簡稱青山王

Bangka's Top Three Temples (艋舺三大廟門)

While Taipei City as a whole is known for its ‘Top Three Temples’, the city’s historic Bangka District (艋舺區), which is now more commonly known as Wanhua (萬華區), boasts (at least) two of those top three, and is so important to the history and development of Taipei that locals will insist that it has its own dedicated list.

“Bangka,” which is pronounced as ‘Báng-kah in Taiwanese Hokkien, or simply as “Monga” (艋舺) in Mandarin, is historically-speaking one of the most important areas of Taipei, and it’s long history is steeped in both the culture and religions of Taiwan. Once one of the most commercially successful areas of Taipei, thanks to its proximity to the Xindian River (新店溪), Bangka has served as a centre of commerce for over three hundred years. Originally settled by the tribes of Taiwan’s Plains Indigenous Peoples (平埔族), followed by Hokkien (閩南人) immigrants, and most recently by Chinese refugees of the civil war, the district has been in a constant state of change over its modern history, with the influx of newcomers, who brought with them their own ways of life, and of course, their religious practices.

Nevertheless, despite the district being home to Taipei’s hip and modern Shibuya-like shopping district, Ximending (西門町), as well as a number of night markets and historic attractions, it is a neighborhood that sadly finds itself in decline, with an aging population, high rates of unemployment, and seedy underbelly, all of which are issues that the local government aims at combatting in order to help revive its fortunes. That being said, if you are visiting Taipei and want to experience the history of the city, there is no better place to visit than Bangka - this area is truly unlike anywhere else in the city and walking around, you’re likely to have distinct feeling that you’ve travelled back in time to an older, livelier and somewhat seedier version of one of Asia’s most important cities where its places of worship have been integral parts of the daily lives of its residents for hundreds of years.

Like most of the buildings in the district, the places of worship in Bangka are historical relics that share an interconnected relationship with the various groups of immigrants who have made their way Taiwan over the past few centuries, and made the most of their lives in a new land helping to forge Taiwan into the vibrant nation that it is today.

When it comes to the Top Three temples of Bangka there is a bit of inconsistency in both the Chinese-speaking world as well as that in the opinion of foreign visitors as to which temples actually belong on the list. While others may disagree, my list will take into consideration what the majority consider the 'Top Three' but I'll also include the temples which often make the list as well as provide links to my posts about each of the temples for further details.

Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺)

Longshan Temple is probably Taiwan's most well-known temple - The temple is one of Taiwan's busiest places of worship and is always jam-packed with tourists who come to view this beautifully designed and well-preserved temple.

The temple has a history that dates back to 1738 and like Bao-An temple, also has a close relationship with the Hokkien immigrants who came to Taiwan several centuries ago. Longshan Temple is primarily dedicated to Guanyin (觀音菩薩), the Buddha of Compassion, but like many other places of worship in Taiwan has shrines set up to Taoist and Chinese Folk Religion deities making it a very convenient temple for the faithful of Taiwan.

When it comes to design, this temple is second to none and is one of the most beautiful specimens of Chinese-style temple architecture in Taiwan, if not the whole world.


Qingshan Temple (艋舺青山宮)

Qingshan Temple is one of the most interesting temples in Taipei and its Qingshan King Festival is one of the most lively Temple events on the yearly calendar. The temple dates back to 1854 and if the temple hadn't of been built, Bangka would be a completely different place than it is today.

Interestingly, the temple sits in the middle of what is known as 'Taipei's First Street' (台北第一街) and is near the former wharf which made the Bangka district an economic powerhouse.

The temple is dedicated to the Qingshan King (青山王), a historical figure from China's warring states period and is thought to have the ability to cure sickness and disease. The king is also well known for his ability to drive out evil and when he comes out of his temple once a year to inspect the district, the festival that follows is one of the coolest cultural events that you'll ever experience

If it was left up to me, this temple would be on the list of not only the top temples in Bangka and Taipei, but the top three of Taiwan. A visit to the temple comes highly recommended!


Qingshui Temple (艋舺清水巖)

Qingshui Temple is often considered to be one of the temples on the list of the 'Top Three' in Taipei. The temple is dedicated to Master Qingshui (清水祖師), a popular Buddhist monk and folk-hero whose worship, like the Hokkien immigrants themselves was imported to Taiwan.

