There is this 30.2m bronze statue of Kuan Yin that has been completed and open to the public in 2002 which you simply must visit when you are at Kek Lok Si. Located further up the hillside, you can just walk up a tarred road or pay RM 3 for a ride on an inclined lift which woud take you up to where it is. Previously, there was a white plaster Kuan Yin statue here but a fire damaged it which could well be a blessing. Rumours had it that due to some reasons, the original white plaster Kuan Yin was built shorter than it was originally planned and the resulting statue was a bit out of proportion and in fact, looked a bit too fat. The new bronze statue however, was slender and glistened beautifully during Chap Goh Meh. The Kek Lok Si temple has certainly come a long way since its construction which began in 1890. Emperor Guangxu, the Qing emperor who initiated the Hundred Days' Reform and who sanctioned Kek Lok Si's construction by bestowing a tablet and gift of 70,000 volumes of the Imperial Edition of the Buddhist Sutras, must be mighty proud!
Can you spot the original white plaster Kuan Yin or Goddess of Mercy which has been preserved and placed on the right hand corner of the new Bronze Kuan Yin?
Can you spot the original white plaster Kuan Yin or Goddess of Mercy which has been preserved and placed on the right hand corner of the new Bronze Kuan Yin?
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