霞海城隍廟

Dihua Street Lunar New Year Market 2017

January 27, 2017 in Photo Post, Old Street, Taipei, Travel

The busiest of all the Lunar New Year Markets in Taiwan is Taipei’s Dihua Street (迪化街) in one of the oldest districts of the city. It is estimated that each year more than a million people visit the street in the two weeks leading up to the Lunar New Year festivities and that number is consistently rising with the market becoming larger each year.

Click here for the 2015 and 2016 Dihua Street Lunar New Year Photos.

This year the "street" has continued its outward expansion and is branching out to the neighbouring streets around it. It seems that with the rent being so extreme and more businesses wanting in on the action that the city has planned several streets to allow people to do their shopping and that in turn should allow for the easing of traffic on the street itself.

Dihua Street (迪化街) and the entire Dadaocheng area (大稻埕) has a history dating back to the 1850s where it was an important centre for commerce in Taipei - especially for Taiwanese tea, Chinese medicine, fabrics, etc. The street today still remains one of the most commercially active areas in Taipei and has been preserved to show its historical roots. Many of the buildings on the street were built in the baroque style which is quite common on many of Taiwan's old streets (Like Daxi Old Street)

Check out: Love, Daodaocheng - A site dedicated to the historic area of Taipei

The street is busiest during the preparations for Lunar New Year, but considering its history, it is an important tourist attraction for Taipei and you will also find the Xiahai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟) on the street as well which is one of Taipei's most important temples with Bao-An Temple (保安宮) and Confucius Temple (台北孔廟) also nearby. There is always something interesting going on in the area and it is a great place to visit to see "old Taipei" so if you can't make it during the Lunar New Year market, you can still go whenever you visit the city!

While visiting the street it is common to find vendors selling all sorts of peanuts, cashews and pistachios as well as different types of candy and traditional snacks. There are cured meats, freshly made Taiwanese-style and Hong Kong-style sausages as well as pork knuckle. If you are a fan of jerky you are in for a treat as you will find various styles of Taiwanese pork and beef jerky as well as different styles of dried fish and squid.

Vendors also sell all sorts of dried mushrooms, dried scallops, dried abalone and something called mullet row (烏魚子) or as the Japanese call it "karasumi" (カラスミ) which is an expensive salted and dried roe of the mullet fish. I'm not really a big fan, but it is popular in Taiwan and is a sign of wealth if you are able to serve it at your Lunar New Year feast.

You will also find an unhealthy variety of candy that can be in the form of dried fruit or the gummy variety. Lunar New Year is all about the family and children are an important part of the family. It is quite common to have a lot of candy available for the kids to eat while the parents are having fun and drinking Taiwanese Kaoliang (高粱酒) or Cognac and gambling.

One of the unfortunate aspects of the traditional market is that the sale of Shark Fin is still so prevalent - despite protests and a society that is changing its attitude toward the terrible and inhumane act of shark finning. There are various vendors throughout the market selling dried shark fins and while they continue to make profit off of such a bloody and wasteful trade - they are also quite aware that societies perception is changing and that the foreign community are very vocal about it which means these shop owners are not very keen on being photographed.

The Lunar New Year Market on Dihua Street is progressively getting bigger each year and the amount of people that show up in the time leading up to the important holiday has also increased exponentially. It is a great time of the year to be a photographer in Taipei and getting to the street is one of the things that photographers around here enjoy doing. Getting good shots however can be difficult due to the amount of people and the constant state of motion. You have a split second to get a photo before the people behind you are pushing and that is part of the reason why it is so exciting.

Lunar New Year is a busy time in Taiwan and I'll be quite busy as usual. The entire country has a week off from work and I'll be taking part in the festivities with friends. The weather is looking good for the first few days so I'll be busy with my camera!

