Tao Fong Shan (), officially known as To Fung Shan, is a hill with a height of . It is in

Sha Tin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The ne ...

, New Territories, Hong Kong. A road called To Fung Shan Road leads to the summit, where a Christian Centre can be found.

Place of Religious Worship

Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre () is situated at Tao Fong Shan, Sha Tin, in Hong Kong. The Centre was founded in 1930 by the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

missionary

Karl Ludvig Reichelt Karl Ludvig Reichelt (1 September 1877 – 13 March 1952) was a Norwegian Lutheran missionary and religious scholar who worked in China. He was a missionary for the Norwegian Missionary Society from 1903 to 1922. In 1922 he established the Nord ...

(1877–1952). Reichelt was sent to

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

province in China in 1904. There he gradually developed an idea to share the gospel with

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. In 1929, he established Jing Fong Shan in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

. In 1930, due to the chaos of the

Chinese civil war The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

, Reichelt moved his work to Sha Tin, Hong Kong, and asked a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

architect, Johannes Prip-Moller to design the buildings. Reichelt died on 13 March 1952 and was buried at the Tao Fong Shan cemetery. In February 2010, Tao Fong Shan became an statutory foundation in Hong Kong under the name "Tao Fong Shan Service Foundation Limited". The buildings at the Centre are classified as Grade II historical building. Extensive restoration work took place from 2009 to 2011 with the help of the Hong Kong government's Financial Assistance for Maintenance Scheme. Described as "A remarkable Christian retreat centre... high in the hills behind Sha Tin" by the Hong Kong government, the picturesque site is very well-known and popular among Christians in Hong Kong. The Centre is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily.

Facilities

The Centre includes a chapel, a library and an art shop. * The

Chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

(known as The Christ Temple) is an octagonal structure;

Sunday Worship The Lord's Day in Christianity is generally Sunday, the principal day of communal worship. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is said in the canonical Gospels to have been witnessed al ...

is available in the building. * The Art Shop sells a wide range of primarily Chinese-style Christian-themed paintings, hand-painted porcelain and handicrafts. Prayer and meditation aids such as the Pearls of Life are available here. The Art Shop has recently launched online shopping. * Pilgrim's Hall is a Christian retreat guest house patterned after the "Cloud and Water Halls" as seen at Buddhist sites in mainland China and offers accommodation for up to 40 people in 18 double rooms. A dining hall and lounge with a capacity of 100 people are incorporated into Pilgrim's Hall. * The Conference Hall is a traditional Chinese-style hall; it is designed for conferences and seminars, with a seating capacity for 60 people. * A 12-metre-high cross, facing Sha Tin, is the hallmark of the Centre. The cross is a popular among visitors and is a place for outside gatherings and meetings. * Ascension House, a former hostel located off of the main Centre grounds, has been renovated and is now used to supplement Pilgrim's Hall to accommodate overnight retreat guests and volunteers. Common kitchen facilities are available here, unlike the accommodation at Pilgrim's Hall. The nearby, 5-room Ching Fong Tai serves a purpose similar to Ascension House but only accommodates up to 7 people. * A

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

is located next to the

Lotus Pond Lotus Pond is a small water body Inside MLA Colony, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, India. The pond is surrounded by lush green flora and a 1.2 kilometer path. Lotus Pond is home to more than 20 species of birds. A few of them are pied kingfisher, ...

, and is used for

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

and

contemplation In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation. Etymology The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word '' ...

Transportation

Tao Fong Shan is located in the rural part of Sha Tin, but can be easily reached by walking. From

East Rail line The East Rail line () is one of ten lines of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. It used to be one of the three lines of the Kowloon–Canton Railway (KCR) network. It was known as the KCR British Section () from 1910 to 1996, ...

Sha Tin station Sha Tin station, formerly known as Sha Tin railway station ( or ) is a List of MTR stations, station on the of Hong Kong's MTR, Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system. The station is located in the town centre of Sha Tin. The station was formerly o ...

, it only takes 20 minutes to get to the centre via a hiking trail. For guests and visitors, the most common type of transportation is the taxi, which is HK$25 if taken from

Tai Wai Tai Wai () is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong, located between Sha Tin and the Lion Rock, within the Sha Tin District. With three rapid transit stations, one of which an interchange station serving two lines, five bus termini and ...

. In addition, Tao Fong Shan Service Unit also operates a shuttle bus just for staff and guests at the Centre a few times daily from Sha Tin.

Gallery

File:Temple, Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre 1.JPG, The Chapel File:TaoFungShan Bell2.jpg, The Bell outside the Chapel Image:TaoFungShan_Building1.jpg, The Offices and Art Shop Image:TaoFungShan_KeyHole2.jpg, 'Keyhole Styled' entrance to main buildings Image:TaoFungShan_Entrance1.jpg, The 'covered driveway' Image:TaoFungShan_Pavilion.jpg, Pavilion of Tao Fong Shan Image:TaoFungShan_Cross.jpg, The Cross facing Sha Tin Image:TaoFungShan_AmahRock.jpg, A replica of

Amah Rock Amah Rock (, ''Mong Fu Shek'', "husband-watching stone") is a naturally shaped rock located on a hilltop in southwest Sha Tin District, Hong Kong. Description The rock is approximately 15 meters in height, and is shaped much like a woman car ...

, located at Tao Fung Shan

References

External links

Official Website of the Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre

Official Website of the Tao Fong Shan Service Unit

Tao Fong Shan Online Shop

Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity by Hong Kong Baptist University Library. The Reichelt Collection was originally part of the Karl. L. Reichelt Memorial Library Collections held at the Institute of Sino-Christian Studies. {{Coord, 22.3842, 114.1821, region:HK_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Sha Tin Mountains, peaks and hills of Hong Kong Grade II historic buildings in Hong Kong Protestantism in Hong Kong