Perak Cave Temple, the legendary cave temple of Malaysia

Pek Lik Tong as the local Cantonese folks called it (Pi-Li Dong in Mandarin and Perak Tong as some may referred it) is one favourite spot for tour guide. Probably when you relates the cave temple with the like of the legends such as Sun Yat Sun 1866-1925 (the Father of Modern China), 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. what can you go wrong with bringing tourists in here ? Even if the temple was not entirely very old, but I guess Perak Cave can be easily ranked as one hot spot among all the cave temples found in Ipoh City due to visits of these influential Chinese political and cultural figures.



The Perak Cave interior is where the essence of everything in the tour. It has been very well thought of, with three main attractions to please everyone. On the left, you will find a huge Buddha image; the left is a section to house Taoist figures like Nan Tian Dong; while the walls are traces of art pieces and calligraphy by inviting or visiting high profiles personalities. So, it merges the essence of San Bao Dong Buddhist cave temple, Nan Tian Dong Taoist cave temple with the addition of artful display of artist’s works. If that is not good enough, the stones formation inside the temple is adorned with limestone formations of various sizes and shapes.

As shown above with the illustrations, the interior is incredibly spacious. I dare say it’s the most spacious comparing to all caves in Ipoh. Dimly lit but after your eyes get accustom to the low light level, you can start exploring with its details. I was told by a lady in here that there are more than 200 original art works as wall paintings or calligraphy. Some of the well known names such as Zhang Da qian, Tseng Hou hsi , Cheng Li Ling and many others.

There’s a stairways leading up, that you may climb till the top of the temple. Once you are there, you’ll be able to see the from birds eye view, the magnificent view of the Ipoh’s mother nature. Just a note, its not easy to climb as the step are narrow and quite step.

It may not be appropriate to refer Perak Cave as a Buddhist or Taoist temple. Instead, I would rather term it as another cultural and Heritage centre for Malaysian Chinese. I guess the artful showcase and natural limestone cave formation present a stronger selling element in its presence as in tourist hot spot. The temple maintenance and development has to go on fro here, but as most cave temples are more or less self dependence rather than relying on governmental subsidies, I would like to see more visitors donate generously so as to ensure all these original historical pieces be maintained for our next generation to appreciate their existence.