Prayer hall in a modern Taoist temple.

Although at a first look you might think it’s from a Vegas casino, the picture above is of the new prayer hall of Wong Tai Sin – one of the largest Taoist temples in Hong Kong. The room took three years to complete and cost the temple around $13 million, but it’s well justified as it contains more tech than a Japanese toilet.

The 10,000-square-feet chamber is decked with gold and marble and features LED lights, motion detectors, a ceiling containing a digital replica of the Hong Kong sky that rotates in accordance with the seasons and electronic gods that process prayers automatically (for $40).

And in December 2008, just in time for the 2009 Lunar New Year, Wong Tai Sin introduced its groundbreaking digital initiative: e-praying. Worshipers too busy to visit the temple can send a free e-mail prayer to the temple’s monks via the Sik Sik Yuen website. Monks receive the prayers, filter out hoaxes and print the rest on prayer paper before burning them in the traditional Taoist ritual. Wong Tai Sin says it receives about 30,000 electronic prayers annually, roughly half from Hong Kong and half from abroad.

Market-oriented? Absolutely. But I’d totally pay $40 to see something as cool as that (and I’m not even Taoist).

blogs.wsj



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  • http://www.heavenson.com The Art Of War

    haha that is an awesome looking temple!

  • http://www.electronicdictionaryreviews.com/ Kenneth Chan

    How many lights do you use? Great job.