1 Wong Tai Sin Temple
Undoubtedly one of Hong Kong’s most famous places of worship, the Wong Tai Sin Temple is dedicated to its eponymous deity, or the Great Immortal Wong. It is well-known among locals for being the place to go to to get your wishes granted, so you can see why it has sustained such popularity even from its establishment in the 1920s.
Throughout its sprawling complex, the different buildings contain the five traditional Chinese elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. Most of its traditional architecture consists of golden roofs, red pillars, blue friezes, and yellow latticework, all decorated by elaborate carvings. The temple is also home to a Nine-Dragon Wall, modelled after the one in the Forbidden City in China.
When in Wong Tai Sin, one does not simply leave without engaging in the famous spiritual practice of kau chim (求籤; sacred oracle lottery). Commercialised and marketed in some Western countries as “Chinese fortune sticks” or “Chi Chi Sticks,” kau chim is actually an ancient religious practise dating back to the Jin dynasty (266 to 420 AD). Flat kau chim sticks are stored in a cylindrical bamboo holder—there are 100 altogether, all inscribed with different markings, each corresponding to an oracle outcome.
After making an incense offering, the fortune-seeker purifies the oracle implements by circling it around the incense burner three times and mixing the sticks by hand, then kneels before the altar and poses their question to the deity. The kau chim cylinder is held between both hands, angled away from your body, and is shaken while focusing on what you want answers to. One stick will fall out eventually—this is then taken to a temple priest or fortune teller who will interpret the poem that corresponds to the kau chim stick.
Wong Tai Sin Temple, 2 Chuk Yuen Road, Chuk Un | (+852) 2327 8141