Tin Hau Temple - Hong Kong

Hong Kong is filled with skyscrapers, shopping centres and crowded streets. Yet, every now and then, an old Chinese temple appears between these modern buildings and takes us back to a very different Hong Kong.

Tin Hau Temple at Causeway Bay is one such place.

It is located at 10 Tin Hau Temple Road, east of Victoria Park, in an area that is today itself known as Tin Hau. In fact, the temple became important enough for the neighbourhood and the nearby MTR station to take its name.

The surroundings have changed beyond recognition, but the temple continues to preserve an older connection between Hong Kong and the sea.

Who is Tin Hau?

Tin Hau, also known as Mazu, is the Chinese Goddess of the Sea and is especially revered by fishermen and seafaring communities.

This explains why temples dedicated to her are found in many coastal locations across Hong Kong. Before reclamation changed the coastline, several of these shrines stood much closer to the sea than they do today.

The Causeway Bay temple is one of the oldest surviving Tin Hau temples on Hong Kong Island.

The Story Behind the Temple

The exact year in which the temple was founded is uncertain.

According to local tradition, members of the Tai clan found a red stone shaped like an incense burner on the shore at Causeway Bay. Believing that it had been sent by Tin Hau, they initially built a small shrine to house it.

The shrine gradually became popular among the boat people living and working around the bay. The Tai clan subsequently raised money and constructed a proper temple at the site.

One of the oldest surviving objects inside is a bell cast in 1747 during the reign of the Qing emperor Qianlong. The date on this bell is sometimes quoted as the construction date of the temple, but the official heritage record is more cautious and states that the actual founding year is uncertain.

The entrance plaque and accompanying couplets date from 1868, when the temple underwent renovation.

This distinction is important. We know that the shrine existed by the mid-eighteenth century, but it is safer not to assign 1747 as the exact construction year.

From the Seashore to the Middle of the City

There is another detail that changes the way we look at this temple.

Today, Tin Hau Temple stands surrounded by roads and tall buildings. It does not look like a shrine connected with fishermen or the sea.

That was not always the case.

When the temple developed, the coastline was much closer. Subsequent reclamation pushed the sea farther away and transformed the surrounding landscape.

Knowing this makes its location far more interesting. Tin Hau has not moved away from the sea; Hong Kong has effectively grown outward around her.

Look Up at the Roof

The temple is not very large, but the exterior deserves more than a quick glance.

The roof ridges are among its most interesting features.

On the front ridge are two dragons competing for a pearl, accompanied by geometric designs and dragon-fish figures at the ends. Such colourful roof decoration is typical of southern Chinese temple architecture, where the space above the visitor can carry almost as much narrative detail as the walls below.

The rear ridge is even more elaborate. It contains Shiwan ceramic figurines depicting scenes from traditional Chinese opera.

Shiwan, in Guangdong, became famous for ceramic sculpture. On temple roofs, small figures of warriors, officials and other characters were arranged into complex narrative groups. From ground level they may initially appear to be merely colourful decoration, but a closer look reveals individual figures and scenes.

Some of the temple's decorative work also uses the cut-and-paste technique, where fragments of coloured ceramic are assembled into figures and ornamental designs. The Antiquities and Monuments Office notes that examples of this work surviving here are rare in Hong Kong.

The Entrance

The stonework around the entrance is another feature worth observing.

The doorway is framed by carved stone elements and Chinese inscriptions, while the plaque above announces the building as the ancient Tin Hau Temple.

Stone lions, old plaques, couplets and an incense burner are among the Qing-period objects preserved within the temple.

This is why the building should not be looked at merely as another small neighbourhood shrine. Individual architectural details and movable objects together preserve different stages in its history.

Inside the Temple

Architecturally, Tin Hau Temple follows a two-hall arrangement with two side halls.

The main altar is naturally dedicated to Tin Hau.

The interior is dark compared with the bright street outside. Red and gold dominate the shrine spaces, while incense burners, hanging lamps, offerings and religious objects fill much of the visual field.

Large incense coils hanging overhead are a familiar feature of traditional Chinese temples in Hong Kong. They slowly burn for long periods, filling the interior with incense smoke.

Apart from Tin Hau, the temple contains altars dedicated to other Chinese deities.

Pau Kung and the God of Wealth

One of the altars is dedicated to the God of Wealth.

Another is dedicated to Pau Kung, better known as Bao Zheng or Judge Bao.

Bao Zheng was a historical official of the Song dynasty who became celebrated in later Chinese tradition as an exceptionally honest and impartial judge. Over time, he became almost a supernatural symbol of justice.

He is commonly represented with a dark or black face, making his image easy to distinguish inside the temple.

Finding Tin Hau, the God of Wealth and Judge Bao within the same temple also reminds us that a traditional Chinese temple need not function like a Hindu temple centred entirely around one presiding deity and a fixed set of subsidiary shrines. Different religious figures and popular traditions can occupy the same sacred space.

A Protected Monument

Tin Hau Temple was declared a monument by the Hong Kong Government in 1982.

That protection is understandable.

The temple preserves Qing-period relics, stone carvings, historic inscriptions, ceramic roof sculptures and rare decorative work, while the building itself records the history of a community that once lived beside the sea at Causeway Bay.

It also survives in a location that has changed dramatically around it.

An Old Temple in Modern Hong Kong

What makes Tin Hau Temple particularly interesting today is this contrast.

Outside are high-rise buildings, traffic and one of the busiest parts of Hong Kong Island. Inside is a temple whose history reaches back to the eighteenth century and to a time when fishermen and boat dwellers came here to seek the protection of the Goddess of the Sea.

Even the sea that gave the temple its purpose is no longer beside it.

That is perhaps the detail worth remembering when visiting Tin Hau Temple. Do not look at it only as a colourful Chinese shrine. Look at the modern city surrounding it and imagine the coastline that once came much closer to these walls.

If you are interested in Hong Kong's traditional Chinese temples, you can also read my articles on Man Mo Temple and the Tin Hau Temple near Temple Street. Each one presents a different side of the city's old religious landscape.

Happy travelling.