Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHT
CHI LIN NUNNERY
One of the most beautiful and arrestingly built environments in Hong Kong,
this large Buddhist complex, originally dating from the 1930s, was rebuilt
completely of wood in the style of a Tang-dynasty monastery in 1998. It's a
serene place with lotus ponds, bonsai tea plants, bougainvillea and silent
nuns delivering offerings of fruit and rice to Buddha or chanting behind intric-
ately carved screens.
Built to last a thousand years, Chi Lin Nunnery is the world's largest cluster of handcraf-
ted timber buildings, one exhibiting a level of artistry rarely found in other faux-ancient ar-
chitecture. The design, involving interlocking sections of wood joined without a single nail,
is intended to demonstrate the harmony of humans with nature.
You enter through the
Sam Mun
, a series of 'three gates' representing the Buddhist pre-
cepts of compassion, wisdom and 'skilful means'. The first courtyard, which contains the
delightful
Lotus Pond Garden
, gives way to the
Hall of Celestial Kings
, with a large
statue of the seated Buddha surrounded by deities. Behind that is the
Main Hall
, containing
a statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha.
www.nanliangarden.org
;
10am-6pm; Diamond Hill, exit C2)
, a Tang-style garden featuring a
golden pagoda, a koi pond and a collection of bizarre rocks.
Also here is the small but excellent
Chi Lin Vegetarian
and the elegant
Song Cha Xie
.
To get here from Diamond Hill MTR, go through Hollywood Plaza and turn east on to
Fung Tak Rd.
