Tin Hau Temple at Joss House Bay

The temple at Joss House Bay, known as Tai Miu, was founded in 1266 by two brothers who were saved from a storm, and it is the oldest and largest of the many Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong, dedicated to the sea goddess whose protection fishing communities relied on. It stands above a bay on the southern tip of the Clear Water Bay peninsula, plain and weathered, with a courtyard, ship models and centuries of votive offerings. On a rock nearby is an inscription dated to 1274, the oldest dated inscription known in the territory. At the Tin Hau festival in the spring, hundreds of decorated fishing boats converge on the bay in the largest gathering of its kind here.

What you actually see

• A temple founded in 1266 - the oldest Tin Hau temple in Hong Kong.
• The 1274 rock inscription - the oldest dated inscription in the territory.
• Votive ship models - offerings from fishing families over centuries.
• The spring festival boat gathering - hundreds of decorated vessels in the bay.

When to go

October to April for a quiet visit; the Tin Hau festival in spring is the spectacle but the site is then packed and transport is by special boat. Two hours.

Honest expectations

It is remote and awkward to reach without a taxi or the festival boats. The temple is small and weathered rather than grand. On the festival day the crowds are enormous. There are almost no facilities nearby.

Nearby

Clear Water Bay beaches are north; High Junk Peak rises behind.