Happy Lunar New Year! 大家，新年快樂～雞年大吉！恭喜發財

Gallery / Flickr (High Res Photos)

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Taipei's Top Three Temples (台北三大廟門)

January 18, 2017 in Temples, Travel, Photo Post, Taipei

Modern Taiwan is a mixed bag of many different ethnicities, cultural influences, traditions and histories, but one of the uniting factors that brings people together is that of the deep-rooted spiritual and religious traditions practiced by the people across the nation.

As visitors to this beautiful island nation, whatever past experiences you may have had while traveling in other countries, or any preconceived notions may have about the combination of tourism and religion, you really don’t have to worry about any of these things when you’re here. If you take the time to visit any place of worship in this country, you’ll never have to fear being approached by weirdos wanting to convert you, nor will anyone ever hit you up for donations.

For the people of Taiwan, spirituality is something that is considered to be private, and you’ll discover that people are extremely tolerant and respectful of others. Suffice to say, unlike so many other places around the world, its highly unlikely that anyone in Taiwan will ever ask about your religious beliefs, and that is one reason why religious conflict is something that seems almost unimaginable here.

That being said, the religious experience here is also a mixed bag that includes ‘zen-like’ solitary experiences where you might find yourself enjoying beautiful mountain views, listening to the humming of Buddhist chants while sipping on some locally grown tea - or you could find yourself walking amongst crowds of thousands of people in the midst of a rambunctious procession of drum-beating trucks with fireworks and firecrackers being set off mere meters away.

For the most part, the people of Taiwan are polytheistic, practicing a blend of Buddhism, Taoism and Chinese Folk Religion. Nevertheless, thanks to democratic reforms over the past few decades, religious diversity is a cherished and protected right, allowing the people of Taiwan the freedom to practice any faith they choose - or to come up their own religion if they see fit! As of 2020, the government officially recognizes twenty-six different religions, but save for some foreign imports like Christianity, Islam, Mormonism and Scientology, most of them are related to, or offshoots of the big three mentioned above. Data indicates that nearly 75% of the population identifies with one of these three religions. From personal experience however, I’d argue that these numbers are likely skewed by the fact that most people make little to no differentiation between the three, so when asked on an official census, they likely just checked a box.

Taiwan’s places of worship come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from miniature shrines, located along mountain paths to massive awe-inspiring palaces - so with more than 30,000 places of worship throughout the country, you’d probably think that it would be difficult to choose just a handful that stand out above the rest, but that actually isn't the case. The so-called 'big' temples, in Taipei at least, are easily identifiable, and each of them share a rich and interconnected history with the local community and the immigrants who settled here centuries ago. When it comes to the most influential places of worship in Taiwan, size is rarely one of the factors that ultimately determines the significance of one of these places, and you’ll definitely see that on the list below. That being said, one thing you’re likely to notice is that the further you travel outside of the capital, the larger some of these places of worship become.

When I originally wrote this article in 2017, I was still somewhat new to the whole travel blogging thing, so after about six years, I’ve decided to give the article a bit of an update. Part of the reason I’m doing this now is because I’ve observed in recent months that quite a few visitors have been landing here, which I suppose is due to the fact that the pandemic is over and tourists have started visiting the country again. Obviously, I’ll maintain the same format as the original article and introduce three of the most important places of worship in Taipei, but I’m also going to include a few honorable mentions, which have also become pretty popular destinations for international tourists visiting Taiwan.

Before I start though, I should probably mention that after I published this article, I did a follow up with a similar article listing the ‘Top Three’ temples in Bangka (艋舺), which is another list of temples that focuses entirely on one of Taipei’s most historic districts. However, you’ll notice that there is quite a bit of overlap between the two lists, which goes to show how important that part of the city has been with regard to its development.

Link: Bangka's Top Three Temples (艋舺三大廟門)

Massive Thousand-Arm Guanyin Statue at Taipei’s Guandu Temple.

Taiwan’s capital is a beautiful modern metropolis, and is one of Asia's leading economic hubs. The city has developed at an amazing rate over the past few decades, becoming a high-tech urban center that, to the benefit of all of its citizens, pays respect to the beautiful mountains and natural environment that surrounds it. The capital is famously home to numerous mountain vistas that, like the city’s places of worship, have also become popular tourist destinations.

