Ping Shan Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda

Ping Shan Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda

Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda, also known as Kui Star Pagoda or Man Cheong Pavilion, locally referred to as the Literary Tower, is located north of Sheung Cheung Wai in Ping Shan, Yuen Long, New Territories, Hong Kong. Originally built as a feng shui tower for the Tang clan, one of the Five Great Clans of the New Territories, it is the only ancient pagoda still standing in Hong Kong today, boasting a history of over 600 years. The nearby light rail station is just a few dozen meters from the pagoda. The pagoda stands on what was originally an estuary, facing Deep Bay. It was constructed to “ward off northern calamities and suppress floods,” and together with the feng shui of Castle Peak, it was believed to help clan members achieve academic success in imperial examinations.

Originally seven stories tall, the upper four levels collapsed during a typhoon due to weathering, leaving only the current three. The hexagonal pagoda is built atop a low platform, primarily constructed from blue bricks and granite. The three-story Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda stands approximately 13 meters high, with the top level enshrining Kui Xing, the deity governing literary fortune and academic success. Each level of the pagoda features auspicious inscriptions, reading from top to bottom: “Soaring to the Heavens,” “Tsui Sing Lau,” and “Light Piercing the Dipper’s Wall.”

According to local Tang clan elders, when the village was first established, a feng shui master pointed out that its mountainous surroundings and surrounding waters would ensure the prosperity and continuity of descendants for a thousand years. However, there were two flaws: first, Castle Peak was tall and sharp, representing excessive fire — an element to be balanced with more water; second, there was a gap in the northwest, allowing northern calamities to harm the people. In the future, when Tang clan members rose to official ranks, there would be ways to counteract these calamities. But when asked what “officials rising to power” meant, the feng shui master simply replied, “The heavens do not reveal all.”

In the 15th year of the Hongwu reign during the Ming Dynasty (1382), Deng Yan Tong, the seventh-generation ancestor of the Ping Shan Tang clan and the Prefect of Ningguo Prefecture, was enfeoffed. On the first night of taking office, he dreamed of a sky full of brilliant stars over the northwest corner of his hometown, only for the stars to suddenly fall and gather at the estuary in the northwest. Startled awake, Deng Yan Tong recalled the words of the feng shui master from the village’s founding. Reflecting on the fact that although seven generations had passed since the clan’s first ancestor, there were only 12 male descendants, four of whom had died young. Troubled by this, Deng Yan Tong hired a feng shui master to find a solution to ward off the calamities. The master said, “The founder of your village indeed possessed extraordinary knowledge. When you ascended the hall and the stars gathered, it was a sign to build a tower to gather them. By harnessing the power of the stars, you will command overwhelming might to subdue the northern disasters. But having a writing brush without someone skilled to wield it is useless!” Deng Yan Tong suddenly understood and thus built a seven-story pagoda (a Buddhist stupa), enshrining various deities of literature and martial arts to ward off northern calamities and suppress floods. Indeed, in the seven generations following Deng Yan Tong, the clan saw the birth of 22 male descendants, ten of whom established their own walled villages. Several became longevity officials, two built ancestral halls, some lived to over eighty or ninety years old, and the Tang clan in Ping Shan grew to over 1,500 males. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Tang clan produced many talented individuals who excelled in imperial examinations, with countless scholars and officials. The clan believed this was due to the blessing of the God of Literature enshrined in the pagoda, hence they also called it the “Literary Tower.”

Transportation Guide

Location: Ping Ha Road, Ping Shan, Yuen Long District, Hong Kong

Getting There: Take Citybus routes 969B, 969, N969; KMB routes 264M, 265S, 269B, 269C, 269D, 276A, 69M, 69X, 869, N269; or Long Win Bus route E34.