CITY OF LIFE’S DECEMBER RECOMMENDATION: WONG TAI SIN

Few areas of Hong Kong have such a wide range of traditional and cultural experiences to offer as Wong Tai Sin District, which will have the opportunity to showcase its many attractions to visitors and residents next month as the City of Life: Hong Kong is it! campaign’s “Recommendation of the Month” for December.

Among the District’s treasures that enrich and add “life” to visitors’ experiences are the much-loved Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple, the Chi Lin Nunnery with its incredible Tang Dynasty architecture, the unusual Fa Zang Buddhist Temple and historic buildings such as Hau Wang Temple and Guan Yin Temple.

From September 2001 to February 2003, each of Hong Kong’s 18 Districts is taking its turn to promote its tourism-related activities as the “Recommendation of the Month”. Full details of Wong Tai Sin District’s month in the spotlight were announced at a ceremony held today (27 November) at the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple.

Officiating were the Chairman of Wong Tai Sin District Council, Mr Lam Man-fai, JP; Executive Director of Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), Ms Clara Chong; District Officer (Wong Tai Sin) Miss Victoria Tang, JP; and Assistant Commissioner for Tourism, Mrs Winifred Chung.

Pledging his full support to the City of Life: Hong Kong is it! campaign, Mr Lam noted that Wong Tai Sin Temple claimed a particular place in the history of the district that now bore its name.

"Built in the 1920s, the Temple has witnessed our district’s development from a rural village to the present modernised community with a population of over 400,000, the majority living in well-planned public housing estates,” he said.

Wong Tai Sin District Festival 2001, with the theme of Your Community, Your Home; Come Play a Part, would aim to attract both residents and visitors through a series of promotional and community programmes showcasing the District’s unique attractiveness, Mr Lam added.

Miss Tang said that the four-week District Festival, beginning on 16 December, would present more than 50 cultural and recreational programmes, including a spectacular parade at the opening ceremony; the “Sports” Chrysanthemum Exhibition and Wong Tai Sin Temple Historical Heritage Exhibition; and the Wong Tai Sin is My Home cultural carnival featuring Chinese traditional arts (please refer to attached details). Chi Lin Nunnery, meanwhile, would exhibit works of Hong Kong’s contemporary calligraphers and its precious collection of photographs of Mainland geological features.

“During the Festival, a large part of the district will be decorated with spectacular festive lighting,” Ms Tang continued. “This is designed to demonstrate Hong Kong’s brightness and energy, supporting the CLP Lights Up Hong Kong programme launched by the HKTB in early December. Wong Tai Sin District will indeed bring pleasant surprises to residents and visitors,” she promised.

Declaring the Tourism Commission’s full backing for the City of Life: Hong Kong is it! “Recommendation of the Month” programme, Mrs Chung said that it would not only attract more visitors by highlighting each district’s most wonderful attractions, events and festivals, but would also encourage Hong Kong residents to explore the different facets of the 18 districts, thus helping to encourage domestic tourism.

“The Tourism Commission is now planning a series of activities to promote domestic tourism, which has an important role in our tourism industry as a whole,” she noted. “In fact, the District Councils have long been organising events and programmes that showcase their district’s uniqueness. Their co-operation in linking them to this programme is of great help in adding momentum to the promotion of tourism.”

The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple has been chosen by the Home Affairs Department and Wong Tai Sin District Council as the District’s main featured attraction for the “Recommendation of the Month” promotion. It owes its construction to a sacred portrait of the deity Wong Tai Sin, brought from Guangdong to Hong Kong in the early 20th Century by Taoist priest Liang Ren-an.

A replica of “The Wall of Nine Dragons”, copied from the Imperial Palace in Beijing, adorns the Good Wish Garden that forms part of the temple. Other fixtures of great significance include an inscription inside the Main Altar which explains how Wong Tai Sin became an honoured immortal. The temple preaches three traditional religions – Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, devotees flock there in the hope of offering the “first incense”.

Coinciding with the “Recommendation of the Month” promotion, Sik Sik Yuen will celebrate its 80th anniversary with a “Sports” Chrysanthemum Exhibition and Wong Tai Sin Temple Historical Heritage Exhibition running from 1 to 21 December. Nearly 1,000 exhibits, featuring some 40 varieties of chrysanthemums, will turn the Wong Tai Sin Temple into the district’s “chrysanthemum garden”, enriching the Autumn festive ambience. The Chinese-style Good Wish Garden will feature a variety of spectacular floral models depicting Olympic sports events.

The Hall of the Singing Phoenix, meanwhile, will stage a heritage exhibition telling stories of Wong Tai Sin Temple and explaining its development.

Through its local and overseas publicity channels, the HKTB will widely promote Wong Tai Sin District’s featured attractions, as well as major events held in other districts in December. A specially designed City of Life: Hong Kong is it! arch will be set up by the HKTB at Plaza Hollywood, providing tourists and residents with excellent opportunities to take memorable snapshots of their visit.

In early December, the HKTB is hosting a familiarisation programme for some 200 travel trade top executives from all over the world. During their visit, the delegation will have the opportunity to enjoy a tea ceremony and Chinese orchestra performance at the Wong Tai Sin Temple while marvelling at the chrysanthemum exhibits.

The City of Life: Hong Kong is it! campaign is organised by the HKTB in co-operation with the Hong Kong SAR Government’s Home Affairs Department, Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Tourism Commission, with the support of the 18 District Councils and with The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust as Principal Sponsor.