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Founded in 1906, Po Lin Monastery watches over the Tian Tan Buddha, a 34 m bronze statue unveiled in 1993 and reached by 268 steps. Nearby, the Wisdom Path lines up tall wooden pillars carved with the Heart Sutra.
Official websiteplm.org.hk→Village of the Tanka community, the “boat people”, with its stilt houses, Kwan Tai and Hung Shing temples, fish-drying racks and shrimp paste. The 1902 police station has become the village’s heritage hotel.
Tai O Heritage Hoteltaioheritagehotel.com→Floating village devoted to fishing culture: fish-farm visit, junk, workshops and seasonal activities, with a shuttle boat from Sok Kwu Wan pier.
Official websitelfv.com.hk→The island’s big event, on Buddha’s Birthday (in May): the Piu Sik parade where costumed children seem to float above the crowd, towers covered in buns and a midnight scrambling race. During the festivities, the island eats vegetarian.
Traditional bakery that makes the red-stamped “peace buns”, symbol of the festival; available all year round.
Official websitekwokkamkee.com→Cheung Chau’s Pak Tai temple (1783) and the Tin Hau temples dedicated to the sea goddess on Lamma and Peng Chau (1792): small, living shrines at the heart of the fishing villages.
Small cave where the famous early-19th-century pirate is said to have hidden his treasure; squeeze in with a torch at the end of a pretty coastal walk.
Behind the skyline postcard, the islands have kept the culture of southern China’s fishing communities: temples to Tin Hau, goddess of the sea, and to Pak Tai, religious festivals set by the lunar calendar, and the stilt houses of the Tanka. The more recent Tian Tan Buddha has become one of Hong Kong’s great pilgrimage sites. Dress modestly and be discreet in the temples and at the monastery.
Header photo: Tian Tan Buddha, Lantau — Dinkun Chen, CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons