Hong Kong Dollarsaver

Lamma Island

– Radius from Central 5.12 miles/8.25 km

Lamma Island, on the southwest of Hong Kong Island, is an interesting place to visit. It offers beaches, hiking, Chinese temples, sumptuous cuisines and a breath of fresh air. In addition, you can have a glimpse of the down to earth way of life very different from the high to the sky one in town. Among the population of 5,500 are Westerners who moved in to enjoy the peaceful surroundings and simple lifestyle.

Yung Shue Wan and Sok Kwu Wan are the two villages in Lamma with ferry connections either from Central or Aberdeen.

You can download and print the A4 size, two fold On Demand Guide with Chinese names, map and ferry schedule here:

A. Start the Trip from Central
Go to Pier 4 at the Central waterfront. The trip takes about 30 to 40 minutes. Generally, visitors go to Yung Shue Wan first. After arriving, one suggestion is to walk the whole length of Main St. You will finally reach the point where spiritual and physical needs of the body are met. This is where the Tin Hau Temple and North Lamma Clinic are located.

Along the way, take note of the myriad of restaurants and eateries. There are Chinese seafood, dim sum, mix of international and Indian, Japanese, bar fare, plus Thai and Turkish fast food at the Back St. Both streets are also lined with interesting shops.

To go to the other village Sok Kwu Wan, it takes less than two hours and begins from the Back St. This is one of Hong Kong's popular food beaches, where the main focus is seafood. It can be an exercise to choose from the many restaurants with names ending in 'Kee', or to decide which 'Lamma Hilton', one preceded with 'Genuine', is more appealing. After an evening basking in the glow of festival lights, take the ferry heading for Central, or the Kaito ferry via Mo Tat Bay to Aberdeen Fish Market which takes approx. 30 min.

B. Start the trip from Aberdeen
Take a taxi ride to Aberdeen Fish Market. The kaito ferry pier to Sok Kwu Wan via Mo Tat Wan is right beside it. Next is the Jumbo Floating Restaurant pier. Further down is the ferry pier to Yung Shue Wan and Po Toi Island (near Stanley).

Updated information provided by Lamma-Gung (www.lamma.com.hk) on 11 August. 2008.

THE TEMPLE TRAIL

You can download and print the A4 size, two fold On demand Guide with Chinese names, map and ferry schedule here:

1. Yung Shue Wan Tin Hau Temple 榕樹灣天后廟
Tin Hau or Goddess of The Sea, was born by the name of Lin Mo Niang in 960 A.D., during the Sung Dynasty. The imperial court deified her because of her power in protecting seafarers. Through the course of history, she was also credited with many life saving deeds. She is called Matsu in Taiwan and in Macau.

In her temple, there are usually two fierce looking figures by her side. One is Guard of Thousand Mile Vision and the other Guard of Tail Wind Ear who can listen from afar.

The Yung Shue Wan Tin Hau Temple is at the end of Main St. One interesting story is about the pair of stone lions at the front of the temple, which actually resembles in style the bronze pair at HK & Shanghai Banking Corp. headquarter building in Central. During the 1965 renovation when the lions had to be replaced, traditional Chinese style lions were not available from China because of the Cultural Revolution. So, a local artisan, who once carved Western style lions for the rich in South East Asia, was given the job. * 魯金 - 香港廟趣

2. Three Mountain Gods Temple 沙埔村三山國王廟
A small temple near Sha Po Village dedicated to gods of the three mountains in Chaozhou, eastern Guandong Province. According to Lamma-Gung, he has never heard of this temple.

3. The Chan Clan Family Temple and School 大灣新村陳氏家祠及家塾
The temple and school was established in 1921 and located in New Tai Wan San Tsuen.

4. Sok Kwu Wan Tin Hau Temple 索罟灣天后廟

5. Tung O Hung Shing Temple 東澳村洪聖廟
This temple is dedicated to Hung Shing Ye (洪聖爺), who is the protective god of fishermen. In Hong Kong, there are nineteen Hung Shing temples honouring this Guangzhou government official during the Tang Dynasty. He was a learned scholar with integrity, who set up a weather observatory serving the seafaring community. He died because of overwork and was deified by the emperor.

6. Luk Chau Tin Hau Temple 鹿州天后廟

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