Visit to Big Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha, 天坛大佛), Lantau Island, Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong International Airport on 28th April 2018, 10am.

After clearing immigration and customs, we began our journey for the first activity - visiting the Big Buddha (aka Tian Tan Buddha, 天坛大佛) on Lantau Island.

Our journey includes:

1. Taking bus from Hong Kong International Airport to Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal.
2. Cable car ride from Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal to Ngong Ping Cable Car Terminal.
3. A short walk from Ngong Ping Cable Car Terminal through Ngong Ping Village to the Tian Tan Buddha.

When we arrived at Ngong Ping Village, the weather was so lovely and we could not wait to let Timmy into the sky. The view was amazing!

Here are some photos taken by Timmy:

_{Tian Tan Buddha (天坛大佛).
Effects added to this photo using Photoshop.}

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_{Tian Tan Buddha (天坛大佛)}

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Big Buddha Statue (aka Tian Tan Buddha, 天坛大佛)

taken from Wikipedia

The statue is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Surrounding it are six smaller bronze statues known as "The Offering of the Six Devas" that are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha. These symbolize the Six Perfections of generosity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom, all of which are necessary for enlightenment.
The statue is 34 meters tall, weighs over 250 metric tons. Visitors have to climb 268 steps to reach the Buddha!

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_{Entrance and piazza to Po Lin Monastery (宝莲禅寺) and Tian Tan Buddha (天坛大佛)}

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_{Ngong Ping (昂坪) Village and Cable Car Terminal with Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (港珠澳大桥) trailing into the horizon.}

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Here's a photo of view from the spot where we let Timmy into the sky. This location is quite spacious and is great for taking off and landing. However, do take note of human traffic. 😂

_{Entrance before piazza to Po Lin Monastery (宝莲禅寺) and Tian Tan Buddha (天坛大佛).
Photo taken using Samsung Galaxy Note 8.}

Hope you like the aerial photographs from our visit to Tian Tan Buddha!
We stayed till 3:30pm before heading to our accommodation in Mong Kok. After checking-in, our second activity is taking the peak tram up to Sky Terrace 428. I will share it in my next post.

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If you are interested to visit Tian Tan Buddha, here are some information on how we travel there.

How to get there

1. From Hong Kong International Airport, follow the signs to the Airport Mass Transit Railway(MTR) Station . This is to buy the 'Octopus Card' from the information counter. It will cost HK$150 per card (HK$50 for deposit, HK$100 for use). When you leave Hong Kong, you can return the card to get the deposit and unused amount back less HK$9 for administrative fees.
   Hint: Recommend to get the 'Octopus Card' as the card can be used on buses, MTR and in shops. Very convenient!

2. After getting the 'Octopus Card', locate a bus stop on Cheong Tat Road. The road is just outside Airpot Terminal 1 Building. It is very easy to locate as there are many bus services at that bus stop. You will see at least a bus every few minutes.

3. At the bus stop, take Bus No. S1 and alight after 7 stops at 'Bus stop: Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal' on Tat Tung Road. The bus ride will take about 20 minutes.

4. After alighting from the bus stop, walk along the road and you will be able to see the Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal. The cable car terminal is approximately 60 meters from the bus stop.

5. Head into the cable car terminal.
   Buy the tickets for the cable car ride from the ticketing counters to Ngong Ping Village. You have the option of choosing the standard cable car cabin or crystal cable car cabin(glass-bottomed crystal cabin).
   We bought the crystal cabin round trip tickets. The experience was awesome! Do try for at least one of the trip. 😄
   Hint: We bought the tickets from Klook. This allowed us to collect the tickets from a VIP counter which had a shorter queue. The tickets were cheaper too. The queue time for the normal line can be very long during peak period!

6. After getting your tickets, follow the cable car terminal staff's instruction to board the cable car.

7. Enjoy the ride! The ride will take approximately 25 minutes.
   Hint: A staff member will take your photo soon after boarding the cable car. If you're in a group, get everyone to pose for a shot. The photo is optional for purchase when you reach Ngong Ping Cable Car Terminal. (Comes with a photo frame and/or snow globe version. The cost of both photo and snow globe is approximately HK$400)

8. Once you arrive at Ngong Ping Cable Car Terminal, follow the path to exit the terminal. You will be in Ngong Ping Village. There are quite a number of cafes and souvenir shops to visit. Or you can just walk through the village and head to Tian Tan Buddha. The distance from the cable car terminal to the end of the village is about 250 meters.

9. From the end of Ngong Ping Village, walk for another 100 meters to reach the entrance to the piazza before Po Lin Monastery and Tian Tan Buddha.

Recommended time to visit

Taken from Ngong Ping 360 Website

Days	Opening hours
Weekdays	10am to 6pm
Weekends	9am to 6:30pm
Public Holidays	9am to 6:30pm

The opening hours may vary during festive season, please check the most updated information on the home page.

Recommended things to bring

• Camera/Smartphone
• Drone (The area within Ngong Ping Village is a 'No drone zone'. Will need to exit the village to fly drones)
• Windbreaker/Jacket (Ngong Ping Village is about 900 meters above sea level. It can get chilly.)
• Enough cash to buy souvenirs and return tickets (get the round trip tickets 😎)
• An open mind about Buddhism
• Courage to take the cable car (if you go for the crystal cabin 😅)
• Stamina and perseverance to climb the 268 steps up to Tian Tan Buddha (I had little of both so I chose to fly Timmy up 😆)

Hope these information will be useful for you if you decide to visit Tian Tan Buddha or its surrounding attractions.
Thank you for reading!

Zhi Bin(Zee)

Timmy is a DJI Mavic Pro Platinum