Hong Kong Travels: Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple and Pai Tau Village

We made a trip to see the 10,000 Buddhas temple today, and took the opportunity to also meet up with Lina, a friend and an ex-Star colleague.

I was hoping to have enough time to visit the close by walled homes but ran out of time and will have to make that another trip.

Sha Tin is in the New Territories in Hong Kong so out about 20 minutes ride from TST towards China. Once we got off the MTR stop at Sha Tin, the temple entrance is only 10 minute walk away. You will have to work your way up to the temple as you ascent 400+ steps.

Right outside Sha Tin MTR stop, you'll head out and down the pedestrian walkway to find Pai Tau Village (排頭村). From what I have read, these villages are small homes that have been reserved for male descendants of residents in 1898. To read a little more info, you can check out this website. The village is nested by the hillside next to mega malls and buildings. A lot of these homes are now used as small eateries or to sell potteries, etc.

Once you keep walking down the road by the side of the villages, we followed the signs to the temple.

You'll come across what looks like an entrance to a temple with a set of lifts to a hilltop pagoda. That would be the Po Fook Ancestral Workshop Hall. Pass by the side of this to get you to the Ten Thousand Buddhas.

On the climb up you'll be accompanied by hundreds of Buddhas, all different and covered in gold. The climb itself is a little bit of an exercise so take this time and enjoy your spiritual journey to the temple. Each of the Buddhas are unique with very interesting, poses, looks and expressions.







Once at the top, you'll be greeted by the big Amitabba Buddha on the temple wall. The temple itself was not very busy on a Tuesday afternoon. It gave Lina and I time to pray to the Buddhas and as Lina said, they probably also had more time to listen and answer our prayers.



The inside of the temple is lined with Buddhas all alongside the walls.



The temple sides are decorated with the twelve animals from the Chinese horoscope. In front of the temple, you'll find extra large statues of the Buddha of Battle and the Quan Yin Buddha.

You can go up a few steps further to find yourself surrounded by different Quan Yin Buddhas each looking to protect and grant different wishes. The view up there was beautiful, the air was clean, and it was amazing to enjoy all of this with the backdrop of the Hong Kong high rise landscape.