Ngong Ping Piazza in Lantau opens

Religious ambience with Buddhist character is the highlight of $77.5mln enhancement of the tourist destination.

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Rita Lau opened Ngong Ping Piazza on Lantau Island on Monday, saying the 1.5-hectare facility offers tourists a new Hong Kong attraction with a rich religious flavour.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, she said the Government is dedicated to enhancing the city's tourism infrastructure to bolster its attractiveness to tourists. The piazza will boost the appeal of Ngong Ping and Lantau, she said, as the facility links Po Lin Monastery, the Giant Buddha, the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, Ngong Ping Village and Wisdom Path, according to an Information Services Department report.

It has a strong Buddhist character blending in with Ngong Ping's religious ambience, and is the highlight of the $77.5 million enhancement of public facilities at Ngong Ping programme launched in February 2008 by the Tourism Commission, the Civil Engineering & Development Department and the Architectural Services Department.

The piazza has four components - new Pai Lau, Bodhi Path, Di Tan and a Chinese landscaped garden.
At the piazza entrance is the new Pai Lau, which has been built in the northern architectural style of the Qing Dynasty to match Po Lin Monastery's tranquillity and solemnity. It will lead to the 120-metre Bodhi Path, which is flanked by statues of the 12 divine generals and 40 lotus-shaped stone lanterns on both sides.

At the end of the Bodhi Path are the piazza centre and the Di Tan, where four lotus ponds have been built to provide a spacious venue for the monastery's religious ceremonies. Visitors can rest at the Chinese landscaped garden nearby, also built in the northern architectural style.