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Cultural Diversity

One of the most cosmopolitan cities in Asia, Hong Kong is a culturally diverse metropolis, a heady mix of East and West where old heritage buildings line up against sleek skyscrapers, and English, Cantonese, and Mandarin are widely spoken by its ethnically diverse population.

The city is also home to people of many different religious persuasions. Locals flock to temples including Wong Tai Sin, Central’s Man Mo, and the Chi Lin Nunnery in Diamond Hill to pray and light incense, pay their respects to ancestors, and ward off bad luck. One of the most impressive temples is the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery, which features more than 13,000 Buddha statues at its location in Sha Tin.

There are many churches in the city, the largest being St. John’s Cathedral, which hosts nine services on Saturdays and Sundays. Over in Tsim Sha Tsui, there’s the gothic-style Rosary Church and Anglican church St. Andrew’s, the oldest English speaking Protestant church in Kowloon.

The largest mosque in Hong Kong is the Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre, which holds five prayers daily. Others include the Jamia Mosque in Mid-Levels, which date back to the 1840s, and the Khalsa Diwan Sikh Temple in Wan Chai. The city’s primary Jewish centre is the Ohel Leah Synagogue, which is housed inside a Grade I listed historic building.