Hong Kong Part 21: The Fortune Tellers of Kowloon
Jun 28, 2023 14:58:09 #
As we walked from the Wong Tai Sin Temple along Temple Street, we entered the Wong Tai Sin Fortune Telling Court and Oblation Arcade.
There is a long tradition of fortune telling in and around temples, and this has extended now into the Temple Street Night Market where fortune tellers await.
In 1967, Tung Wah accepted the suggestion of Secretary for Chinese Affairs and started the establishment of fortune-telling stall. To tie-in the renewal project of government in 1984, Tung Wah built a modernized fortune-telling and oblation arcade in 1990.
Services at the Arcade:
161 fortune-telling stalls, 40 temple goods stalls and 6 Blessing Points
Each fortune teller has a small stall with a table and chair and posters put up explaining his methods. A variety of methods of fortune telling are used including examination of the hands, ears and use of Chinese astrology. Some of the fortune tellers have sufficient English to give a reading to tourists, check with them first before joining a queue! Signs up in English at there stall normally indicate a willingness to do a reading in English.
Watch out for the unique Chinese fortune telling by bird method, where a small caged bird will select a card from a large pack, and on that card will be a fortune just for you.
Where to find them:
Although traditionally associated with the Night Market the fortunetellers are not actually inside the officially part of the market, instead they are closer to the Temple itself as they have always been. To find them walk along the Temple Street Night Market northwards and go past the Yau Ma Tei library until you reach the temple gardens.
If it is late enough, then you'll find the fortunetellers have set up their tents in a row along Market Street, between the government services building (which houses a convenient public lavatory) and the temple gardens.
https://www.temple-street-night-market.hk/fortune-telling
From the website: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/hk-eng/explore/neighbourhoods/wong-tai-sin/zen-in-the-city.html
“I have been coming here to wish for good luck for at least a decade,” says 65-year-old Wong Mei-yu. “I follow the same routine every year — I buy nine incense sticks and a stack of wishing papers from one of the stores outside the temple, and then write my family members’ names onto the papers. First I present the incense sticks to Buddha and the gods, then burn the papers to wish for good luck and fortune.”
Get your fortune told fortune told by shaking a bamboo stick out of a box onto the ground. The temple provides free bamboo for this, with each stick inscribed with a number and corresponding Chinese saying.
For help deciphering your fate, head to one of the fortune tellers in the adjacent Wong Tai Sin Fortune-Telling and Oblation Arcade — they will translate the reading, providing context to your life, for a small fee. Their doors are plastered with photographs of celebrity customers and signs indicating their language abilities. They can also tell your fortune from palm or face reading — ancient arts that Chinese people have relied on for generations to help navigate their future.
For additional images of Hong Kong and narrative. Please see my previous posts:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-772991-1.html#13890073
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-773192-1.html#13893955
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-773472-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-773628-1.html#13904088
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-773813-1.html#13907837
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-774122-1.html#13912776
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-776464-1.html#13960574
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-776538-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-776662-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-776759-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-776878-1.html#13968707
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/compose-topic-screen?sectnum=5
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-777082-1.html#13972997
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-777173-1.html#13975221
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-778044-1.html#13990329
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-778119-1.html#13992225
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-778198-1.html#13993721
I hope you enjoy these!
Mark
There is a long tradition of fortune telling in and around temples, and this has extended now into the Temple Street Night Market where fortune tellers await.
In 1967, Tung Wah accepted the suggestion of Secretary for Chinese Affairs and started the establishment of fortune-telling stall. To tie-in the renewal project of government in 1984, Tung Wah built a modernized fortune-telling and oblation arcade in 1990.
Services at the Arcade:
161 fortune-telling stalls, 40 temple goods stalls and 6 Blessing Points
Each fortune teller has a small stall with a table and chair and posters put up explaining his methods. A variety of methods of fortune telling are used including examination of the hands, ears and use of Chinese astrology. Some of the fortune tellers have sufficient English to give a reading to tourists, check with them first before joining a queue! Signs up in English at there stall normally indicate a willingness to do a reading in English.
Watch out for the unique Chinese fortune telling by bird method, where a small caged bird will select a card from a large pack, and on that card will be a fortune just for you.
