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Shatin
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Shatin,
is a bustling
metropolis in the middle of the agricultural New Territories.
Massive housing projects occupy fields where just a few
years ago the greatest activity was water buffaloes
pilling plows in rice paddles. The New Town Plaza is a
massive shopping and entertainment complex, while
Riverside Plaza Hotel along the banks of the Shing Mun
River is another modern addition. Some attraction there
are :
Temple of 10,000
Buddhas, which can be reached by climbing
431 steps up the hillsides above the
Shatin Railway Station. There you will find
a main altar room with 12,800 small Buddha
status on its wall. The temple is guarded by
huge, fierce looking statues of various gods, and
by just as fierce watchdogs which are chained
up in the daytime. Also, in the complex is
a nine-storey pagoda of Indian architectural
design, commemorating a Buddha who was
believed to be the ninth reincarnation of Prince
Vishu.
Temple of Man Fat,
located a further 69 steps up the
hill is where you can meet a man who
created this temple and pagoda complex,
even though he died a long time ago. He was
a monk who spent a lifetime
studying Buddhism and living a meditative
life. His greatest concern was to achieve
immortality. When he died, his body was
preserve in gold leaf for posterity.
Amah Rock, if view
from the 10,000 Buddhas Temple,looks like a woman
standing with a baby on her back.Legend has it
that a local fisherman once went to sea and did
not return with the fleet. His wife waited
patiently for his return day after day, but he
did not appear. After a year the gods took pity
on her and turned her into a stone. These
days the rock is a place of worship for faithful
Chinese women.
 Tsang
Tai Uk,
a walled village built in the mid-19thcentury by
a wealthy quarrymaster. This village is rarely
visited by tourists mainly because of difficult
access but the people here are hospitavle,
pleasant and the village is not
very commercial.
Sai Kung Village,
tourist will find a preserved country park. The
park is not open to prviate motor vehicles. It
is one part of Hong Kong where you can put
on your boots and backpack and go trekking
into the woods for several days.
Tin Hau Temple, was
built by two 11th century brothers who
allegedly were saved by Tin Hau after their junk
was destroyed by a typhoon. The brothers
held onto a Tin Hau statue and prayed for her
help and eventually they reached Tung Lung Island
alive. In 1012, after they had gone into
business and become wealthy, they built the
temple. Later another typhoon wrecked the temple
but descendamts of the two brothers built it
replacement in 1266 at this site.
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