Sightseeing in Hong Kong - Photo of the day No. 2

10 Feb

The Man Mo Temple | The Ultimate Tourist Trap

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Sightseeing in Hong Kong - Photo of the day No. 2

The Man Mo Temple | The Ultimate Tourist Trap

The amazing wall in the iconic Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong, it breaks my heart that it is now a major tourist trap mainly because of its convenient location in Hong Kong

click on the image to enlarge

The Man Mo Temple is an iconic place to visit in Hong Kong, that is not the issue, I first went there on January 2nd 1972 as part of a coach tour we did when we first arrived in Hong Kong, it was just amazing to see and it has not changed much I might add.

The Temple is located on Hollywood Road in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island and is about a 15 minute walk or so from the Central Business District.

Here is a great description of the origin of the Temples name from Lonely Planet

“One of Hong Kong’s oldest temples and a declared monument, atmospheric Man Mo Temple is dedicated to the gods of literature (‘Man’), holding a writing brush, and of war (‘Mo’), wielding a sword. Built in 1847 during the Qing dynasty by wealthy Chinese merchants, it was, besides a place of worship, a court of arbitration for local disputes when trust was thin between the Chinese and the colonialists.”

That sums it up rather nicely.

Learn more | images I have taken of the Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong

Learn more | The official Man Mo Temple website

Learn more | The Official listing of the Man Mo Temple - the Antiquities and Monument Office

Please do visit the official Man Mo Temple website by clicking the link above.

The Temple by all accounts was established in 1847 although some reports say it was built between 1847 and 1862, in fact it is not too far away from where the British Troops planted the flag in 1841. Contrary to popular belief it is not even close to being the oldest temple in Hong Kong but it is certainly the most well known both to locals and to tourists.

The importance of the Temple is highlighted by its status as a declared monument in Hong Kong. (click on the link above)

So what is the thing about it being a Tourist Trap?

I can be fairly blunt on certain Hong Kong subjects and the Man Mo Temple has become a victim of its own success and in a nutshell it is mainly for 6 reasons:

it is famous and there seems to be hundreds of articles about it, it is mentioned by every travel and lifestyle magazine that has ever existed it seems
it is in a very convenient location, just a short walk from the Central Business District
it is located on Hollywood Road which some Travel and Lifestyle magazines have named one of the top streets | roads in the world and as such has become selfie heaven for Mainland Chinese Tourists who accounted for almost 80% of our 45 million visitors in 2025
Hollywood Road is very close to the iconic mid levels escalator and also home to the not so iconic Tai Kwun and PMQ, two other places “revered by tour companies” (but not me!) so it makes for an easy itinerary, lots of things to do on one road!
just 50 yards away from the Temple is the Cat Street Market on Upper Lascar Row, an overrated place of cheap junk stalls selling “antiques and curios” and really expensive antique shops and a restaurant and coffee shop or two
it is a staple for all of the coach tour companies in Hong Kong, dropping off 30 - 60 tourists on each coach

it would not surprise me if anywhere from 3,000 - 5,000 people a day visit the Man Mo Temple and contrary to popular belief it is not a big temple, it is small and cramped and feels crowded with just 20 - 30 visitors in there.

I was there most recently on August 22nd 2024 and I was saddened by the sheer volume of people being dropped off there, with tour coaches arriving every few minutes.

This has been an issue for many, many years now and it gets worse every year, the Man Mo Temple is a favourite with Tour companies

Personally I have only taken guests 5 times since 2011 because I simply do not like the crowds, lots of shoving and pushing and jostling for the best camera angles and because it is small it feels very claustrophobic and it is hard to feel the history and essence of this very important Temple.

This is a personal view and not shared by a lot of tour companies, back in 2010 I did a year of research identifying places to visit on a private tour and the Pak Tai Temple in Wanchai is one my favourites, it has a very similar feel and it just never gets the crowds that the Man Mo Temple gets because it is in a slightly inconvenient location, I can never understand why certain tour companies (ie the coach tour companies) pick a place to visit simply because it is in a convenient location.

This is a major benefit of booking a private tour in Hong Kong, all the great guides (and I know most of them) have plenty of options up their sleeves, quality always trumps mediocre!

So in conclusion, by all means visit the Man Mo Temple as many tour companies have it listed in a standard and inflexible itinerary but don’t say I didn’t warn you about the unruly crowds.

I do feel sorry for local residents who frequent the Temple and have done so for many generations, I guess they go before 9am before the tourists hordes start arriving.