Introduction

In an effort to disseminate the teaching of the Buddha and to perpetuate Chinese cultural heritage, the Chi Lin Nunnery in Hong Kong has completed the redevelopment of its site at the foot of Diamond Hill, Kowloon. The site is now fashioned in a Tang style monastic complex of timber structures. Modeled after the architectural excellence of the Tang Dynasty (AD618-907), it aims to recreate the magnificent ancient architecture of China from over a thousand years ago into this modern age.

Hip Hing Construction Company Limited was appointed as the main contractor and project manager of the development and also played an active role ranging from the design of Chi Lin to the organisation responsible of the whole project. Hip Hing Construction also worked closely with architects from China and Japan whose vast knowledge of ancient architectural forms helped in the project. Every single item, down to a stone and a plant, was meticulously planned and carefully researched. The collective wisdom of the specialists was utilised in interpreting the achievements of sages from over a thousand years ago. Based on modern construction standards, the construction engineers in Hong Kong further assured that the ancient wooden construction techniques were proven and up to the British and Hong Kong architectural requirements.

The Monastic Group of Buildings

The Tang Dynasty was a glorious period in Chinese history. In terms of cultural achievements, its literature, painting, architecture and sculpture were all at a peak. The Tang culture succeeded to the tradition of the Han and Northern and Southern Dynasties, and taking new stimulants from India and the Western Regions (the area west of Yumenguan, including what is now XinJiang and parts of Central Asia), blossomed into unprecedented new heights. Buddhism was flourishing and its influence could be seen in many fields of art. Similarly, Buddhist architecture was also well mature. From historical relics and documents, we can see that the monasteries at that time were grand and majestic buildings of simple elegance.

The Monastic Group of Buildings of the Chi Lin Nunnery is the first group of full-scale timber structures since the Tang time over a thousand years ago. When it is completed early next year, it will be the largest group of hand-crafted timber buildings in the present world. The monastic complex occupies an area of 180,000 sq ft. and has a total of 15 halls. From the Shanmen to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda, there are the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the Hall of Celestial Kings, the Main Hall, the Hall of Avalokitesvara, the Hall of Bhasisajyaguru, the Prayer Hall, the Scripture Library, the Putongta, the Patriarch Hall, the Ancestral Hall and the Dining Hall, forming a group of monastic buildings. These are complemented by serene landscape gardens.

The design of the building group is in accordance with the traditional rules of ancient Chinese architecture. The buildings have a southern orientation and face the sea, with the mountain as their backdrop. Situated at the centre of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, it is easily accessible by many modes of transport. The quiet monastery coexists with the busy city life. But the amidst the hubble bubble of the streets, the monastery is able to maintain its peacefulness and serenity.

The Main Hall is the focal point of the whole building group and the grandest building of all. The interior of the Main Hall covers an area of 4,000 sq. ft.. There are 28 columns made of yellow cedar, each with a diameter of 580mm. And a height of 5.5m. Each column is supported by a Tang style stone plinth in lotus relief.. The hall is constructed over by more than 28,000 tiles, weighing 160 tonnes. From the above figures, we can well image the grandeur of the Main Hall.

The bracketing system is a unique feature of ancient Chinese architecture. It can transfer the load of the eaves gradually to the vertical columns. The redeveloped Main Hall's bracketing system is made up of 6,000 components in eight layers. There are 6 different types of bracket sets, forming 42 groups. The simplest bracket set consists of about a dozen components while the most complicated bracket set, the corner bracket, has 100 components.

Ancient Challenge to Modern Architect

For the timber structure of the Main Hall, the company employed a skilful team of ancient timber construction experts from the Anhui Province of China. After the timber components had been prepared in the workshops in Dongguan, Guandong Province, they were then transported to the site in Hong Kong. Within a short span of 5 months, the timber structure of the Main Hall was completed.

All the roof tiles were design based on the Tang Dynasty style. To ensure the roof topping could withstand against typhoon and heavy rainfall, the architect employed high quality ancient style tiles imported from Nara, Japan that totaled 400,000 pieces of tiles.

Quality of the construction was assured with the preparation of all wooden components made to absolutely accurate measurements. Based on the ISO9000 standards of Hip Hing and experiences from Japan, a series of quality control procedures were defined and enforced. The company also invited the Technical Drawing University of Wuhan to certify every single wooden piece which had to pass the quality test in order for the assembling of all components in Hong Kong to be done smoothly. Within 10 months time, all the 95,000 wooden pieces were assembled, which was found to be done much faster than other similar projects in Japan and mainland China (in Japan, similar project normally took more than 5 years time).