Man Mo Temple & Hollywood Road

Step off busy Hollywood Road into Man Mo Temple and the city vanishes: the air is thick with sandalwood smoke, shafts of light fall through the haze, and dozens of huge spiral incense coils hang from the ceiling, each one burning slowly for days or weeks on behalf of the worshipper whose prayer is written on the red tag below. It is one of the most atmospheric places in Hong Kong and one of its oldest temples, part of a complex of three buildings estimated to date from between 1847 and 1862, built by Chinese merchants in the early years of the British colony. The main hall honors Man, the god of literature, to whom students still pray before exams, and Mo, the god of war, a deified general admired for loyalty and righteousness and venerated by everyone from police officers to triad members. The adjoining Lit Shing Kung was built for the worship of all the heavenly gods, and the Kung Sor, an assembly hall, served for decades as the place where the Chinese community discussed and settled disputes outside the colonial courts. The details reward a slow look: the green tiled roofs decorated with ceramic figures, granite pillars and door frames, carved wooden plaques, a bronze bell cast in 1847 and an elaborate sedan chair from 1862 used to carry the gods' statues in processions. Worshippers offer incense, joss paper and fruit, and you can buy an incense coil or a stick to make your own offering. The temple is a declared monument, managed by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, and admission is free. It is also the perfect starting point for exploring Sheung Wan and Old Town Central, the most interesting historic district on Hong Kong Island.

Visit in the morning, when the light through the smoke is most beautiful and the temple is mostly local worshippers rather than tour groups. Photography is generally allowed but be discreet and respectful: do not use flash, do not block people praying, and avoid touching the altars or offerings. Spend twenty to thirty minutes inside, watching the rituals: worshippers bow three times with incense sticks, place them in the burners and sometimes shake a cylinder of fortune sticks until one falls out, to be interpreted by a reader. The temple keeps daytime hours, roughly from morning until early evening; it can be very smoky on festival days, which is part of the experience but hard on sensitive eyes.

Hollywood Road, one of the first roads built in colonial Hong Kong, runs past the temple and is lined with antique shops selling Chinese furniture, ceramics and art (buy with care and a certificate) and contemporary galleries. Just below, Upper Lascar Row, better known as Cat Street, has a flea market of curios, old photos and Mao-era memorabilia. Walk east along Hollywood Road and you reach PMQ, the former police married quarters turned into a design hub of independent shops and studios, and Tai Kwun, the restored Central Police Station and Victoria Prison, now a superb arts and heritage complex with free entry, galleries, bars and restaurants around a parade ground. The streets between, with their steps, murals and cafes, are some of the most photogenic in the city, and the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator, the world's longest outdoor covered escalator system, cuts through the area.

Getting there: from Sheung Wan MTR, walk about ten minutes uphill; from Central, walk along Hollywood Road or take the escalator up to Hollywood Road and walk west. The area is hilly, with steps, so wear comfortable shoes. A morning here pairs well with dim sum in Sheung Wan or Central, a visit to the dried seafood and medicine shops of Des Voeux Road West and Wing Lok Street, and the Peak Tram in the afternoon. Remember that Man Mo is an active place of worship first and a sight second; a small donation is welcome, and buying an incense coil is a lovely way to take part.