A 900-Year-Old Statue Has Never Left China, Chin Swee Caves Temple's 50th Anniversary Is the Reason It Finally Will

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A temple built by hand on a 4,600-foot mountain — no explosives, no heavy machinery, 18 years of rope and shovel — is turning 50 this October.

The occasion is significant enough that a sacred statue believed to be more than 900 years old is leaving China for the first time in its existence to mark it.

The ancient sacred statue of the Chin Swee Deity, housed at the Anxi Ancestral Temple in Fujian, China, will arrive in Malaysia on 22 October.

Standing 2.5 feet tall, the statue has never previously travelled beyond China.

Its presence at Chin Swee Caves Temple in Genting Highlands will offer devotees from across Southeast Asia a rare opportunity to pay homage.

The arrival precedes the Golden Jubilee Water and Land Grand Dharma Assembly, a seven-day, seven-night religious observance running from 23 to 30 October across seven altars within the temple grounds.

The Assembly: What Will Happen Across Seven Days and Seven Nights

The assembly will be presided over by Venerable Miao Jiang (妙江大和尚), Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China and Abbot of Zhulin Temple (竹林寺) at Mount Wutai, alongside approximately 80 monks from China and abroad.

Sutra recitations across the seven days will include the Medicine Buddha Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Amitabha Sutra, the Brahma Net Sutra, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra and the Great Repentance Text — a liturgy for acknowledging harmful actions, cultivating remorse and reaffirming wholesome conduct.

The formal launch ceremony is scheduled for 24 October, followed by a 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner bringing together representatives from affiliate temples, Buddhist monastics, community leaders and distinguished guests from Malaysia and abroad.

The celebrations also mark the 50th anniversary of the Chin Swee Caves Temple Building Society, officially registered with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) on 4 November 1976.

The Storm That Started It

The temple was founded by the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, whose connection to the site began not with a blueprint but with a hike.

While exploring the dense jungle of Mount Ulu Kali on foot, hiking from the foothills toward the summit, Lim came upon a rocky hillside crossed by flowing streams.

The landscape reminded him of Penglai Village in Fujian, China — the place where the Chin Swee Deity is believed to have attained enlightenment through spiritual cultivation.

He spent a night at the site, dreamt of the deity, and regarded the dream as a sign to persevere with his vision for what would become Genting Highlands.

Following the completion of the resort’s first hotel and casino, he fulfilled that vow by building a temple on the site.

Construction began in 1975.

The temple opened on 29 March 1994 — 18 years of manual labour, no explosives, no heavy machinery, at a cost of over RM12 million.

The temple he built did not stop growing after he was gone.

As part of its 50th-anniversary upgrades, the complex has added a major new indoor cultural hall and the Chin Swee Caves Temple Galleria — an exhibition space dedicated to the temple’s history, architecture and religious heritage.

The temple is also an integral part of an ecotourism initiative called Genting Nature Adventures (GNA), which maps out the region as a major biodiversity haven.

Lim Kok Thay Reflects On Father’s Legacy

Over five decades, the temple complex expanded to include a 20-storey Goh Tong Hall, a 24,000-square-foot Sky Terrace Plaza and a 514-metre escalator and covered walkway linking the Chin Swee Cable Car Station to the temple grounds.

Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Chairman of Chin Swee Caves Temple and son of the founder, said the anniversary is as much a personal reflection as an institutional milestone.

He saw the milestone as an opportunity to reflect on his father’s legacy.

The temple embodied the values that had guided his father’s life—faith, perseverance, generosity, and commitment—making it far more than just a structure left behind.

READ MORE: [Photos] How Genting Highlands’ Nature Trails Are Becoming Malaysia’s Hottest Eco-Destination

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