so that she hears you (perhaps unlike the silent prayers that Christians do). In most Kwun Yam statues in China the figure of the deity sits or stands upon a lotus platform. The lotus is therefore a signature of Kwun Yam.
When I entered into the temple, I noticed the beautiful lotus blossom lanterns that line the ceiling before the altar table.
Shui Yuet Palace (in Chinese it means the Palace of Water and Moon) was originally known as Tai Shek Ku Temple (meaning big stone drum). It has existed since the 10th year of Guangxu’s Reign during the Qing Dynasty, and that is the year 1884. Originally, believers of Hakka origin living in Kowloon raised the funds for the construction of this temple, then built at the intersection of Argyle Street and Waterloo Road. Due to development needs, the Hong Kong Government decided to build a motorway (Prince Edward Road) to link up Kowloon City and Mong Kok. It negotiated with the residents of Kowloon for a relocation of this temple to its current site. In 1927, the temple reopened its doors to worshippers. By now, this temple has stood at its current location for 94 years already. It is well-deserving as a historic and cultural relic.
There are a few things of historical significance inside this temple. The brass bell bears the date of 10th year of the Guangxu Reign. The altar table, brass fan, and the incense burner were all relics of the late 19th Century.
The brass bell has some interesting features. The surface shows the date of the bell in engraving. There are four columns of embossed buttons on its upper part. According to my research, this feature resembles the brass chimes of the Warring State Period (bianzhong). They used to be percussion instruments in ancient China.
I am pretty sure though that the origin and meaning of this bell’s design is long lost.
The wooden plaques at the entrance of the temple is dated to 1927, when this temple reopened after relocation.
Since the inception of the Tung Wah Group in 1931, the Shui Yuet Palace has come under its management. The temple underwent restoration again in 2018. The relics discussed above became known treasures of this historic temple during this restoration.
I am certainly no believer of Kwun Yam myself, but I was glad to find a site of religious and historic significance in one of Hong Kong’s busiest districts. It certainly offers a nice respite to anyone caring to enter.
The address for Shui Yuet Palace is 90 Shantung Street, Mong Kok.
The Wikipedia on Mong Kok Shui Yuet Palace (Chin).
The Wikipedia on Guanyin.
Leung Wing Hung, Exploration of Hong Kong’s City and Countryside (2004) at 78.
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The Cheung Sha Beach is the longest beach in Hong Kong. At three km in length, the beach provides ample space for visitors to do all sorts of fun activities, including surfing, camping, canoeing and simply beach bathing.
The Cheung Sha Beach is located in the southern coast of Lantau Island. It is a long stretch of sandy shore. A little headland divides the beach into Lower Cheung Sha Beach and Upper Cheung Sha Beach. Facing the southern waters of Hong Kong, this location is free of any sight of high rises. It was therefore a wonderful getaway from city life.
We went to the more crowded Lower Cheung Sha Beach on this hot summer day. There was not much planning in this outing. We searched online for a beach in Lantau Island and this one turned up on the search. In late afternoon we arrived at Tung Chung and took a bus (there were very long lines) to Lower Cheung Sha Village.
Because access by private cars to Lantau Island is restricted, there were not so many people in this beach. All the necessary facilities are present, including shower, changing rooms and restrooms. The Lower Cheung Sha Beach is usually more crowded because all the other establishments are also there. That includes quite a few good restaurants, and also rental for water sports.
We sat down for a much-needed lunch first at Lantana. We had a nice grilled veggies salad and a Margherita pizza, with fruit juice and coffee. People wearing bikinis went in and out, and a fraternity-type kind of party was going on with loud music next door. Surely this was reminiscent of a Californian beach time.
According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Cheung Sha Beach is blessed with “powdery white sand and clean waters.” Now, having gone there on a pleasant afternoon I must come back with somewhat of a different view. First of all, as I was walking on the beach I noticed that it was much like the Hac Sa (Black Sand) Beach of Macao. I think the sand is rather black in color. Secondly, although there is no question that the water is clean, it is not clear. At low tide in the afternoon the waves carried a lot of natural waste, such as leaves and small tree stems. Yet the environment is very clean and pleasant.
We soaked in the shallow water at the shore for about half hour, enjoying the setting sun and the therapeutic power of the ocean waves. It was totally chill and I would do it again.
At this beach some visitors let loose their pets. We had some fierce-looking dogs that came near us at our beach spot. They were not restrained but their owners were around. Still it was quite a scare when they came near us.
At Tung Chung MTR station we headed over to the bus terminus. Bus routes 1, 2, 4, 11, 23 will drop you off at Lower Cheung Sha Village. Walk on further for a little and you will see the path to Lower Cheung Sha Village, go down and the beach is right there.
The Lantana, an Italian Beach Restaurant.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board on Cheung Sha Beach.
