Shrine

We took a walk today. The weather was beautiful.

Anna stopped to look at this little shrine. A professor at Hong Kong University recently told me this about the shrine:

Behind the shrine is a sealed portal that was once the entrance to Air Raid Shelter No. 19. Local residents say the shelter suffered a direct hit during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in 1941, killing many people. The Japanese later used the shelter as a makeshift morgue. After the war, residents believed the area to be haunted. They erected this shrine to the Earth God to suppress the haunting.

It's typical of Earth God shrines all over Hong Kong and Southern China. The figurine represents the Earth God, who protects a local area. He is often surrounded by peacock feathers as a sign of respect. Very peaceful.