Ngong Ping Cable Car
Our flight back was late in the evening and after having checked out of our Airbnb apartment during our first stay in Hong Kong we had the problem of working out what do with our luggage (one of the few downsides of renting through Airbnb). Chris had the idea that if we took the metro back to the airport we could store the luggage there at the left luggage facility and then take the option of going back one stop to Tung Chun Station to explore Lantau island. Once there we bought tickets for the Ngong Ping cable car that would take us across the bay up into the mountains of Lantau Island. The main attraction at the top is the Big Tian Tan Buddha statue, which is part of the Po Lin Monastery.
The Ride on the Cable Car
There were only a few other people in front of us on the queue before we boarded one of the capsules of the cable cars, although I am sure it can get busy at times. We had a capsule completely to ourselves and we whizzed up into the air. At first we could see the airport, planes were constantly taking off and landing on the runways built on reclaimed land, over the Chinese Sea. The cable car then made a left turn and we were up across the water of the bay and slowly approached the steep hillside of the Island. Underneath we could see some hiking tracks and a few houses and shacks but no people. Then we were over the lush green forest, climbing higher and higher. After another hill had passed, we could suddenly see the statue of the Buddha through the thin mist. It looked like it was floating above the surrounding countryside – what a beautiful sight! The Buddha statue increased in size the closer we got to our final stop, Ngong Ping Village.
Ngong Ping Village
On exiting the cable car station we found Ngong Ping village to be more like a purpose built shopping and dining destination, than an authentic place where people would live. The “fake” shops and restaurants were of no interest to us and we quickly walked past them, heading towards the Buddha statue. On the roadside were lots of dogs lazying in the afternoon sun, Jerome was a bit wary of them at first as he is mostly terrified of dogs, but they did not seem to interested in any of the people walking by. The path to the Big Buddha was flanked on both sides by statues of the Twelve Divine Generals. Each of the Twelve Divine Generals that guard the main statue symbolise a different animal from the Chinese Zodiac, each is also armed with a particular weapon, and represents two distinct hours of the day. Jerome was seeking his favourite, the Dragon.
The Tian Tan Buddha Statue
At the bottom of the staircase leading up to the Tian Tan Buddha statue, we were aware for the first time, just how massive the statue really is. We started to ascend the 268 steps and the closer we got the more it grew in size, in fact it is the largest outside Buddha statue in the world. At the top of the pedestal we stopped to take in the 34m high bronze figure on a lotus throne, it faces north to protect all Chinese people, before taking in the surrounding view. We could see the higher peaks of the Lantau mountains surrounding us, and the Po Ling Monastery below, home to the most important Buddhist sanctum in Hong Kong. In the other direction we could just about make out the sea in the haze and the outlying islands like Lamma and Cheung Chau.
Statues of Bodhisattvas
Next to the staircase where we had ascended were Six Statues of Bodhisattvas, three on each side, then inside the pedestal of the statue we found a small museum filled with paintings and details of the Buddha’s scriptures and articles about his life and teachings. Once we had circled the statue we descended the stairs again and instead of heading straight back to Ngong Ping Village we walked along a road signposted towards the Wisdom Path.
Into the Woods
The road wandered around the grounds of the monastery. We passed some abandoned houses and closed restaurants that looked like they might never open again. Nature had already taken over parts of the buildings and it seemed like not many people ventured into the woods. We enjoyed our little venture away from the tourists and Jerome was happy to run along the empty paths.
The Wisdom Path
After a short walk we stumbled onto the Wisdom Path, an installation of a series of wooden posts, arranged in a figure of 8, which are engraved with sutras, Buddhist prayers. The posts were on a little hill, from which we had a closer view of the mountain in front and we could see the hiking paths going up and a long the mountainside. Sadly we did not have enough time to venture any further along either of these hiking paths but we made a mental note that we would plan a proper hike on one of them when we might return to Hong Kong
Heading to the Airport
After our stroll and exploration of the Wisdom Path we walked back to Ngong Ping Village and boarded the cable car back to Tung Chung station heading for the airport, having enjoyed our last day exploring in Hong Kong.
Great post.
Your Budha pictures are incredible – they really show how huge it is!! Really enjoyed your Hong Kong posts – a place we’ve never visited but would love to some day.
Oh my gosh, the picture of the Buddha with the sun rays… terrific! I feel like I walked up those steps myself and seeing the statue looming overhead.
What a great spot – when I was there a couple years ago, mists prevented me from taking any decent photos. It definitely gave the whole place a mysterious feel, however. Your photos are great.
Thank you for stopping by. We had our fair dose of mist on the holiday and it definitely can add to the atmosphere.
The outline of the statue in the distance is so cool! Great photos!
Thank you. I am pleased to hear you enjoyed the photos.
Fantastic blog post! The photos are amazing particularly the silhouette of the big buddha through the trees! Thanks for sharing 🙂
You had better weather when you visited the place, the last we were there was during Chinese New Year and it rained. Too cloudy and even the Big Buddha, we were able to take photos when we were very near.
Ah that’s a shame. I hope you will get the opportunity to visit again sometime.
I took exactly this sam trip when I was in Hong Kong, and have very similar photographs from my trip to Lantau (but I must say, not as accomplished by any means). Thank you for reminding me of a fantastic journey 🙂
Thank you but I’m sure your photos must be great too
Nice Article… thanks for sharing this…
Thank you! Have you been to see the Buddha?