Thousands of Hongkongers pray for better jobs, good flats at Che Kung Temple

Thousands of Hong Kong residents have flocked to Che Kung Temple to pray for good fortune in their careers, health and even property purchases in the Year of the Snake.

Crowds were spotted outside the temple in Sha Tin as early as 10am on Friday, the third day of Lunar New Year, with police officers using metal barriers and cordons to control the flow of people.

While people traditionally visit the temple on the second day of Lunar New Year, many prefer to avoid crowds and head there on the third day, believed to be an inauspicious day in which people are more prone to quarrel.

In the courtyard of the Che Kung Temple, named after the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) commander Che Kung who had a reputation for ridding villages of plagues and suppressing uprisings, devotees carried elaborately decorated paper windmills of various sizes as they jostled for position to enter the main hall.

Inside, the air was filled with thick smoke as worshippers carried burning incense sticks as an offering to Che Kung.

Among the thousands visiting the deity was logistics worker Samuel Lau, who held a large windmill as he entered the site with his wife.

“I only know that I need to have a windmill that is larger than the one I brought in the previous year,” the 39-year-old said. “It must not be smaller than the one in the year before … I spent HK$368 (US$47) on this one.”