Lovers’ Rock
Granite monolith & pilgrimage site for romantic hopefuls, set on a bluff on a popular hiking trail. Lovers’ Rock, sometimes referred to as Lover’s Stone or Destiny’s Rock, is a phallus-shaped granite boulder located just off Bowen Road in the Mid-Levels of Hong Kong Island. Towering at the height of 9 metres, the Lover’s Rock is a most revered pilgrimage site for individuals with relationship or fertility problems. The area upon which the massive stone sits also offers breathtaking views of Victoria Harbour.
Considered miraculous, the Lover’s Rock is believed to be the home of the God of Love. Pilgrims, mostly women, troop to the prominent monolith to make offerings of roast chicken, suckling pig and oranges. They also hang prayer-papers, burn joss sticks and offer spiritual money to ask for eligible husbands for the single ladies and faithful partners or fertility for the married ones. Old ladies also come to the rock to ask for prosperous married life for their children.
There are also professional soothsayers near the area to help worshipers determine whether or not a prospective partner is the right one by consulting an old Book of Fortune. They charge a fee for every transaction. The Lovers’ Rock is most crowded during the Maidens’ Festival, held on the seventh day of the seventh moon (mid-August). The rock can be reached by taking green minibus 24A from the Admiralty bus station. Get off at the terminus (Shiu Fai Tce) and walk up the path behind the housing complex. The Lovers’ Rock is just another proof that old traditions and superstitions still thrive in modern Hong Kong.
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