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Bucket list experience:

Last updated: 06 November, 2022
Expert travel writer: Lee Cobaj

Set against a backdrop of high-rises and swathed in incense smoke, this is one of Hong Kong’s largest Taoist temples.

Named after Wong Tai Sin (a mythical shepherd boy with the power of healing), devotees flock here at Lunar New Year, but it’s popular the rest of the year as well, mostly for the ranks of fortune-tellers lined up outside.

Behind the temple are some attractive gardens – a miniature copy of Beijing’s Summer Palace – with colourful pavilions, fish ponds and waterfalls.

Don't miss

The tradition of ‘kau cim’, or fortune telling, involves lighting incense sticks and making a wish before the main altar, before shaking a cylinder of fortune sticks until one stick falls to the ground.

Each stick is numbered and can be exchanged for a piece of paper representing one of a hundred ancient oracles. The piece of paper can then be taken to one of the temple fortune tellers who will interpret the oracle for you.

Price: Free
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 13+
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

To get to the temple take the MTR to Wong Tai Sin station and follow the signs.

When to do it

The temple is accessible all year round, seven days a week. The quietest time to visit is mid-week; at religious festivals and over the Christmas and New Year period is gets incredibly crowded – but it’s also at its most atmospheric.

Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

Eaton Hotel

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Fashionable, socially aware four-star hotel near Temple Street Night Market, with plenty of facilities and a buzzing bar.

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Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong

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One of the tallest hotels in the world, oozing opulence and luxury. This is the place to come for jaw-dropping views at every turn – and some of the city’s best cooking.

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A youthful design hotel with regal harbour views, a refreshing lack of attitude and a fantastic, harbour-facing rooftop pool.

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The Peninsula Hong Kong

Hong Kong, China[5.7 miles]

Hong Kong’s oldest and grandest hotel offers palatial surrounds, superlative service and some of the most enviable harbour views in the city.

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