The plain around Ipoh is punctuated by sheer limestone outcrops riddled with caves, and Chinese communities established temples at their base and inside their chambers. Ling Sen Tong is among the most immediately striking. Its ornamented roofline sits directly beneath a grey cliff face, and its open garden is populated with vividly painted statues drawn from the deities, immortals and legendary animals of popular Chinese religion — a three-dimensional catalogue of belief set against a wall of rock. The film reads the site on two levels: as sacred space, with its altars, incense, offerings and the practice of worshippers who come for blessing and thanksgiving; and as a piece of Malaysian cultural history, evidence of a Chinese diaspora that settled Perak in the era of tin mining. Wide compositions play the colour of the statuary against the monochrome karst. Filmed in 4K, well suited to strands on Asian religion and multicultural heritage.
