We had a dinner to attend to in Kowloon City so we took advantage of this and made our way to Sha Tin in the New Territories for what turned out to be the best day of sightseeing in HK so far!
10,000 Buddha Monastery (4.5 of 5)
Located right by the Sha Tin MTR station in the New Territories, this temple (technically not a monastery since there are no monks living there) was finished in 1957. When you start the trek of more than 400 steps to the top, the path is lined with hundreds of life sized monks that are painted in gold - no two looking alike. Making your way up to the top is really the highlight. At the top though, there is a temple with 13,000+ (not 10,000 like advertised) miniature Buddhas and offers some great panoramic sights of Sha Tin. There is also a 9 story pagoda you can climb and another couple hundred gold monks for good measure. Stroller alert: even though there is a ramp along with stairs, the ramp I believe is meant for a motorcycle to haul goods up to the restaurant. It is like a 45 degree incline the whole way...
HK Heritage Museum (4.5 of 5)
Even though we go here a little too late to take in everything - we were seriously impressed by the exhibits. Located only a 10 minute walk from the 10,000 Buddha Monastery, the Heritage Museum is dedicated to displaying different cultural aspects of HK - like fashion, music (opera and modern), visual arts, and crafts. One of my favourite displays were featuring the works of Huang Xinbo who pioneered Chinese woodcut art. Check out some examples here.