The temple makes the list as one of the 'Top Three' due to its age and the important relationship it has played throughout history with a specific group of immigrants who have made the Bangka (艋舺) district the special place it is today.


Honourable Mention: Taipei Mazu Temple (台北天后宮)

Taipei's Tian Hou Temple, which is often also referred to as Taipei's Mazu Temple (台北媽祖廟) is often added to the list of the 'Top Three Temples' of Bangka. Its inclusion on the list is debatable but what isn't is the interesting history the temple has experienced since its construction and how it has been able to endure over the past 270 years.

The temple is situated within the busy Ximending Shopping District (西門町) and is unlike the other larger temples as it is somewhat hidden from the street. The temple is extremely popular with tourists from Japan and although guide books don't spend much time talking about it, it is one of the more interesting temples in the city to visit!


Qingshan King Festival (青山靈安尊王)

The Qingshan King Ritual (青山靈安尊王) is an annual three-day temple festival held in the Monga district (艋舺/萬華) of Taipei and is used to celebrate the birth of the Taoist god Lin-An Chun Wang (靈安尊王) or the Qingshan King (青山王) 

The Qingshan King is an important deity hailing from the Quanzhou (泉州) area of Fujian province in China, an area where a lot of the first Chinese immigrants of Taiwan originated hundreds of years ago. 

Legend has it that when the Hokkien immigrants first arrived in Taiwan, there was a lot of sickness due to a plague that was ravaging the area. The Qingshan Temple (青山宮) was one of the few places unaffected and soon became a popular place for the pious residents of the area to pray for their continued health and safety.

The festival is held between October 20th-22nd (on the Lunar Calendar) and during the festival the temple followers parade the temple god around the district with his troops, oracles and generals to inspect the homes and businesses to eliminate evil spirits and suffering and to bring good luck to the locals.

The festival is one of the largest and liveliest temple festivals in Taipei and the entire Monga district looks forward to this special time of the year where residents will often celebrate into the late hours of the night.

I’m going to end 2015 with several posts dedicated to the Monga district of Taipei. This post will be split into two parts which will be followed by posts about the Qingshan Temple (青山宮), Longshan Temple (龍山寺) and then several street photography posts about the people of Monga. 

I’m splitting this post up in an attempt to better explain the different aspects of the festival as well as to offer more context in terms of photos. I had a great time shooting this festival (even though I could only make it to one day of festivities) and I’ve had a lot of fun over the past few weeks hanging out in Monga which is truly one of Taipei’s most important districts in terms of history, culture and religion. 

Part 1


5. The Secret Night Patrol (暗訪)

The "Secret Night Patrol" despite its name isn't a very well-kept secret - Its very loud, exciting and creates a lot of commotion throughout Monga during the three days of celebrations. The "patrol" refers to the parade started by the Messenger (報馬仔), the Eight Generals (八家將), the Infernal Generals (大仙尪仔), the Qingshan King and the followers of the temple itself who dress up in robes and march throughout the district.

There are people who are responsible for blowing giant horns (角隊等) and gongs (馬頭鑼) and there are also people carrying lanterns (頭燈) who light the way for the gods who are parading their way through the city. Firecrackers, flares and fireworks are lit non-stop and it seems like there are explosions and smoke wherever the parade is going.

The point of all of this commotion is to scare away ghosts or evil spirits which may be lurking throughout the district. Its important for members of the community to keep their doors closed at all times as they wouldn't want a ghost hiding in their house or place of business. 

There is a lot of preparation that goes into becoming a member of the Secret Night Patrol and it is also a great honour for followers of the Qingshan King to take part in the parade on his behalf. 

6. The Holy Generals (神將/大仙尪仔)

The Holy Generals are probably my favourite part of the parade - They are really cool looking and standing at around three meters tall they tower over all the people in the crowd as they walk past. The generals are split into two groups, one that will lead the parade and another that will escort the Qingshan King. After the Messenger checks to make sure everything is okay, the first group of Holy Generals leaves the temple and parades around the city. The King comes at the end and is escorted by two of the most famous of the generals named Qi Ye (七爺) and Ba Ye (八爺)

The generals serve as messengers from the netherworld and their job is to patrol the streets as netherworld-police arresting bad spirits and judging them appropriately. In life they were famous generals who became agents of god after their death. The generals are generally led by a short general and walk together in groups. Each general has a different coloured face and clothes  

It is quite common to see people in these types of costumes parading around during Taiwan's temple festivals, so if you can't make it to the Qingshan King Festival you will still have many chances to see them!  

