Kek Lok Si Temple

Kek Lok Si Temple covers a sprawling hillside in Ayer Itam, marked by the seven-story Pagoda of Rama the Sixth that rises above the landscape with a design blending Chinese, Thai, and Burmese styles. As the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, the complex grew from a vision held by the monk Beow Lean, who arrived in Penang in eighteen eighty-five. While searching for funds to renovate a monastery in China, he found himself appointed as a local priest and became captivated by the hills, which he said resembled a crane spreading its wings.