Kek Lok Si Temple

About

Completed in 1905, Kek Lok Si Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, and one of the largest temples in South East Asia. In order to fund its nearly 2 decade construction, Penang’s five leading Chinese businessmen collected donations from the Malay-Chinese community. When it was completed, the Chinese Emperor was so impressed with tales of the temple’s grandeur that he invited the chief monk to Beijing, naming him ‘chief priest of Penang’, and the temple ‘the head of all Chinese temples in Penang’. While the temple has several prayer halls dedicated to Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and Chinese deities, the highlight is the seven-story Ban Po Thar pagoda, which is layered in Chinese, Thai, and Burmese architectural styles, and houses 10,000 alabaster and bronze Buddha statues. The complex culminates in an awesome 36.5m-high bronze statue of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. If all the stairs tire you out, this final stretch is spanned by a funicular.