The Kek Lok Si Temple () is a Buddhist temple situated in Air Itam, Penang, Malaysia. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, and is also an important pilgrimage centre for Buddhists from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and other countries in Southeast Asia. The entire complex of temples was built over a period from 1890 to 1930, an inspirational initiative of Beow Lean, the abbot. The main draw in the complex is the striking seven-storey Pagoda of the late Thai king Rama VI, which structure is known as the pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas with 10,000 alabaster and bronze statues of Buddha, and the bronze statue of Guanyin (Kuan Yin), the Goddess of Mercy. The 10.000 Buddhas concept belongs to the Chinese Mahāyāna school of Buddhism while Rama VI was king over a Theravāda country and Buddhist tradition. Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism and traditional Chinese rituals blend into a harmonious whole, both in the temple architecture and artwork as well as in the daily activities of worshippers. Etymology Kek Lok Si means "Sukhāvatī Temple". In Hokkien (a southern Chinese language), Kek-lok literally means "supreme joy", itself a translation of Sukhāvatī, a paradise. Si means "temple". Kek Lok Si has also been translated as "Heavenly temple", "Pure Land Temple" (Sukhāvatī is one of the pure lands), "Temple of Supreme Bliss", and the "Temple of Paradise". History The construction of the temple began in 1890 and completed in 1905. It was inspired by Beow Lean, the chief Chan Buddhist monk of the Goddess of Mercy Temple at Pitt Street in 1887; he had served earlier in the Kushan Abbey in Fujian in China. The site chosen by Beow, a spiritual location in the hills of Ayer Itam, facing the sea, was named "Crane Mountain". It was established as a branch of the Buddhist Vatican in Drum Mountain in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. Beow Lean was the first abbot of the temple. The buildings of the temple complex were sponsored by five leading Chinese business people of Penang known as "Hakka tycoons": Cheong Fatt Tze, his cousin Chang Yu Nan, Cheah Choon Seng, Tye Kee Yoon, and Chung Keng Kooi. Collection of funds for building the temple was also facilitated by dedicating the structures and artefacts in the name of the temple's benefactors. The main hall, which was completed first, housed a shrine to Guanyin, in a recessed area where many other