Che Kung Temple packed with worshippers

Citizens flocked to Che Kung Temple in Tai Wai on the second day of the Lunar New Year, with most having one wish that the deity can help Hong Kong defeat the Covid pandemic and bring business back on track.

The Chinese Temples Committee said from 8am to noon, the temple has seen a total of 9,206 visitors. Worshippers have to line up and wait for their turn to enter the temple.

Citizens have to queue up to offer incense sticks to the deity, as well as to rotate windmills and to hit the drums. The windmills can help people change their luck, while the drumming can tell the deity about visitors' presence, it is believed.

A citizen who visited the temple this morning said there were more people at the temple this year compared to the previous year, and that people are much more happier with the city again reopened to the world.

A traveler from the mainland was seen dressed up as Sun Wukong, or Monkey King – a legendary character featured in the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West.

He said he has not been to Hong Kong in the past three years due to the border closure, adding that his wish for the new year is for the border control restrictions and the pandemic to end as soon as possible.

During Ming Dynasty (around 17th century), a pandemic broke out in the New Territories and caused massive deaths, especially in Sha Tin.

Villagers discovered that a general during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) helped stop an epidemic. They made a statue of the general and built his temple.

Che Kung Temple was rebuilt in 1890 and expanded in 1994.
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