Hong Kong Tour: Ngong Ping 360, Giant Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, Wisdom Path, Cable Car
Lantau Island hosts not only the Hong Kong International Airport, the carefully Feng Shui-planned Disneyland, and Citygate Outlets but also the tourism village of Ngong Ping, featuring the Tian Tan Buddha, popularly known as Giant Buddha, the Po Lin Monastery, The Wisdom Path, Tung Chung Fort and Lantau Peak.Tutubi hopped into a gondola of Ngong Ping Skyrail, an almost 4 mile long cable car, formerly called the Tung Chung cablecar that ferried the flightless Tutubi from Tung Chung to the village of Ngong Ping on the plateau.
View of Tung Chung Bay
Ngong Ping Village consists of coffee shops (touristy Starbucks included), restaurants, and souvenir shops.
According to the official site:
"Ngong Ping Village is set on a 1.5 hectare site on Lantau Island, adjacent to Ngong Ping Skyrail's Ngong Ping Terminal and the Tian Tan Buddha Statue.
This amazing cultural themed village has been architecturally designed and landscaped to reflect the cultural and spiritual integrity of the Ngong Ping area. It boasts several major attractions - Walking with Buddha, Monkey's Tale Theatre and the Ngong Ping Tea House - as well as a diverse array of retail, dining and entertainment experiences.
Walking with Buddha is an immersive, multimedia attraction allowing guests to follow the life of Siddhartha Gautama - the man who became Buddha - and his path to enlightenment. Here you will discover the origins of Buddhism and track its expansion across the globe. You will also be enlightened as to the essence of Buddha's teachings through a variety of themed scenes and activities."
the clearly visible footpath: the trail that leads to Ngong Ping with waterfalls for nature lovers to explore
the Tan Tian Buddha, known as Big Buddha, is the world's largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha statue, surrounded by a ring of Bodhisatvas offering various gifts
Bodhisatvas offering various gifts to Lord Buddha
A giant arch welcomes all visitors to Po Lin Monastery (寶蓮禪寺, Literally "Precious Lotus Zen Temple) founded in 1906 with various images of Buddha and scripts on display.
It is here at Po Lin where the Buddha Bathing Festival is celebrated annually by bathing ritual performed even by visitors during Buddha's birthday in May.
Nearby Po Lin is a trail that leads to the Wisdom Path, where the Mahayana Buddhism's Heart Sutra is inscribed on wooden poles.
The poles are arranged seemingly in a figure of eight or Mobius strip to signify infinity.
One of the wooden poles of the Wisdom Path. Unfortunately, Tutubi can't read Chinese; can only recognize a few Kanji characters though
the path goes uphill up to Lantau Peak, the second highest peak in Hong Kong, great for mountaineers and trekkers, and the ancient Tung Chung Fort.
Tutubi didn't trek all the way up to the Peak due to an imminent rain threatening to fall.
Ngong Ping Skyrail is slower than the Genting Skyway cablecar in Malaysia, and not recommended for the faint-hearted.
Note: The cable system is currently suspended indefinitely due to a recent incident where an empty gondola fell.
How to get to Ngong Ping:
Commute via MTR: take the Tsuen Wan line and alight at Tung Chung, the end of the railway in Lantau then get your tickets for the Ngong Ping Skyrail.
for those with acrophobia, you may take a 45 minute bus ride New Lantau Bus NLB no 23
Alternatively, you may board a ferry at Central to Mui Wo (Sivermine Bay) and take the #2 bus to take you there.
Access to Ngong Ping village is free (no entrance fee). For other pricing and packages, click here for the official prices.
posted by GingGoy @ 9:38 PM,
19 Comments:
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At Sep 26, 2007, 9:01:00 PM,
said...
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Ngong Ping looked like a nice and serene place to visit.
(: -
At Sep 26, 2007, 9:32:00 PM,
said...
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na feature ito sa tv noon at gusto kong puntahan ito sa Hongkong, sana balak araw makita k rin ito ng personal... maganda siguro yung mga poles, malalaki
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At Sep 27, 2007, 2:57:00 AM,
Photo Cache said...
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my husband loves this place. i wish i could go someday.
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At Sep 27, 2007, 6:03:00 AM,
carlotta1924 said...
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ang ganda nung place, ganda rin ng mga pics =) nga pala, member nako ng explorephilippines. thanks for the info about the other one, will check it out =)
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At Sep 27, 2007, 9:30:00 AM,
Sidney said...
