In Hong Kong, there are dozens of different gods from Buddhism, Taoism and from Confusious. There is the god of honor and slayer of demons, Guan Yu (關羽) There is the Taoist god of fortune, Wang Tai Sin (黃大仙). The goddess of mercy, Guanyin (觀音). But the Goddess of the Sea, Tin Hau (天后) the most important since Hong Kong has water on all sides.
There are over 100 temples dedicated to her throughout the territory. Some small and quaint while others are huge and beautiful. They play an important part in Hong Kong’s cultural past and present. They are a place to pray and a way to preserve the way life was. Earlier this month (May 8, 2018) was her birthday. To celebrate: there were festivals all over the city with parades, lion and dragon dances, marching bands, floats. Outside of each temple, there were colorful flower plaques to mark the celebrations at each temple even those dedicated to the other gods.
Tin Hau is not from here but from off the coast of Fujian Province in China closer to Taiwan. She came here through the mass migration of those making their living off the sea during the Song Dynasty (960–1279). When they arrived to fish and build a future, they set up temples and shrines around the sea. Those simple shrines grew into the temples we see today.
A lot of them survive today but may not be around the sea. The Tin Hau Temple in Ya Mai Tai is no where near water because of the need for more land from the sea. The temple is said to be set up around 1864 after it moved from Kwun Chung Market area. For a while, the buildings around the temple were used as a school to help the locals and boat people.
Today the temple is a quiet oasis away from the busy shopping streets of Nathan Road as well as the night markets along Temple Street.
