Sam Shan Kwok Wong Temple, Chinese temple in Ping Shek, Kwun Tong District, Hong Kong
Sam Shan Kwok Wong Temple stands beside Ping Shek Estate in Ping Shan, Kowloon, near Kwun Tong Road. The temple was built around 1800 and expanded in 1946 to its present form. Its stone lintel bears the four characters "三山國王", and a couplet flanks the door: "跡著潮州,凜凜威風扶宋主;靈昭坪石,巍巍廟貌鎮山河".
The temple was built around 1800, in the early Jiaqing era of the Qing dynasty, with funds pooled by the villagers of Ping Shek and Ho Lik Pui. It stood by the sea at the time; land reclamation has since moved the shoreline away. It was enlarged in 1946 into its present form and is now a Grade III historic building.
The three kings are mountain deities from Jieyang, Guangdong, venerated mainly by Hakka and Chaozhou communities. A local legend says they were bandits on Dushan, Mingshan and Jinshan who robbed the rich to help the poor, were pardoned and made generals, then kings after death. Their birthday on the 15th day of the second lunar month is celebrated boisterously at the temple.
Visitors can reach the temple by taking the MTR to Choi Hung station and then walking about 10 minutes along Kwun Tong Road. The temple grounds are typically open in the morning and early evening, so timing your visit accordingly will give you better access.
The temple's stone lintel bears the four characters "三山國王", and the door couplet reads: "跡著潮州,凜凜威風扶宋主;靈昭坪石,巍巍廟貌鎮山河". The couplet links the gods to Chaozhou and to Ping Shek, the village that helped build the shrine around 1800.
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