When I first came to Po Lin Monastery in the mid-1980s, I stayed overnight in simple dormitory accommodations and ate a vegetarian dinner and breakfast. I was one of only 2 guests that night; the whole surrounding Ngong Ping Plateau was wind-swept and deserted. Today, of course, Ngong Ping Plateau bustles with multitudes of international visitors, drawn to the monastery’s Big Buddha, the nearby Wisdom Path designed in a figure eight as a symbol of infinity and defined by 38 wooden pillars, and Ngong Ping Village with its shops, Buddha attractions and cable car to Tung Chung.

Po Lin Monastery’s origin stems from 1906, when a thatched hut was built by reclusive monks. Its present buildings date from 1921 and 1970, with a new 2014 addition housing the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas and an exhibition for ancient Chinese and Buddhist relics among other things.