Visit Second Uncle Temple in Quarry Bay - 二伯公大聖廟

There's a scene in the classic Hong Kong movie Rouge 胭脂扣, where the protagonist, Fleur, played by Anita Mui 梅艷芳, stops and worships at a shrine in the "Flower House" where she lives. The sign reads "二伯公" or Second Uncle. The scene only lasts for a few seconds, but it's memorable to many because it shows the complexity of life in Hong Kong at the time. I won't spoil the movie for you if you haven't seen it (you should!), but needless to say, 二伯公 or Second Uncle is just as elusive as Anita Mui's character in the film.
Who was this Second Uncle, and why is he an extra in one of the most iconic movies from 1980s Hong Kong? As is true of many things here in Hong Kong, nothing is definite or clear, but it appears 二伯公 was a medical practitioner during the late Qing Dynasty. He made his way to Hong Kong and set up shop among the northern villages of Hong Kong Island. He gained a reputation for himself for curing diseases, and this is where the story takes an unexpected turn, especially venereal disease.
Fast forward years later, and many sex workers from throughout Hong Kong's red light districts (Wan Chai, Shek Tong Tsui, and Tsim Sha Shui) would travel to what's now Quarry Bay to visit his shine/temple. In the 1980s, when the MTR corporation was pushing the Island Line farther east, the original temple was destroyed. That was not to be the end of Second Uncle. Many of those who knew about him went into the hillside around Quarry Bay and built a shrine just above the footbridge leading to Tai Koo Shing.
Let's visit Second Uncle and (re)connect with this fascinating part of Hong Kong's folk history.