7. The Qingshan King (青山王)

Qingshan King (青山王) 

The statue of the Qingshan King leaving the temple is more or less the grand finale of the parade The statue which is enclosed in the main shrine of the temple year round is placed in a sedan chair and follows the parade throughout Monga.

The king is followed by his bodyguards, members of the Holy Generals and when he comes around its best to have a set of ear plugs as there are horns blowing, gongs beating and firecrackers exploding non-stop. The point of all the noise is to try to convince the king to stay longer which is sign of good luck. 

When the parade is over the king returns to the temple and several different rituals are performed to see when is the proper time to return the king to his shrine. I visited the temple a second time a week after the parade finished and the king was still yet to be put back into his shine which meant that it was a good omen for the people of Monga. 

The Qingshan King Festival is a really cool event and I wish I would have been available to take part in all three days of the festivities. The temple is quite lively and the people I encountered were really friendly and more than willing to help me learn about the different aspects of the festival. This was my first time taking part in the parade, but I don't think it will be my last time.

I enjoyed almost every aspect of the parade (except for watching the Spirit Medium inflicting some major pain upon himself.) The next festival that I'll be taking part in is the City God Festival which is coming up in the next month or so. My next post will be about Qingshan Temple which will be followed up with further posts from Monga - I hope you enjoyed the shots and the information I provided. If you have any questions, comments or corrections don't be shy! 


Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots)

Click the Flickr link above to view all of the shots from the festival in one place. 

Qingshan King Festival (青山靈安尊王)

The Qingshan King Ritual (青山靈安尊王) is an annual three-day temple festival held in the Monga district (艋舺/萬華) of Taipei and is used to celebrate the birth of the Taoist god Lin-An Chun Wang (靈安尊王) or the Qingshan King (青山王) 

The Qingshan King is an important deity hailing from the Quanzhou (泉州) area of Fujian province in China, an area where a lot of the first Chinese immigrants of Taiwan originated hundreds of years ago. 

Legend has it that when the Hokkien (閩南人) immigrants first arrived in Taiwan, there was a lot of sickness due to a plague that was ravaging the area. The Qingshan Temple (青山宮) was one of the few places unaffected and soon became a popular place for the pious residents of the area to pray for their continued health and safety.

The festival is held between October 20th-22nd (on the Lunar Calendar) and during the festival the temple followers parade the temple god around the district with his troops, oracles and generals to inspect the homes and businesses to eliminate evil spirits and suffering and to bring good luck to the locals.

The festival is one of the largest and liveliest temple festivals in Taipei and the entire Monga district looks forward to this special time of the year where residents will often celebrate into the late hours of the night.

I’m going to end 2015 with several posts dedicated to the Monga district of Taipei. This post will be split into two parts which will be followed by posts about the Qingshan Temple (青山宮), Longshan Temple (龍山寺) and then several street photography posts about the people of Monga. 

I’m splitting this post up in an attempt to better explain the different aspects of the festival as well as to offer more context in terms of photos. I had a great time shooting this festival (even though I could only make it to one day of festivities) and I’ve had a lot of fun over the past few weeks hanging out in Monga which is truly one of Taipei’s most important districts in terms of history, culture and religion. 


1. The Messenger (報馬仔) 

The Messenger (報馬仔) 

The Qingshan king’s Messenger (報馬仔), pronounced "Bo-mê-á" in Taiwanese, is more or less the person who starts all the festivities. His duty is to approach the king and inform him that the time for the parade has come. He then leaves the temple beating his gong to find the best path for the king to inspect Bangka. In the old days the messenger used to bring an ox with him on his journey around the district, but these days the messenger will just wrap some food (usually Xian-Guang cakes 鹹光餅) around his body like a sash to represent the ox. 

The Messenger is quite unique looking and actually looks like someone you’d see in a Japanese cartoon. He wears a bamboo hat, typically worn by farmers in the country. He also carries an umbrella on his back and walks around beating a gong. He wears glasses which represent his ability to judge right from wrong and he has a moustache in the shape of the Chinese number eight (八) which means he is responsible and trustworthy. 

