Yau Ma Tei Tin Hau Temple (Chinese: 油麻地天后廟) is a temple complex in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The temple was built by local water residents in 1865. After being destroyed by a typhoon in 1874, it was rebuilt at its current location in 1876.
Tin Hau (天后) or Matsu (媽祖), is a Chinese sea goddess. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Moniang (林默娘) whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987.
The historical relics preserved in the Tin Hau Temple are extremely rich, including the stone lions when the temple was first built, the temple tablets, bronze bells and wood and stone carvings of different ages.
Yau Ma Tei Tin Hau Temple is the largest Tin Hau Temple in Kowloon and is now listed as a Grade 1 historic building.
Yau Ma Tei Tin Hau Temple comprises a row of five adjacent buildings: a Tin Hau Temple (天后廟), a Shing Wong Temple (城隍廟), a Kwun Yum temple (觀音廟), Shea Tan (社壇) and Hsu Yuen (書院).
In 1887, the streets to the south and north of the temple were named "South Temple Street" and "North Temple Street", which were later merged into "Temple Street".
Yau Ma Tei Tin Hau Temple is surrounded by the Temple Street night market, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hong Kong.