Where to find them:
Although traditionally associated with the Night Market the fortunetellers are not actually inside the officially part of the market, instead they are closer to the Temple itself as they have always been. To find them walk along the Temple Street Night Market northwards and go past the Yau Ma Tei library until you reach the temple gardens.
If it is late enough, then you'll find the fortunetellers have set up their tents in a row along Market Street, between the government services building (which houses a convenient public lavatory) and the temple gardens.
https://www.temple-street-night-market.hk/fortune-telling
From the website: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/hk-eng/explore/neighbourhoods/wong-tai-sin/zen-in-the-city.html
“I have been coming here to wish for good luck for at least a decade,” says 65-year-old Wong Mei-yu. “I follow the same routine every year — I buy nine incense sticks and a stack of wishing papers from one of the stores outside the temple, and then write my family members’ names onto the papers. First I present the incense sticks to Buddha and the gods, then burn the papers to wish for good luck and fortune.”
Get your fortune told fortune told by shaking a bamboo stick out of a box onto the ground. The temple provides free bamboo for this, with each stick inscribed with a number and corresponding Chinese saying.
For help deciphering your fate, head to one of the fortune tellers in the adjacent Wong Tai Sin Fortune-Telling and Oblation Arcade — they will translate the reading, providing context to your life, for a small fee. Their doors are plastered with photographs of celebrity customers and signs indicating their language abilities. They can also tell your fortune from palm or face reading — ancient arts that Chinese people have relied on for generations to help navigate their future.
For additional images of Hong Kong and narrative. Please see my previous posts:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-772991-1.html#13890073
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-773192-1.html#13893955
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-773472-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-773628-1.html#13904088
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-773813-1.html#13907837
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-774122-1.html#13912776
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-776464-1.html#13960574
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-776538-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-776662-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-776759-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-776878-1.html#13968707
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/compose-topic-screen?sectnum=5
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-777082-1.html#13972997
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-777173-1.html#13975221
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-778044-1.html#13990329
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-778119-1.html#13992225
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-778198-1.html#13993721
I hope you enjoy these!
Mark
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Jun 28, 2023 14:59:04 #
Jun 28, 2023 15:13:10 #
dj moore
Loc: Florida panhandle
Excellent photos of Gail. I found the fortune-telling cubicles interesting and did that one picture indicate that the entire family was having "Their" fortune told? So clean looking. Don't you wish people in our country had the same ethics when it comes to trash?
Did you indicate the location of the bathrooms cuz they are few and far between? LOL
Great and colorful pictures.
Did you indicate the location of the bathrooms cuz they are few and far between? LOL
Great and colorful pictures.
Jun 28, 2023 15:17:01 #
dj moore wrote:
Excellent photos of Gail. I found the fortune-telling cubicles interesting and did that one picture indicate that the entire family was having "Their" fortune told? So clean looking. Don't you wish people in our country had the same ethics when it comes to trash?
Did you indicate the location of the bathrooms cuz they are few and far between? LOL
Great and colorful pictures.
Did you indicate the location of the bathrooms cuz they are few and far between? LOL
Great and colorful pictures.
Thanks so much DJ. I'm not sure if the whole family had their fortunes told or just the parents. I agree about the cleanliness. Not true here - especially in Chinatown!
Jun 28, 2023 15:19:37 #
Jun 28, 2023 15:22:13 #
Jun 28, 2023 15:27:23 #
Jun 28, 2023 15:38:27 #
Is this an inate ability, learned or hereditary or just a fast buck from gullible people?
Jun 28, 2023 15:49:54 #
Jun 28, 2023 16:07:35 #
Jun 28, 2023 16:41:36 #
Jun 28, 2023 17:20:59 #
Fun street and corridor photography, Mark! Did your fortune turn out as expected?
Jun 28, 2023 17:25:25 #
cliff Hilbert wrote:
Your wife is still the best part of the pictures. 
Thanks very much Cliff. I agree!
Jun 28, 2023 17:26:19 #
NMGal wrote:
Is this an inate ability, learned or hereditary or just a fast buck from gullible people?
I tend to think the latter. Thanks for commenting Barbara.
Jun 28, 2023 17:26:44 #
kpmac wrote:
What a way to earn a living. I guess many do, though. Nice set, Mark.
Thanks very much Ken.
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