The man who performed the role of the Messenger this year was really interesting. He was elderly and one of my friends commented that he looked somewhat like the American actor Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad.) What I found most interesting is that he was in incredible shape and looked like he could probably kick my butt! 

2. The Spirit Medium / Oracle (乩童) 

Firecrackers wrapped around the oracle (乩童) 

The Spirit Medium can also be referred to as a “shaman” or an “oracle” and plays an important role in the parade as one of the leaders. In Mandarin the Oracle is called a “jitong” (乩童) and in Taiwanese he is referred to as a “tâng-ki” (童乩)

An oracle is someone who usually at a young age (童) is believed to have been chosen by a particular god or spirit as a vehicle for divine interpretation (乩) which means they are able to answer supernatural questions. 

When an Oracle is performing his or her duties they are said to be in a trance and completely under the control of forces within the spirit world which wish to communicate directly with humans. The role of the Oracle in the event is to communicate directly with the Qingshan King and confirm whether the time is ripe for him to venture out into the world. The oracle will enter a trance and perform several rituals and then will write down messages from the god. 

The most difficult part for foreigners to understand when it comes to these Oracles is how they cause themselves bodily harm through self-flagellation beating themselves with swords, axes, and nail-studded clubs which cause them to have pretty terrible and bloody wounds on their backs. 

These types of oracle rituals have lost a bit of their favour in modern Taiwan and are kind of on their way to becoming a thing of the past. Not many young people know or understand the role of a Taoist oracle and even some adults are hard pressed to explain what they do. It is quite interesting to see an oracle in action and over my decade of visiting temples I’ve only seen them in action a few times. This time I got to follow the oracle around for quite a bit to see what he was doing. I was able to get up and close to him to observe closely. It was quite interesting to say the least, but it seems quite strange to see someone walking around with a string of firecrackers wrapped around his body and having his friends light them. I guess I’m not really into inflicting pain on myself or others so it is still a bit hard to understand. 

3. The Eight Generals (八家將)

The Eight Generals (八家將) 

The Eight Generals (八家將) are one of the coolest aspects of the festivities and also one of the most popular. It was really hard to get close to them because as soon as they appeared it meant that it was time for the parade to leave and there was a massive rush to see them. 

The generals are regarded as bodyguards or attendants for temples of gods such as the Qingshan King, the City God (城隍爺), Matzu (媽祖), etc. 

The group consists of eight officers and one young boy (引路童子) who serves as a guide and carries a gourd-looking bottle. Each of the generals carries a different weapon used for torture in ancient times and they are supposed to appear quite scary. There are four generals with green faces (lock generals) and another four with red faces (cangue generals) 

For reference, the names of the generals who form the front line are Gan (甘爺), Liu (柳爺), Xie (謝爺), Fan (范爺) and the members of the back are Spring (春大神), Summer (夏大神), Autumn (秋大神) and Winter (冬大神.)

Each of the generals performs a specific role as a supernatural policeman of sorts. Some of them are in charge of investigating and catching evil spirits (lock generals) while others are in charge of judging them and dealing out punishment (cangue generals) to whatever evil supernatural forces which might be lurking in the district.

The general's primary duty during the Qingshan King Festival is to clear the area of evil spirits and as they walk through the streets of Bangka you are unlikely to see them smile as they are performing a very serious task before the Qingshan king makes his rounds - After all, it would be quite dumb to allow a king to walk around town without some sort of personal protection.

4. The Politician

Why am I even here asks Presidential Candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫)

The Eight Generals may have painted demon faces and carry around instruments used to torture people, but they aren't even remotely as scary as the "politician" which often rears its ugly head at these massive temple festivals. The politician often appears and causes a bit of annoyance with its smiles and arrogance. The 2015 version of the "politician" was none other than the Nationalist Party (國民黨) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) who appeared for a short time (after arriving late and delaying the parade) to very little fanfare from the crowd (likely due to his abyssal polling numbers) and made a very short and uninspiring speech before making his way back to his heavenly palace. 

I jest. Good luck in your continued role as mayor Eric Chu. 做好做滿!


I hope you enjoyed the first part of the festival. I hope to post part two in the next few days which will cover the Secret Night Patrol (暗訪), the Infernal Generals (大仙尪仔) and shots of the Qingshan King (青山王) himself.

If you have any questions or comments thus far, feel free to comment below! 

Part 2