Guan Gong’s Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion in Cheung Chau

Guan Gong’s Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion in Cheung Chau

Guan Gong’s Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion in Cheung Chau is a Guan Yu temple in Hong Kong, located on a mountain in the southern part of Cheung Chau, New Territories. It is called a “pavilion” rather than a “temple” because of its pavilion-like architectural appearance. The site is also famous for being home to Hong Kong’s only cherry blossom grove. Guan Gong’s Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion is a pavilion-shaped building, entirely painted red with blue-glazed tiles on the roof. In front of the pavilion there is an incense burner and a couplet that reads: “Loyal as the sun and moon, righteous as the heavens; dedicated to the Spring and Autumn Annals, meritorious to the Han.” The Guan Yu statue enshrined inside the pavilion stands 8 feet tall and is carved from a single piece of camphor wood.

There was originally a Guan Yu temple on the mountain in the southern part of Cheung Chau, but it fell into disrepair over time. As a result, local residents raised funds to build Guan Gong’s Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion to replace it. The new pavilion was completed and opened in 1973. In 1975, He Bingzhao, chairman of the managing committee of Guan Gong’s Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion in Cheung Chau, introduced 35 mountain cherry trees from Taiwan and planted them on both sides of the pavilion, turning the area into a cherry blossom grove. By the 2000s, about a dozen cherry trees remained at the site.

History

The story of Guan Gong Pavilion actually stems from a small anecdote during the 1960s and 1970s when a group of patriotic organizations from Cheung Chau traveled to Taiwan every year to celebrate Double Ten National Day with fellow Chinese compatriots. On one occasion, while visiting Taichung—perhaps it was Hualien—they paid respects at a Guan Yu temple. The temple’s abbot spoke with the head of the Cheung Chau delegation and asked whether there was a Guan Yu temple on Cheung Chau for people to worship. The head replied no. The abbot then mentioned that there was a large statue of Guan Yu in his temple that could be given to the delegation to take back to Cheung Chau for building a temple. The head agreed, and the statue was promptly packaged and shipped to Hong Kong by boat. The Guan Yu statue was temporarily stored in the warehouse of a restaurant in Cheung Chau.

After returning to Cheung Chau, the head immediately began to raise funds and find land for the temple. At the time, the chairman of the Cheung Chau Rural Committee represented the group in negotiating with the government for a plot of land. Eventually, the government agreed to allocate part of the then-unused Cheung Chau weather station for the construction. This patriotic group still needed to raise funds. A textile merchant donated materials originally intended for building his own villa. Raising funds wasn’t an issue because Guan Yu is a deity revered by both the law-abiding and underworld communities. Both groups competed to donate money. Today, in every corner of Guan Gong Pavilion, you can see the names of those who contributed to building the temple.

As for the debate between calling it a temple or a pavilion, aside from the architectural choice, it is said that adopting the title “pavilion” helped avoid involvement or control by the Chinese Temples Committee. Therefore, they established the Managing Committee of Guan Gong’s Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion in Cheung Chau, with the address being upstairs from the first chairman’s tea restaurant.

Transportation Guide

Location: No. 28, Kwun Yam Wan Road, Cheung Chau, Islands District, Hong Kong.

How to get there: Take a ferry from Central Pier 5 to Cheung Chau, with a journey time of approximately 35 to 60 minutes. Upon arrival, walk straight along Dong Wan Road, then turn right onto Police Path, and walk uphill for about 8 minutes.