This Buddha is big. Really big. He stands 34m on top of a hill at Ngong Ping and can be seen for miles around. We get our first glimpses from across the hills as we (finally!) approach Ngong Ping on the cable car. It has been a long morning building up to this moment.
We left the apartment in Causeway Bay at a reasonable 9am. I had planned on catching the ferry over but we ended up on the train to Tung Chung instead. It seemed alright at first – the train not too busy, the cable car station easy to find, almost as easy as sourcing coffee as we emerge from the train station at Tung Chung. The line for the cable car tickets seems more or less reasonable (about 40 mins) and it keeps moving which we take as a good sign. Then with tickets in hand we round the corner and our jaws drop – the queue is at least another hour long.
So, as we finally glide above the tree tops of Lantau Island, known as the lungs of Hong Kong, with the Big Buddha in our sights as we squint into the sun, I smile to myself. It seems the wait was worth it.
The exit from the cable car is a non-event compared to the line up below. I silently kick myself for not sticking to the original (reverse plan).
Ngong Ping is a pretty tourist village made up of shops and restaurants along a stretch that prettily funnels tourists towards the two main sights – the Tian Tan (Big) Buddha and the Po Lin Monestary.
Named Tian Tan after the fact that the base Buddha sits on is fashioned like the Tian Tan Earthly Mound (Altar of Heaven) in Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, the bronze Buddha, completed in 1993 is positioned on a three tiered platform, sitting on a lotus flower. The right hand is raised to represent the removal of affliction, the left hand rests open representing generosity.
He is flanked by six (comparatively) smaller bronze statues, their offerings representing the six perfections necessary for enlightenment – generosity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation and wisdom.
We approach from the village and Ngong Ping Piazza encountering some of the local sacred cows that roam free from the Po Lin Monastery nearby. After having a look at the mound in the piazza, we set off up the 268 steps to the top where there Buddha rests.
It is a reverent climb. Many stop on the stairs to bow and pray and there is a hushed level of expectation as we approach the top. As we get nearer I can hear chanting and, reaching the base, I dodge a few people kowtowing to watch as the chanting procession makes its way inside the monument.
We take a moment to catch our breath. The sun is warm but the breeze up here keeps the temperature down, it is winter after all. We take in the enormous figure, blocking the midday sun and the surrounding statues. We climb the first level of the mound and take in both the sweeping views and the detail of the structure.
We enter the hushed space inside where it is requested that no photos are taken, this is a memorial after all. The outer walls are lined with plaques all marked in Chinese characters. I can’t read them but it doesn’t take me long to figure out the meaning. There are a few with photos but not many. The inner walls contain cabinets with idols and other displays – silks, documents and photos. There are a few items in English explaining construction but that’s it. For a fee you can walk the central spiral staircase and come out on the third mound under the lotus flower outside. I get the feeling this is more of a spiritual, rather than tourist, exercise and Harley and I return to the shadow of Buddha for a snack while we wait for Jason and Jasper to return from their discoveries.
We descend once again via the 268 stairs back to the piazza and walk over to the Po Lin Monastery, a Buddhist monastery founded in 1906. The main sight today is the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas. There is also a vegetarian restaurant (cafe) here which seems to do a very good trade from the visiting public.
The complex itself is small but the temple and a couple of other, smaller buildings appear painted and well kept. The colors on the buildings are vibrant and the stone and marble carvings around the complex remind me of larger attractions in mainland China such as the Temple Of Heaven and Summer Palace where similar carvings and paintings adorn the buildings.
After a bite to eat from the casual cafe sitting out in the beautiful clean mountain air we make our way back past the sacred cows, through the piazza and join the line at the nearby bus station to visit Tai O, a nearby fishing village that both surprises and delights.
Good To Know
The Ngong Ping cable car station is organized chaos. If the whole process could be made more efficient, I have no doubt that the Hong Kongers in charge would achieve this. However, as it stands, there are a fixed number of cable cars and they travel at a fixed speed. Demand seems to alarmingly outstrip supply and the only remaining solution is to wait. Be prepared to wait, first in a ticket line and then in the line for the actual cable cars. The crystal cabins are more expensive, the line may be marginally shorter. If you want to lessen your waiting time, try one (or a combination of) the following:
- Get there early (really early!)
- Book tickets online
- Book a tour (if booking at the ticket counter be sure to ask how long you will have to wait, many tours require minimum numbers)
- Catch a local bus or taxi up to Ngong Ping and save the cable car for the return journey to Tung Chung
- Do the tour in reverse, catching the ferry to Mi Wu on Lantau (from Central Pier 6?), local bus to Tai O and onto Ngong Ping, return via cable car to Ngong Ping
We also made the mistake of buying a pricey return cable car ticket. After purchase we were advised that the last cable car of the day departs Ngong Ping at 6pm. Stick with the single ticket unless you are certain that you will do the return trip as there are many cheaper alternatives.
Would I Return?
No. Although I wouldn’t make a special effort to return to see the Big Buddha I would certainly return to Lantau Island. Apart from the day tourist hot spots, Lantau remains one of the most untouched parts of Hong Kong.
Some of the smaller villages would be a great place to park yourself for a few days to take a break from the fast paced streets of the neon lit city and return to a more natural form of beauty. This relaxed lifestyle must be at odds with the lure of city life and given the rapid changes of the last 20 years, villages like Tai O could all but disappear in as many years again. Either that or they’ll be kept alive as a tourist village only, one that remains open to showcase a past way of life.
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