Hong Shing Ancient Temple, Kau Sai Chau, Sai Kung

Hong Shing Ancient Temple, Kau Sai Chau, Sai Kung

Hong Shing Ancient Temple is located on Kau Sai Chau in Sai Kung, Hong Kong, and is a typical rural temple structure. As the residents of Kau Sai Village made their living from fishing, they pooled funds to build the temple to worship the sea deity Hong Shing for safety. The temple is a two-courtyard, three-bay building, with a decorative screen in the entrance hall. The main hall’s shrine enshrines Hong Shing, the God of Wealth, and the Water God.

According to villagers’ legends and inscriptions on the temple’s steles, Hong Shing Ancient Temple was built before 1889. It has always served as the community temple of Kau Sai Chau, not only providing fishermen with a place to pray for blessings and safety but also fulfilling a social function of uniting the local community. Every year during the birthday celebrations of Hong Shing, residents of Sai Kung hold large-scale festivities at the temple and the adjacent open space on Kau Sai Chau.

The most recent renovation of the temple was carried out in 1999 with funding support. The project aimed to restore the temple to its original appearance and was completed in 2000 under the supervision of the Antiquities and Monuments Office. With full support and active participation from local villagers, this restoration project was awarded the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation – Award of Merit for an Outstanding Project in 2000. Hong Shing Ancient Temple was declared a statutory monument on November 15, 2002.