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WONG TAI SIN TEMPLE - is one of the most famous shrines in Hong Kong. It is dedicated Wong Tai Sin, or the Great Immortal Wong. The 18,000-m² Taoist temple is famed for the many prayers answered: "What you request is what you get". The temple is located on the southern side of Lion Rock in the north of Kowloon and gave its name to the Wong Tai Sin district of Hong Kong.
Containing a portrait of Confucius, the Taoist temple has a collection of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist literature. Recently, Taoist weddings are performed here. Annually, from January 1 to 15, the temple receives numerous visitors, such as those whose prayers were answered returning to thank the immortal. Wong Tai Sin's birthdaythe 23rd day of the eighth lunar monthand the Chinese New Year are both busy times for the temple. On the Chinese New Year's Eve, thousands of worshippers wait outside the temple before midnight and rush in to the main altar to offer Wong Tai Sin their glowing incense sticks when the year comes. They believe that the earlier they offer the incense, the better luck will they have that year. Some of the visitors come to have their fortunes told. They light incense sticks, kneels before the main altar, makes a wish, and shakes a bamboo cylinder containing fortune sticks until a stick falls out. This stick is exchanged for a piece of paper bearing the same number, and then the soothsayer will interpret the fortune on the paper for the worshipper. |
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