800,000 worshippers on Hong Kong Chinese New Year day

Every Hong Kong Chinese New Year day, thousands of worshippers push and shove their way into Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple to be one of the first to make offerings to the gods. Wish-granting is on a first come first serve basis here -- the earlier your incense stick hits the holder, the better your chances of having your prayers heard.

Recently, the temple's altar terrace was enlarged to hold 2,000 more worshippers. Temple management predicts 800,000 worshippers will visit on Hong Kong's Lunar New Year day, a 10 percent increase from last year.

Smart sticks

Although fortune-telling using bamboo sticks at Sik Sik Yuen will not be available during Chinese New Year's, a new 'electronic' stick will be introduced at the temple next month. The bamboo sticks have each been implanted with a chip, making it easy to scan sets of sticks to ensure that all 100 of a full set are present. In the past, worshippers or temple staff have had to count them by hand. See Apply Daily's video on the news.

 

Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple

 At Wong Tai Sin MTR Station Exit B2
www.siksikyuen.org.hk