Chi Lin Nunnery () is a large

Buddhist 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 ...

temple complex located in

Diamond Hill Diamond Hill is a hill in the east of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The name also refers to the area on or adjacent to the hill. It is surrounded by Ngau Chi Wan, San Po Kong, Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan. Its northeast is limited by the ridge. It is ...

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. It was founded in 1934 as a retreat for Buddhist nuns and was rebuilt in the 1998 following the traditional

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

architecture. The temple halls have statues of the Sakyamuni Buddha, the goddess of mercy

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

and other

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

s. These statues are made from gold, clay, wood and stone. The temple halls and the Chinese garden in front of the nunnery are open to the public daily free of charge. In 2018, a lighting design work has been done for giving the building a new aspect, as close as possible to the original design of the building.

Design details

The Chi Lin Nunnery uses the traditional

architecture with a design based on a

Sukhavati Sukhavati (IAST: ''Sukhāvatī''; "Blissful") is a pure land of Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. It is also called the Land of Bliss or Western Pure Land, and is the most well-known of Buddhist pure lands, due to the popularity of Pure Land Budd ...

drawing in the

Mogao Caves The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu p ...

. It is constructed entirely with cypress wood, without the use of any nails, and is currently the world's largest hand-made wooden building. This construction is based on traditional Chinese architectural techniques that uses special interlocking systems cut into the wood to hold them in place. The traditional Chinese architecture school adopt this kind of technique to demonstrate the harmony of mankind with nature. The complex with 16 halls, a library, a school, a pagoda, a bell tower and a drum tower, covers an area of more than . The Chi Lin Nunnery buildings are the only buildings to be built in this style in modern-day Hong Kong. As a result of the new lighting design project, small spotlights have been installed on the ground floor and on the roof, while the lower entrance stairs have been illuminated by LEDs strips placed in the handrail.

Nan Lian Garden

The Nan Lian Garden, located in the opposite of the Chi Lin Nunnery, is a Chinese Classical Garden also built in the style of the Tang dynasty. The scenic garden covers an area of is maintained by the Chi Lin Nunnery.

References

External links

*
Chinese website

Wall Street JournalMarco Petrucci Light Designer
Buddhist monasteries in Hong Kong Buddhist temples in Hong Kong Buddhist nunneries Diamond Hill {{Buddhism-monastery-stub