Kuan Yin Teng – Temple Of The Goddess Of Mercy, Penang

On a find Tuesday afternoon, I was feeling bored and I went to Pitt Street alone to the famous Kuan Yin Teng (Kuan Yin Temple/Temple Of The Goddess Of Mercy) to walkaround, take some photos and pray a little bit. It was a hot day, yet it’s nice to go there to take photos.

As you know, this temple is one of the oldest temple in Penang and have been serving the Taoist devotees well over the century. It’s one of the building in the listing of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and people still going there to pray everyday and it’s get crowded during the first and the 15th day of the Lunar calendar.

The temple houses several God and Goddess of the Toaism. It was constructed in the early 1800s by the Chinese immigrant. My grandma is a frequent visitor of the temple too.

Outside the temple, there’s many stalls selling praying material like joss sticks and candle and they will be touting you to buy their stuff when you passes by. Actually, it’s all the same, what’s matter is the heart and sincerity of praying.

There’s actually Chinese opera outside the temple, serving the God and Goddess for a spiritual entertainment show, however the opera show was off during that time.

As you know, I have some nice feel towards holy places like temple and church because these place give me a sense of peace and quiet. They all features nice artwork and architecture too especially old Chinese temple and old churches in the European countries.

I heard that there’s plan of revamping the praying experience at the temple which is that no joss stick will be allow to go bring in into the inner hall. Praying will be done outside the temple, just like the Wong Tai Sin temple in Hong Kong. This is to preserve and maintain a clean and holy environment in the temple. Somehow, I don’t know whether it will be implemented or not.

This is a must visit place in Penang. =)

Photos taken with Canon EOS 60D and Sigma 8-16mm + Tamron 17-50mm f2.8.