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You saw it all! Now I need to go back to HK and look it up for myself!
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At Sep 27, 2007, 1:25:00 PM,
said...
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kyels. it's a nice place indeed. it's one place i'd love to return to someday
iskoo, those poles are really big that's why i included those people in the picture to add scale :)
photo cache, visit it. no regrets
carlotta, yep. masaya yung isa sa mga tipid tips ng food trips
sidney, not actually all. i skipped others. i have 2 more posts about Hong Kong before I return to the Philippines. btw, street photography is hard in HK, people are not used to smiling and get angry if you try to take pictures of them. a cultural thing, I guess. -
At Sep 27, 2007, 6:09:00 PM,
said...
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The Bhudda statue is really enormous...It should be a sight to be visited for any serious tourist on this side of the globe.
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At Sep 28, 2007, 12:58:00 AM,
Mari said...
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Wow!!! This is a really nice place to visit...that is if ever I happen to be on that side of the globe.
Thanks for the nice photos. -
At Sep 28, 2007, 5:15:00 PM,
pieterbie said...
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Wow, this really looks like a unique site!
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At Sep 29, 2007, 6:33:00 AM,
Rochelle said...
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Wow. These are great pics! I always feel so educated when I come to your blog!!
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At Sep 30, 2007, 3:07:00 PM,
sadako said...
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wow this is my first time to see a huge image of buddha. Do people have to climb the hill by feet or is there any escalators available going up?
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At Sep 30, 2007, 6:23:00 PM,
said...
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Ang ganda! Parang ang srap kumuha ng picture dun sa Wisdom path. Must visit itong place if ever I stop by HK
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At Oct 1, 2007, 3:42:00 PM,
said...
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major tom, it's huge. magbabakal here can't have all of it :)
mari, nice place near the philippines really. i know i'll be back there someday
pieterbie, unique it is!
rochelle, consider also touring your own, for now, i'll tour you virtually
bluepanjeet, no other way up but through the 268 steps
ferdz, next time, i'll trek up to the peak of Lantau for a magnificent view of the Buddha and Wisdom path -
At Oct 14, 2007, 3:17:00 PM,
said...
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Hi! Me and my family are going to HongKong next week during the sembreak. I'm researchig on the places that we should visit and your blog has given a lot of awesome info. Thanks! I'm interested in visiting Ngong Ping but I'm worried that the guided tour mentioned in their website might be a rip off. Is it easy to go around Ngong Ping even without a tour guide? And can you also give more info on commuting around Hong Kong? Thanks!
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At Oct 15, 2007, 10:28:00 AM,
said...
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hi kat,
i have many Hong kong posts here if you found them all. i'm thinking of doing a hong kong travel tips post similat to what i did for my singpore series.
commuting in HK is easy, at the airport get hold of all those brochures and maps then buy octopus cards. the trains called MTR are very efficient, while buses, have adesignated routes. the trams on HK island are the cheapest.
you don't need a guide in Ngong Ping. they have maps also -
At Oct 17, 2007, 8:09:00 PM,
said...
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Thanks Tutubi! I love your blog kasi it's not the typical travel blog na walang mashadong sense. I specially liked that you looked for Rizal's former clinic. I think that's really cool! I have one last question though, How long would it take us to go around ngong ping? Do we really have to alot an entire day for it? Sorry, I have lots of questions, I'm just really excited about going.
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At Oct 18, 2007, 9:46:00 AM,
said...
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kat,
ngong ping can be toured for a half-day. I suggest going there in the morning, then go for the shopping at Citygate, they're in the same MTR station. the MTR from Central to Tung Chung is around HK$25 in the Tsuen Wan line, where you need to transfer trains (get the HK map at the airport, there you'll know the MTR interchanges)...
ok, you got me, I'll post my HK travel tips today or the tomorrow the latest :) -
At Jun 20, 2010, 11:56:00 PM,
said...
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hi, my friend and i are planning a trip to hongkong this november and i'm afraid the package tours are just rip offs.so is it advisable for us to just fly there and rely on maps to get around the city and can you suggest a place to stay if ever.thanx...
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At Jun 21, 2010, 9:38:00 AM,
GingGoy said...
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anonymous, that's what i did. read my other posts on backpacking hong kong and see that it's cheaper and more fulfilling to go around on your own, take MTR, walk around with a map...it's a nice place to explore without the guides
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