Tian Tan Buddha

Buddhist monks settled on the Ngong Ping highlands in 1906, building a modest retreat first known as the Big Hut. It was later renamed Po Lin, meaning Precious Lotus, and in 1918 the Chi Chuk Lam nunnery joined it. Over the following decades smaller temples and hermitages gathered around it, and an annual week-long meditation retreat has been held here since 1935.

The Tian Tan Buddha was the work of many years and was completed on 29 December 1993, a date the Chinese Buddhist calendar marks as the day of the Buddha's enlightenment. The figure was assembled from more than 200 bronze sections over an internal steel frame and weighs around 250 tonnes. Six smaller bronze devas kneel around it, each presenting an offering that symbolises one of the Six Perfections of Buddhist practice.

Ngong Ping remains a working religious centre. Monks and lay devotees attend daily services at Po Lin, and families come to pray and make offerings, especially on Buddhist festivals. The monastery's vegetarian kitchen reflects the Buddhist principle of compassion towards living beings, and visitors are welcomed as long as they respect the calm of the halls.