Dear Friends,
This is the place I used to buy pomeloes on my way either back to Penang or Kuala Lumpur, where I am currently staying. The above photo of the Perak Cave, or Pek Lik Tong in the local Cantonese dialect is taken where I usually stopped by to buy pomeloes.
Pi-Li Dong in Mandarin or Perak Tong is one of the favorite tourist spots throughout the year. This cave temple has some historical facts which you may find interesting and memorable. Perhaps you may stop by or visit this wonderful cave. No surprise that this cave temple was visited by some great and unforgettable heroes like the Father of Modern China, Mr. Sun Yat Sun 1866-1925, influential intellectuals Hu shih (zhi) 1891-1962, Yu You Ren 1879-1964 and Chinese master artist, Zhang Da Qian (0r Chang Ta-Chien 1899-1983) etc. As a result, it can be easily ranked as one of the hottest spot among all the cave temples found in Ipoh till date.
You may probably recalled that at one time Ipoh was relatively a remote mining town. Before the commodity price crashed in the '70s, Ipoh used to be nick name as The town of the many Millionaires due to its enormous reserves of tin ores. The Chinese who invented the open cast mining method in the Kinta Valley Tin ore reserve Belt can even outperformed the tin ore output of the British designed Tin Dredging to a certain extent as this method is a much cheaper form of mining.
During the height of the Chinese revolution, Sun Yat Sun sourced financial help from overseas Chinese and Ipoh is in no exception. He made visits here to ask for financial assistance from the rich local miners. The visit was probably followed by sequential visits by other Chinese intellectuals and high profile individuals which adds glamour into its formation.
It was learnt that Perak Cave was also developed by Mr. Chong Sen-yee, from Guangdong Province, China. He was the first person who discovered this remote location and hence applied to the authority for the cave to be converted as another cave temple for worshippers. Thereafter, he spend his life of half a century in developing the cave in stages. He then spent his later years writing poems. This great figure, who had so much passion and dedication to this cave project passed away peacefully in 1980. His Son, Mr. Y.C. Chong is heading the management of this well known Buddhist cave temple currently.
Though these people had gone, their works and legacy left behind to the future generation will not be forgotten. Take a tour inside this cave, there are so many great works that are still intact. Discover it yourself when you are there.
Thanks and please do not stop here. Please direct your contacts or friends to read this article so that they will add this tourist spot in their next tour to Ipoh.
Your Chief Servant,
Founder and Group CEO
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