I told the taxi driver that I was going to visit a restaurant for a meal. The address was reading a bit odd to me, it says Opposite No. 35, Nguyen Truong To Street, Hue. The restaurant’s name is a nondescript Nguyen Truong To Nem …
As the taxi was pulling in, I saw the royal tomb of Khai Dinh from afar and I was awed. What is this? Khai Dinh, the driver said. Khai Dinh as a Nguyen Emperor Born Nguyen Phuc Buu Dao, Khai Dinh (ruled 1916-25) was the …
I had better hurry, for there were two more royal tombs to visit. The taxi driver took me to the next royal tomb, the Royal Mausoleum of Minh Mang.
Mr. Truong, who took me to the DMZ, told me that Minh Mang was a well-liked and respected Nguyen Emperor. Born Nguyen Phuc Dam, he succeeded the Nguyen Dynasty’s founding Emperor Gia Long as the second Emperor. His rule lasted 21 years from 1820 to 1841. The reign title Minh Mang means “the bright favor of Heaven.”
Like Tu Duc, who came after him, Minh Mang was a staunch supporter of Confucianism. As such, he generally opposed foreign influences on Vietnam. During his reign, he has, time after time, rejected the invitations from the West to form commercial relationships. That includes the first attempt by the United States of America to establish commerce with a country in East Asia (during President Andrew Jackson’s administration).
However, he did take the West seriously by studying their innovations in science and technology. He would request firearms, mechanics, books and even vaccination from the West. Yet French colonialism was brewing during his reign. Despite his later attempts to establish commerce with the West by sending delegations for negotiations, Minh Mang’s strong opposition against western missionaries, to the extent of executing some French Catholics, would eventually cause increasing animosity from France. In time, this would give rise to support in France to invade and later successfully colonize Vietnam.
He has earned favour with the Vietnamese people historically because he did care about the lives of the peasants, as expressed in his land reform policies. He was also against forced labour.
Minh Mang was much of a scholar himself and he also composed poems. He has shown his love for scholarship by the display of 600 carved poems in his mausoleum. He has left an everlasting mark on the Imperial City of Hue also, as under his reign he ordered the construction of many edifices in the Imperial City. The remarkable Ngo Mon was one, and it is still standing today.
As with the Royal Mausoleum of Tu Duc, the Royal Mausoleum of Minh Mang serves as both a place of burial and a place of worship. Construction for this mausoleum took three years from 1840 to 1843.
The construction of Minh Mang’s royal tomb has broken new grounds in terms of the formality in its layout. The main burial structures were built in one straight line along the main axis. In runs in the east-west direction and it is called the Holy Axis. The features common to all royal tombs, such as the gate (Dai Hong in this tomb), the salutation court, the stele house, the temple (Sung An Temple), the pavilion (Minh Lau Pavilion), and finally the Buu Thanh and Huyen Cung (where the Emperor’s remains were buried), are spread along the Holy Axis. All other minor structures on the sides are symmetrical. Finally, as with the Royal Mausoleum of Tu Duc, a 2000-meter stone wall surrounds this royal tomb.
Again, in imperial Vietnam the middle way was reserved for the king only. Everyone else had to go via the sides. In this mausoleum, that tradition is honored. The middle entrance (with a non-restored gate) had only opened once, and that was when Emperor Minh Mang died and his coffer went through it for final burial. Since then, the gate has remained shut.
The Huyen Cong, in this case the Mound, is meant to be where the Emperor was laid to rest. The Buu Thanh is the 285-meter long stone wall that protects the Mound. On the death anniversary of Minh Mang, the mound is open for observance by the public.
The royal funeral itself was somewhat mysterious. Minh Mang’s coffer, having gone through the now-shut central entrance of the royal tomb, then went through an underground channel. This channel was then sealed permanently. A tour guide there was telling her group that, although standard history had it that the Emperor’s final resting place was in the mound, actually nobody knew where exactly the body was buried in this site.
Photos: Proceeding through the main structures of the Royal Mausoleum of Minh Mang along the Holy Axis
I went through the Holy Axis quickly. The mound was in sight, and I passed by two gates. One said in Chinese, “fair and upright,” and the other one said, “brilliant and upright.” In both of these phrases, the word “minh” obviously refer to the reign title of Minh Mang.
As compared to the Royal Mausoleum of Tu Duc, my impression of the Royal Mausoleum of Minh Mang was not as favorable. The feeling of tranquility in this Mausoleum was similar, as there are also nice lakes at the eastern and western ends that envelope the structures on the Holy Axis. However, this groundbreaking, new formality in layout clearly shows an emphasis on the authority of the Emperor. Surely, Minh Mang deserves all the respect given his merits, but perhaps the royal tomb of Tu Duc is more welcoming, more relaxed, and thus invites my appreciation more readily so.
The mound was out of bounds for visitors that day. I certainly did not intend to disturb Emperor Minh Mang in his sleep.
And I did have some time to visit the last royal tomb, the Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh.
Photo: Huyen Cong (the Mound), where Minh Mang is buried.
Historical descriptions on site.
The Lonely Planet on Vietnam
Photo: the Trung Minh Lake at the Minh Mang’s tomb
After lunch, I stopped by a convenient store to get some water. The young man there spoke good English, so I asked about transportation to the royal tombs. The ticket to the Imperial Enclosure enabled same-day admission to the three royal tombs of Tu Duc, …