Hong Kong

Nov. 7th – Nov. 8th: We had a “sea day” as we cruised from Kaohsiung Taiwan to Hong Kong; we arrived in port at 8:00 a.m. We last visited Hong Kong in 2020 but it was a stopover on our way to Vietnam so we didn’t tour. This time we used our remaining shipboard excursion credit to book a private car for a morning excursion.

There are over 8,000 skyscrapers dominating Hong Kong’s skyline and there is still more development underway in the downtown core. After the Hong Kong airport relocated from the downtown core in 1998, the Hong Kong government planned for urban development on the old airport site. Although years away from being finished, it will add many more skyscrapers to the downtown core.

**International Commerce Centre** – **118 floors**

Our first stop on our tour was Chi Lin Nunnery, a large Buddhist temple complex located in Diamond Hill, Kowloon. The Nunnery was founded in 1934 as a retreat for Buddhist nuns and was rebuilt in 1998 following the traditional Tang dynasty architecture.

There were beautiful lotus ponds in the nunnery gardens.

Next stops Man Mo Temple and a flower market. The Man Mo Temple was a place for worshipping Man Cheong, the god of literature and Mo referring to Kwan Yu, the god of war. Historically it was also where Chinese people discussed issues and resolved disputes. The temple is now a place of worship where people burn incense in hopes of attracting the god’s favour.

In the centre part of Man Mo Temple stands a golden deer which is **often associated with the Literature God Man Cheong**

We wandered through the flower market admiring the beautiful bouques.

Next stop was Victoria Peak. With an elevation of 552 metres (1,811 ft), it is the tallest hill on Hong Kong Island, and provides great views of the city and the waterfront.