Cultural facelift plan will revitalise the Sheung Wan site and boost tourism
Man Mo Temple and the surrounding area in Sheung Wan will become a 'cultural terrace' to boost tourism in an Urban Renewal Authority revitalisation plan.
The project will turn the 150-year-old temple on Hollywood Road into the centre of a vibrant Chinese cultural scene in Sheung Wan, said Stephen Ng Chin-ming, district development director of the authority.
It will also be linked with neighbouring historical sites - such as the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences on Caine Road and a planned memorial square on Bridges Street to commemorate the father of modern China, Sun Yat-sen - to form a cultural tourism trail.
'During Chinese New Year Man Mo Temple is so busy with local visitors praying for good luck that one finds it almost impossible to squeeze in. However, the surrounding space has not been made the best use of to bring the temple more alive and make it attractive to overseas visitors,' said Mr Ng.
'We have consulted tourism groups and learnt that travellers from Europe, the US and Japan have begun to return to Hong Kong. But there is a serious lack of tourist spots on Hong Kong Island.'
The Taoist temple was dedicated to two of the most worshipped gods in ancient China - Man Cheung, god of literature, and Kwan Yu, god of martial valour. Locals pray to the deities in the hope that their children will inherit the wisdom of Man Cheung and the strength of Kwan Yu.