Che Kung Temple (Ho Chung)

Situated on the bank of Ho Chung River, the Che Kung Temple has a history of over 400 years. It honours Che Kung, a great marshal of the Sung Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD) who suppressed a revolt in Southern China and was later deified by the Taoist religion. Che Kung followed the last emperor of the Sung Dynasty to go south to Hong Kong and stationed in Sai Kung. He was highly respected and loved by the villagers for he loved them as if they were his own children. After his death., the villagers built the temple in memory of the marshal, to worship him, his father and his son. "The Legend of the White Horse" is a folklore relating to the temple well known to the villagers of Ho Chung Village. The legend has it that upon completion of the temple, the villagers raised funds to purchase a white stone horse for the marshal and it was placed outside the temple. However, a series of weird incidents happened since then and the harvests were poor for years. Moreover, when the villagers went to work in the fields early in the morning, they found that the crops lay trampled and animal footprints were left on the soil. Elders in the village invited a "fung shui" master to the village and he concluded that all the incidents had been caused by the white horse's spirit. The villagers then removed the white horse and buried it outside the temple with a large incense burner placed on top the site. From then on, the villagers enjoyed peaceful life and good harvests.