The final part of the cultural village at the top of the highest point of Coloane is the Tin Hau Palace. This is the largest of the three elements (A-Ma statue, Bao Ding, Tin Hau Palace). Over 5,119 sqm there is a central line of four buildings: Mountain Entrance gate, Altar, Tianhou Temple and Guanyin Temple. On either side of the gate, there is a bell tower and a drum tower. Behind each of these corridor buildings stretch to the end of the complex which are home to shrines and shops.
The gate has intricate carvings and imagery. The golden eyes of the birds stood out to me, despite the grey light from the cloud cover.
The altar behind the gate is surrounded by a moat full of fish and turtles. It was unclear to me what takes place on the altar, there is room for quite a lot.
Around the first temple behind the altar, the Tianhou Temple, typical red Chinese lanterns hang from the roof. It is home to this large figure of a god, I am unsure which one. Along the walls, there are little figurines, some lit others not. I suspect one can make an offering to the temple which is recognised in the lighting of a figurine. Even from behind, it is an impressive building.
The last of the four central buildings, the Guanyin Temple is slightly smaller and is home to one large central statue of A-Ma. There is also a collection of other goddess statues in this temple. Many are A-Ma, however some looked like Durga, a Hindu goddess with many arms. Both temples also house incredibly tall ceramic vases, well over 2m high.
The view over the manicured gardens out of this gate reminded me of sky palaces in fantasy stories.
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