Che Kung Temple's HK$20m facelift completed
Upgrade of popular shrine devoted to Southern Song military leader concluded after five years
A well-loved local god has been honoured with a HK$20 million upgrade to his New Territories home.
The facelift for the Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin, which began in 2007, is now complete. It is the first alteration since the current structure was erected in 1993.
Che Kung, or General Che, was a military commander of the Southern Song dynasty (AD1127 to 1279), whose power of suppressing uprisings and plagues made him a household name. His achievements led to him becoming revered as a god.
The first temple on this site is believed to have been built during the period of the dynastic change between Ming and Qing, around the mid-1600s, in a desperate move to stop an epidemic that was spreading across the Sha Tin area.
According to legend, the epidemic began to subside on the day construction was completed.
The temple's main hall now sees its originally white outer wall repainted in vermillion, and the black tiled rooftop in dark green.
Reliefs of dragons, tigers and phoenixes, painted in gold, have been added at the top of the entrance to the worship hall. The undecorated corridors are filled nearly to the rooftops with china sculptures illustrating traditional Chinese stories like the 36 Strategies, a classic about wisdom, plus another 24 pieces showing examples of filial piety.