In the small town of Air Itam, a suburb of George Town, there is the largest and, according to many cultural experts, the most beautiful Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia – Kek Lok Si. It stands majestically on a mountain hill as if guarding the entire island.

In fact, Kek Lok Si Temple is more of a temple complex, because it consists of several attractive and beautiful buildings.

Construction of the complex began in 1890 when Chinese immigrants began to come to Penang. One of the Buddhist monks slowly started to build this temple. First, with the help of a few people, he built a small pagoda. Then next to it – the hall of vows. More and more people joined him in his hard work, so the construction became more and more extensive. They gradually built halls and squares for prayers and the Tower of Sacred Books.

The tallest building of Kek Lok Si – the seven-story main temple called the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas – was built by 1930. This temple became a kind of symbol of the complex, showing the unity of people. If you look closely at this tall building, you can see that it combines all the main architectural styles of Asia: the base of the pagoda is built in the classical Chinese style, the middle is in Thai, and the top is one of the most striking examples of Burmese architecture. Today, this pagoda is a visiting card of the beautiful complex.

Walking around Kek Lok Si Temple, you may think that all the construction here is completed and no improvements are required. However, locals and monks living at the temple will disagree with you. They continue to improve and decorate their monastery. So, in 2002, a huge 36-meters-high statue of the Goddess of Mercy Guanyin appeared here. A few years later, they installed an equally monumental and luxurious arch over it to protect this magnificent sculpture from weather influences.

They say that one of the monks had a vision that this temple must always be under construction since this is the only way to protect the city and all those who come here to pray.