Hong Kong Day 3: Ngong Ping 360 & Po Lin Monastery

Before reaching the Tian Tan Buddha statue, visitors go through Ngong Ping 360, a tourist attraction complex that aims to cater to a broad range of visitors (Ngong Ping 360 includes the Ngong Ping cable car). Right after the cable car terminal, we were welcomed by Ngong Ping Village, which is a “cultural themed village” that is made up of attractions as well as retail and dining establishments.

Since we arrived already late in the afternoon, we basically just walked through Ngong Ping Village, especially since we still wanted to go up to the Tian Tian Buddha. I noticed that there were a lot of restaurants and souvenir shops lined throughout Ngong Ping Village, which is made up of a not-so long avenue.

Honestly, something about how the whole place was set up made me think of one thing: “tourist trap”.  But then again, maybe I would have shopped here too if I didn’t have time to go to areas like Mongkok in order to buy “quintessential” tourist stuff like souvenir shirts but since we did go there already on our first night in Hong Kong, I didn’t even bother looking at the shops in Ngong Ping.

At the time we were there, Ngong Ping 360 also had an ongoing Bubbloo Carnival, which featured magicians and illusionists, as well as bubbles and bubble machines everywhere of course.

Aside from the dining and retail offerings, Ngong Ping 360 also has the Monkey’s Tale Theatre (an attraction for kids) as well as Walking with Buddha,  a multi-media show which I would have loved to see if we had more time.

Walking with Buddha {via}

I must say that when I first saw the Tian Tan Buddha in the movie Infernal Affairs, I thought it was situated in an off-the-grid, rural place. So I was somewhat disoriented with how touristy Ngong Ping 360 was (and to think we were already there when not so many tourists were roaming about!).  But this doesn’t mean that I didn’t like Ngong Ping or that it wasn’t a nice place to visit. Perhaps it was because we just came from Tai O, which was quite a world away from Ngong Ping 360 and definitely much more “authentic”. The Tian Tan Buddha statue and the Po Lin Monastery are actually NOT part of Ngong Ping 360 but I guess since the buddha statue and the monastery were already top tourist destinations, the business-minded people behind Ngong Ping 360 had the bright idea to construct a tourist complex right next to the statue and the monastery.

Ahead of the path was the Buddhist-themed Ngong Ping Piazza, which connects Ngong Ping Village to the Tian Tan Buddha statue and Po Lin monastery.

Ngong Ping Piazza is lined with statues of “12 divine generals”, which really didn’t mean anything to us since we weren’t Buddhists. However, we did look for the generals representing our Chinese zodiac signs: the Ox and the Rooster (for me).  I got a kick from knowing that the Rooster General, General Mihira, represents 5 to 7 PM.  With me being the Sunset Goddess, he so represents my favorite time of day 🙂 Hahaha.

General Catura represents 1 AM-3 AM of the day and the Ox in the Chinese zodiac

 

General Mihira represents 5- 7 PM and the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac

After going up the statue of the Tian Tan Buddha, we just had enough time to visit Po Lin Monastery, one of the four most popular monasteries in Hong Kong and is located just outside Ngong Ping Village and the Piazza.

So we just enjoyed as much of the scenery as we can. It was here that I saw the biggest incense I’ve ever seen.

Although what I saw were nothing like what this blogger photographed also in Po Lin Monastery:

{via}

The whole area was so tranquil in the late afternoon. We were there at the tail end of the day, and even if we didn’t get to eat at the vegetarian restaurant, being one of the last visitors in the area made us appreciate the beauty of the place even more, which we may not have been able to do if we had been there with hordes of tourist groups.

 

 

When we got to the inner courtyard, we saw that the Po Lin Monastery is currently constructing a grand temple, which is reason enough to visit again once the new addition is completed (that and the vegetarian restaurant of course!)

Ngong Ping 360 is indeed a very touristy attraction, but it does have several redeeming qualities. I think with its architecture and lay-out, it still makes an effort to blend with the landscape and the culture, and serves as a base point even for eco-tourism activities in Lantau Island.

The Tian Tan Buddha statue and Po Lin Monastery are definitely must-sees, and riding the crystal cabin of the Ngong Ping cable car was also a memorable experience.  At the very least, Ngong Ping 360 really has something for everyone.

Fabulous travels! Cheers!

For more information on other activities in and around Ngong Ping 360, click here.

Admission to the Ngong Ping Village is free, while attractions such as the Monkey Tale’s Theatre and Walking with Buddha are subject to an admission fee of HK$36 per attraction.