#TravelHongKong: The Moon and Wong Tai Sin Temple On Mid-Autumn Festival

August 28, 2022

Time flies so fast and the end of the month is approaching and we're just a few days away from it. Ber months are coming and the anticipation of festive holidays as well that only happens once a year.

As September approaches, one thing we anticipate here in Hong Kong is the Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival that falls every September each year.

The festival is to celebrate and give thanks for the bountiful harvest received. This year, it will be celebrated on the 10th day of September. And since it is quite approaching, it reminded me of my travel galore at one of the popular temples here that people visit every Mid-Autumn Festival. It's the Wong Tai Sin.

It is located in the Kowloon district along the Lion Rock premise. It's a popular and most visited Taoist temple of Chinese people here as they believe that their prayers are being answered when praying at this temple.

On special occasions such as Chinese New Year, and Mid-Autumn Festivals, especially Wong Tai Sin's birthday, people are swarming around and trying to get a better spot in front of the main shrine where they could offer their prayers to their Gods with their incense sticks. I admire how they offer prayers to their God as it is too different in our country. I was just at the side while looking at those people offering their prayers.

Fervently, despite the scorching sun, worshipers would light their incense sticks to their God, bow their heads three times, kneel, and some would bow until their foreheads touched the ground. That's how Chinese people do their prayers religiously. At this temple, there are mats provided in front of the shrine so people wouldn't hurt their knees while kneeling and could continue praying comfortably, especially the old worshipers. Some tents are installed as well for the worshipers. I am not sure though if they are available every day or only at special events.

Offering prayers somewhat changes though in this modern time. While old worshipers are taking it fervently and following the traditional style, the young ones seem to take it for granted. Do you know that lighting incense sticks should be done using the left hand? Because they believe that the left hand is cleaner since most people used their right dominant hand in doing things like killing animals in the old times.

They also believe that they will get more luck if they offer the incense earlier. I also remembered what my Chinese boss told me when we visited a temple, she said that taking photos isn't allowed inside a sacred shrine as it is a sign of disrespect to their Gods. And I guess I disrespected them when I took these photos 🙈.

Apart from offering prayers at the temple, some aspect that attracts tourists to visit the place is the traditional Chinese architecture.

The distinct engravings on the walls, yellow grids, red columns and pillars, green and gold-colored roofs, and bright-colored latticeworks are truly attractive. The temple is a huge one and there are different attractions around the place, including pavilions, halls that house saints and Goddesses statuses, and sheds where people could stay and rest for a while.

Statuses of different saints and Gods are also in different parts of the temple.

There were also lanterns all over the place and it was also the temple's 100th anniversary. There were giant floats of different Gods that bring auspicious and more.

This heart-shaped float with giant goat lanterns represents the year of the Goat

There were giant dragon lanterns at the entrance of the temple, and other animal-shaped lanterns at other parts of the temple.

Aside from giant floats, there were floating lanterns too at the Good Wish Garden. Those lanterns represent different zodiac signs and recreations of Chinese cultural imagery. On the further side are Koi fish, a dragon, and temple design lanterns.

The mall next to the temple has another lantern display which they called the Golden Autumn Lumiere and I had a chance to take photos inside the Lumiere after a long time of queueing. It's an interactive installation full of lanterns that reflects through its glass walls and floor and the colors changed as I moved along.

It only took a certain number of minutes for each visitor so I didn't stay long inside as more people were queueing. It was very long I should say.

After wandering around the temple, I opted to visit another spot where I could see the moon. Yes, the moon. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, there are several displays here in Hong Kong in different parts that tourists and locals would love. One of the spots with displays was the Kwun Tong Promenade.

I planned to get there before dawn and it was perfect timing to see the sun slowly settling down and the sky showing beautiful silhouettes.

The place was crowded with tourists, locals, and journalists who wanted to capture the main event in the place once it was covered by dusk. Different cameras were all set in different areas.

The promenade was already full of bystanders waiting for the main event, so I squeezed my tiny body into the crowd in front of the main attraction which was floating in the sea, to get better shots, and get a closer look at it. It fascinated me as it was enormous and looked real!

Do you wonder what we waited for?

The moon landed in Hong Kong!

From the theme, fly me to the moon. The moon landed in Kwun Tong Promenade and this attracted a massive crowd as the moon display only lasted for a few days.

This was the largest Moon display in Hong Kong last year, organized by a local company GP42. It's an inflatable moon with an enormous height of 15 meters tall installed on a tugboat afloat along the harbor front under the starry sky.

It was truly stunning up close and lucky I was to get a great spot right in front of it. An old man vacated his spot so I took over. It looked even more stunning as it cast an illuminated path in the water. Several drones were hovering above to take coverage news of the event and some probably from random individuals.

Moreover, there were boats in the sea roaming around the moon display to get a closer look and shots of it.

After about an hour of staying along the harbor, my legs were getting tired. I wondered what people were waiting for and I asked someone about it. A Filipina said that the moon will glow at seven-thirty or eight in the evening. It was getting late and I still had to trace back the way to the train station which was more or less twenty minutes away from the venue. You can see several drones hovering above the moon display in the photo below. They looked like stars in the clear sky.

I left the place and didn't wait for it to glow. Yet, the moon seemed to glow from the distance due to the light reflection of the adjacent building. Since it was the last night of the festival celebration, people seemed to want to stay long outside. Kids were playing at a water fountain on the promenade. On the other side was a stage installed under the overpass and some performers sang and danced for the audience. I wasn't sure though if it was a competition or just a show for the festival.

The festival is about thanksgiving, gift-giving, moon cakes, and of course lanterns. They look beautiful at night.

There are a lot of lantern and moon displays all over Hong Kong at every Moon Festival that attracts tourists and locals. The best time to visit them is at night as they glow beautifully in the dark.

I am looking forward to seeing the displays this year. The celebration is on the 10th day. But prior to the main event, displays will be installed in different areas, probably at the start of September and that will last until the last day of the festival celebration.

It was a tiring day, yet so worth it. Thanks for stopping by and see in my next travel blog.

(All photos are mine)

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