Nunnery vs. Convent

The Chi Lin Nunnery at Diamond Hill, Kowloon

What is the difference between a Nunnery and a Convent?  Until recently, I didn't know the former was even a word.  A colleague at work suggested that we visit Chi Lin Nunnery in the Diamond Hill area of Kowloon, and since the recent warnings for Typhoon Rammasun had been cancelled, we decided to take her advice.

The Main Hall of the Chi Lin Nunnery is constructed
from timber without the use of a single nail

The Chi Lin Nunnery is a large monastic complex founded in the 1930s as a retreat for Buddhist nuns.  Surrounded by high rise apartment buildings, the Nunnery and the adjacent Nan Lian Garden are a green and peaceful oasis occupying about sixteen acres in North Kowloon.



The first of two courtyards leads to the Hall of Celestial Kings

A fountain in the one of the lotus ponds

The Nunnery underwent a substantial renovation that was finished in 2000, with the buildings constructed in the architectural style of the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD).  The Main Hall was constructed by traditional craftsmen from Arnhui Province in China using timber held together with only wooden brackets, making it the largest handcrafted building in the world.  The roof makes this fact even more impressive because its 28,000 clay tiles weigh in at 176 tons.  The complex is arranged around three courtyards, only two of which are open to the public.  The first courtyard contains landscaped Lotus Gardens with four large lotus ponds, surrounded by bonsai trees.  At the top of the first courtyard is the Hall of Celestial Kings which leads into the second courtyard. This courtyard is surrounded by covered walkways linking four more halls to the Main Hall.  Each of these halls feature statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas at alters where offerings of fruit are placed and the faithful actively worship.

One of the four lotus ponds

The Nunnery is home to about 60 nuns, and under an agreement with the Hong Kong Government, the Chi Lin Nunnery maintains and manages the Nan Lian Garden for a nominal fee of HK$1.00.  The garden, which was also built in the Tang style, opened in 2006 and was designed to minimize its urban surroundings through the use of barriers and tree plantings to filter noise, exhaust and dust. 

The Perfection Pavilion and Zi Wu Bridge are among
the timber structures in the Nan Lian Garden

Tang style gardens feature four elements to include ornamental rocks or hillocks, water features, old trees and timber structures.   These elements come to life in the Nan Lian Garden through the use of rocks from a variety of sources in China, a large waterfall and Koi pond, a number of sweet-scented trees including osmanthus, lily and orange-jasmine and the Perfection Pavilion, the Zi Wu Bridge and other structures.  There is even a vegetarian restaurant tucked behind the waterfall so that diners can look through the torrent falling from above them while eating lunch.

A large Koi Pond is one of the water elements in the Tang style garden

Diners at the vegetarian restaurant sit behind a waterfall

In Hong Kong it is easy to get caught up in hectic pace of life.  Our trip to Chi Lin Nunnery and the Nan Lian Garden was a good reminder that there are tranquil oases nearby and it's just a matter of knowing where to find them.  And for those who are still wondering, there are many opinions about the difference between a Nunnery and a Convent.  With very little effort, I found a number of references.  They range from those that indicate there is no difference at all, to others that describe a Nunnery as the place where nuns reside and a Convent as a religious community with rules and vows by which the residents live.

The Nan Lian Garden is a tranquil retreat from its urban surroundings

These Are a Few Of My Favorite Hong Kong Things

 

Rebecca enjoys dim sum upon arrival in Hong Kong

This is a "guest blog" written by my niece Rebecca McCray.  Rebecca just wrapped up a nine-month stint as a Fulbright Scholar studying and writing about the Slovenian penal system.  We enticed her to "take the long way home" with a week-long stopover in Hong Kong on her way back to New York.  After nearly six months in Hong Kong, we were thrilled to have a visit from family.  Our week together went by too quickly, but was filled with fun and adventure, and Rebecca graciously agreed to share her experiences.

In early July, I was lucky enough to visit Carolyn and Jeff in Hong Kong on my way back to the U.S. from Slovenia, where I lived for nine months. A first-time visitor, I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that they would show me a great time. I left daydreaming about when I could come back and with an even deeper appreciation for dim sum.

