The Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery

The Tian Tan Buddha is one of the few statues which represent Buddha in the world. Seated together with the Po Lin Monastery at Ong Ping in Lantau Island, this is a landmark which no tourists should miss. Weighing 220 tonnes, the statue is 26.4 metres high. It took over 10 years to complete and it was unveiled in 1993 amid deep religious ceremonies.

The Buddha is open everyday from 10:00a.m. to 5:45 pm. There are a number of ways to reach the Buddha:

- Take ferry from Central pier to Mui Wo (Silvermine Bay) and take Lantau Bus No. 2 to Po Lin

- Take MTR (Mass Transit Railway) to Tung Chung and take Lantau Bus No. 23 to Po Lin

- join local tour (The travelling time to the Buddha is quite long and would usually need more than half a day for the visit)

Where you arrived at Po Lin, you will need to walk up 268 steps to reach the Buddha statue. Inside the statue is a 3 storeyed 'museum':

- The 1st storey is a place of worship for some passed away people. You can also purchase souvenirs there.

- The 2nd storey is mainly consisted of painting about the Buddha. You'll be admired by the beauty of the painting, though you are not allowed to take photos or video of it.

- In the 3rd storey, don't forget to have a look of the celic. It is interesting that different people may see different colours of the celic. Some find it white, some say black, some say multi-colour.

After having visited the Buddha, you can also go down to the Po Lin Monastery where people pray and worship. You can also go to have the famous vegetarian meal there. I have tried it, and it's really delicious!

Want more information about the Buddha, please go to:

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/touring/hkiidistricts/ta_dist_isla1.jhtml