Hong Kong China Temple |
 |
48th operating temple |
Physical Address
2 Cornwall StreetKowloon Tong Kowloon City Hong Kong |
Mailing Address
Pouch, Hong KongP.O. Box 30150 Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150Telephone (852) 2339-8100 Facsimile (852) 2768-8897 Distribution Services (852) 2756-5777 |
Announcement: 3 October 1992
Groundbreaking and Site Dedication: 22 January 1994 by John K. Carmack
Public Open House: 7–21 May 1996
Dedication: 26–27 May 1996 by Gordon B. Hinckley
Site: 0.3 acres.
Exterior Finish: Polished granite.
Ordinance Rooms: Two ordinance rooms (stationary) and two sealing.
Total Floor Area: 21,744 square feet.
The Hong Kong China Temple is located in the quiet residential district of Kowloon Tong, a suburb of Hong Kong on the Kowloon Peninsula. The temple proper occupies the top three levels of the building while a chapel and apartments for the temple president and mission president take up the two levels below the temple. Under the plaza level is the baptistry and underground parking facility. The striking edifice, characterized by Hong Kong colonial architecture, features high arching windows, ornamented walls, and a gold dome supporting the single spire and gold-leafed angel Moroni statue. Across the street from the temple is a three-story Church facility housing a meetinghouse, mission offices, patron housing, and a distribution services store.
The Hong Kong China Temple was the second temple built in mainland Asia, following the Seoul Korea Temple (1985), and the first built in China.
The Hong Kong China Temple was the first multipurpose temple built by the Church, as envisioned and sketched by President Gordon B. Hinckley in the nighttime hours following a pleading prayer.
The Hong Kong China Temple was originally named the Hong Kong Temple.
Elder David O. McKay of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated China for the preaching of the gospel on January 9, 1921, within the walls of the "Forbidden City" in Beijing.
Elder Matthew Cowley, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Chinese native Henry Aki officially opened missionary work in Hong Kong by prayer on July 14, 1949, from the Peak—the highest point overlooking the city of Hong Kong.
The Kowloon Tong chapel, Hong Kong mission home, and Hong Kong mission office, which stood on side-by-side lots, were all razed to make way for the Hong Kong China Temple. The temple and Church facilities across the street provided replacements for all these buildings.
Elder John K. Carmack of the Seventy presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of the Hong Kong China Temple. Invited to attend were Hong Kong stake and ward leaders, their wives, and invited guests.
The angel Moroni statue was added to the spire of the Hong Kong China Temple on December 12, 1995. Several hundred spectators gathered to witness the Moroni raising.
During its public open house, over 13,000 people toured the interior of the Hong Kong China Temple including over 500 VIP guests and 25 ministers of other faiths.
The Hong Kong China Temple was dedicated in seven sessions over two days. President Gordon B. Hinckley, who dedicated the temple, had participated in the dedication or rededication of all but five of the Church's operating temples.
Hong Kong was under British rule at the time the Hong Kong China Temple was dedicated, but sovereignty transferred to China just over a year later on July 1, 1997.
Following the dedication of the Hong Kong China Temple, President Gordon B. Hinckley became the first president of the Church to visit mainland China when he arrived in Shenzhen—a "sister cultural city" of the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii.
A replacement angel Moroni statue was hoisted atop the Hong Kong China Temple on August 5, 2016, just over 20 years following the dedication.
