Building a modern metropolis using a centuries

Hong Kong —

Every year, in the middle of summer, hundreds of Hong Kong construction workers and engineers walk up some 200 steps to Ching Lin Terrace in the seaside neighborhood of Kennedy Town.

There, in one of the city’s temples , they gather and pay their respects to Lo Pan, a legendary Chinese carpenter from the Zhou dynasty and patron saint of builders and contractors.

Even in the sweltering heat, workers cram into the tiny temple’s smoke-filled foyer with incense and candlesticks in hand. Bowing several times, they chant slogans in honor of the construction deity’s birthday and pray for a stable year of work.

“I always tell people that Lo Pan is like our Michelangelo. He is a designer, an architect and an engineer,” said Lawrence Ng, president of the Hong Kong Construction Su