The monastery & temple were established in 1891, six years after the resident priest discovered that a sprawling hill on the edge of Air Itam village on the island had the right feng-sui for a monastery. The Hall of Bodhisattvas was completed in 1891 & the building of the showpiece - the Pagoda of a Million Buddhas, was started in 1915 & completed in 1930. Site upgrades & expansions continue today.

The hillside complex is a sight to behold at night when it is adorned with thousands of lights, a lighting display not to be missed during the festive seasons like Chinese New Year.

There are 10 tour stations in the complex. I have been there at least 3 times & have still missed some nooks & crannies. A useful booklet to get, in Mandarin script & English, is titled A Journey of Insightful Discovery at Kek Lok Si Temple, printed 2002. I got my copy from the State Tourism office. I'm not sure where else they are available. The booklet details all 10 tour stations with lots of photos & site guides.

The ten stations are: 1 - Temple entrance & Turtle liberation pond. 2 - Hill gateway & the Hall of Bodhisattvas 3 - Garden Pavilion of Lord Buddha & the five Bhikkus 4 - Amitabha Buddha Pagoda 5 - Hall of Devas 6 - Hall of Mahawira 7 - Main prayer hall 8 - Hall of Buddhas of 5 Regions 9 - Pagoda of a Million Buddhas 10 - Kuan Yin Bodhimandala (bronze statue, top level)

While there, you can do some souvenir shopping & hone your bargaining skills at the many stalls lining the steps up to the temple. I call it "running the gauntlet" as the vendors can be quite aggressive... If you arrive in Air Itam early enough in the morning, you can check out the fresh produce & other assorted goods at their daily pasar malam (morning market) along the village main street where the bus stop is. Best market time is 9am to 11am.

This web site has good background inforamtion: http://asiaforvisitors.com/malaysia/peninsula/penang/kekloksi/