 

Waiting for egg tarts at Tai Cheong Bakery

 

1. Food

 

If you know me at all, you know that I love to eat. If you know me a little better, you know that I love to eat dumplings. In other words, Hong Kong was a dream come true. Less than four hours after I arrived from Slovenia, Carolyn and I lined up outside of

Tim Ho Wan, a Michelin-starred dim sum chain, scrawling our order on a piece of paper before sitting down to devour the best BBQ pork buns that have ever graced my mouth. This meal set the tone for the gastronomic bliss that was the rest of the week. From traditional egg tarts and chicken pies at Tai Cheong Bakery, to Indian food and dumplings at the cooked food market, to afternoon tea at Café Grey, to ramen at Ippudo, it was all fantastic. I didn’t have a bad meal in Hong Kong, thanks in large part to my fabulous hosts. 

 

 

 2. Beautiful Views

While Carolyn went to work in the morning, I attempted to work at her apartment until we met up in the afternoon. Most days I was only moderately successful, in large part because I was so distracted by the fantastic view into the city from Jeff’s office. Thanks to the steep hills of Hong Kong, Carolyn and Jeff’s apartment in the Mid-Levels dizzyingly peers down into the many buildings, harbour, and bay. On a clear day (of which I was lucky to have many), you can easily see the gorgeous mountains that surround the city, which makes the view all the more stunning. The staggered construction of incredibly tall, narrow, and tightly packed buildings down the slope of Hong Kong makes for a truly surreal sight. For an even more picturesque look at the city, we rode a Green Mini Bus up to Victoria Peak for a nice walk amidst the greenery and a look at the bizarre Peak Tower, which looks down over the city. And perhaps the most breathtaking view came from our cable-car adventure to the Tian Tan Buddha.


Taking in the view from the Peak Circle Walk

 

3. Public Transportation

 

To my confusion and delight, Carolyn 

A selfie in the back of a Green Mini-Bus

handed me a card that read “Octopus” when she met me at the airport. I was happy to take it just because of its name, but it was also my ticket to nearly every kind of public transportation the city offers. Double-decker trams, double-decker buses, green mini-buses, and the MTR all accept the Octopus card. Only the mysterious red mini bus doesn't take Octopus. Between living in New York City and traveling around Europe this past year, I’ve come to really appreciate good public transportation (and the challenge of navigating it in new places). Hong Kong was so much fun in this department. Though to be honest, I didn’t have to navigate anything thanks to my fearless leader. I think the quirky double-decker tram was my favorite, with the green mini bus coming in at a close second. You have to respect a tiny bus that will only stop if you yell at the driver, don’t you?

4. Markets

Hong Kong’s myriad outdoor and indoor market offerings run the gamut from tacky plastic souvenirs to unidentifiable dried sea creatures to delicious hot food. The cooked food market was probably my favorite. Also called cooked food centres, these indoor markets tucked into massive buildings house food vendors who used to operate dai pai dongs, which are unlicensed street food stalls. A few remain in Hong Kong, but most have been chased inside to these cooked food markets thanks to the government’s licensing requirements. From what I understand, some harbor nostalgia for the outdoor stalls, but given Hong Kong’s sauna-like heat in July, I didn’t mind going inside to explore the cooked food options. We weren’t able to visit Carolyn’s favorite dumpling stand (where she recently accidentally bought 72 dumplings in an ordering mishap; I didn’t understand what the problem was), but I did try another dumpling stand and some insanely delicious Indian food, washed down with a fresh lime soda. The hodgepodge of tables and chairs, my lack of Cantonese, and generally feeling over-stimulated by the many options was pretty bewildering in the best possible way. I also enjoyed Stanley market, in large part because of the great bus ride we took over the top of the peak from the most densely populated part of Hong Kong. My one regret of the week is being too exhausted to make it to Hong Kong’s night market in “Little Thailand,” but now I have an excuse to go back.

 

Papier-mâché Pandas at PMQ



Climbing 268 steps to the Tian Tan Buddha



5. Mountains

As I already mentioned, the mountains make for an incredible backdrop when gazing out from the midst of the city. It’s incredible to see such lush, green, undeveloped masses of land surrounding the crazy concrete mass that is Hong Kong. While walking around the Peak with Carolyn, I was struck by the feeling that I had just been magically airlifted out of the city streets into the jungle. The contrast between the two is palpable. Our trip to the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island offered some of the best mountain views. We traveled up from the Tung Chung MTR station in a cable car with a clear floor (not recommended if you’re afraid of heights), which gave us a good look at a hiking trail up the mountain for the slightly more adventurous Buddha visitors. I hope to try it out when I visit again—but not in the summer.

 

Views of Lantau Island and the South China Sea