Will Robb Photography

On the whole, compared to the temples in Japan, Cambodia or Thailand, Hong Kong’s temples aren’t really that special. They are quite small, you can see round them in minutes, rather than the hours you spend marveling at the wonders of it’s Asian neighbours. However, there is one temple that does have something special about it, Man Mo temple on Hong Kong island.

To get there you need to get the MTR or tram to Central, then walk along Queens road to the center and take the mid-level escalator, which is an experience in itself, up through the shops and houses to Hollywood road. From there it’s well sign posted and easy to find.

Like many of the Hong Kong temples, it’s quite small in scale and you don’t really notice it until you come up level with it on the street. From the outside it doesn’t look like much, but once you get inside you find it’s a little gem. The temple has 2 doors, the one on the right leads to the smaller and quieter of the inner chambers. The walls are lined with small plaques devoted to Buddhist deities and people make offerings of food and incense to the Gods.

However, the temple comes into itself when you exit and the first chamber and enter the door to the left of the temple. As soon as you enter the dark entrance the smell of incense nearly knocks you off your feet. As soon as you enter into the main hall, you see why, there are literally hundreds of massive incense coils hanging from the ceiling filling the air with a smell that will cling to your clothes all day. This is the livlier of the two halls, it seems busy on a weekday but is mobbed at weekends as the superstitious locals come to pray and beg favours of the God. Man Mo represents Gods of literature, Man Cheung and the God of militarism, Kwan Yu. Kwan Yu also is said to be the patron God of restaurants, pawn shops, street vendors, the police and even the Triads, so quite a mixed bag of people come here to make offerings and gain favours. It’s a small temple, but well worth the visit. I was obsessed with the incense coils, I’d never seen anything like it before. I really recommend it to anyone who has the chance to get out there.