Searching for the Temple

April 24: In Sha Tin, I look for the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas. A block away from the metro station, a paper sign points down the block. I walk farther. No more signs. So I turn where my map suggests that the temple is located. A massive tiled-entrance appears, looks like the gate to a temple.

Inside, I find pools of fish and turtles. Buddha statues abound. This must be the place, I think incorrectly. I wander the enormous hillside complex of shrines, statues, incense burners and burial walls. The facility is rapidly expanding, and a giant crane towers over the construction scene. I wander until women slide the burial-room doors clanging shut. The place is huge. Heading back down, I feel like this is not the temple I was looking for. I watch an escalator take elderly men and women down the steep hill. As I leave, I notice a sign that confirms my suspicion. Po Fuk Shan (寶 福 山,or Treasure Fortune Mountain).

It’s late, so I head back to Ap Lei Chau. When I show Joyce my photos, she’s surprised. “Three of my ancestors are buried there!” she says. This is where her mother went to sweep her family’s graves for the Clean and Clear Festival.

I will return to Sha Tin to find the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas, but I’m glad I visited the graveyard. Now I know what the final resting places look like after bodies finish their 6-year burials in Hong Kong’s crowded cemeteries.

If you visit the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas while in Hong Kong’s New Territories, take time to wander this graveyard as well. It’s an interesting place, so close to the metro.