Link: Taipei Cityscapes Guide

In terms of temples though, Taipei is well-known for its so-called 'Top Three Temples’ (台北三大廟門), which are cultural relics, each of which date back several centuries to the days when the city was first founded. The travel guides that introduce the country often talk about these temples, which are just as often jam-packed with the faithful as they are with tourists, who visit to learn more about Taiwan's unique cultural and religious heritage.

Obviously, the capital, like the rest of the country is home to its fair share of places of worship, so when it comes to identifying the ‘Top Three’, you’ll find there is a bit of inconsistency between foreign travel guides and the opinions of locals as to which temples actually belong on the list. While some might disagree, my list will focuses more on what locals consider to be the most important places of worship in the city, but I'm also going to include those that are also often featured on the list, and I’ll provide links to individual articles that I’ve written about each of them so that readers can find more in-depth information about them.

Bao-An Temple (大龍峒保安宮)

The Dalongdong Bao-An Temple in Taipei’s Datong District (大同區) is the unanimous top-pick on all of the lists for Taipei's 'Top Three' temples. The temple has been recognized by the UNESCO Asia-Pacific World Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Preservation, and is regarded as a Taiwanese national treasure. The temple has a history that dates back to 1742, and is intertwined with the history of Hokkien (閩南人) immigrants from Fujian (福建), who settled in Taipei and started to develop the city several centuries ago.

Bao-An Temple should be high on the list of locations for a travelers itinerary while visiting Taipei, especially if your trip coincides with the annual Baosheng Cultural Festival (保生文化祭) festivities that celebrates the birth of the temple’s primary deity, the Baosheng Emperor (保生大帝). Similarly, a visit to Bao-An Temple also provides visitors with the opportunity to check out Taipei’s beautiful Confucius Temple (台北孔廟), which is conveniently located next door.

Address: #61, Hami Street, Datong District, Taipei. (臺北市大同區哈密街61號)

Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺)

Bangka’s Longshan Temple is probably one of Taiwan's most well-known temples and as one of the busiest places of worship in the city, Longshan Temple is constantly jam-packed with worshipers and tourists, alike.

The temple has a history that dates back to 1738, and just like Bao-An temple, also shares a close relationship with the Hokkien immigrants who came to Taiwan several centuries ago. The temple is primarily dedicated to Guanyin (觀音菩薩), the Buddha of Compassion, but like many other places of worship in Taiwan, it also has shrines set up to Taoist and local folk religion deities, making it a convenient place to visit.

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

Located next to the Longshan Temple MRT Station (龍山寺捷運站), this is one of the most convenient of the ‘Top Three’ temples to visit, and it’s important to note that it is located within the heart of the historic Bangka (艋舺) district of Taipei where you’ll find a number of other popular tourist destinations, including the Bopiliao Historic Block (剝皮寮歷史街區), Shintomicho Cultural Market (新富町文化市場), Huaxi Street Night Market (華西街夜市), etc.

Address: #211 Guangzhou Street, Wanhua District, Taipei (台北市萬華區廣州街211號)

Bangka Qingshui Temple (艋舺清水巖)

While Bao-An Temple and Longshan Temple are always featured on the list of the 'Top Three' temples, Bangka’s Qingshui Temple seems to be the one that is 'questionable' as to whether or not it belongs on the list. This isn't to say that this temple isn't amazing, or that its history, which dates back to 1787 isn't as impressive. It just isn't as ‘busy’ as the other two temples, which often make the list, nor is it as popular with tourists.

Nevertheless, Qingshui Temple, like Longshan Temple and Bao-An Temple shares an interconnected history with the Hokkien immigrants who settled in Taipei several centuries ago. The temple is dedicated to Master Qingshui (清水祖師), a popular Buddhist monk and folk-hero whose worship was imported to Taiwan by immigrants from Fujian province in China.

As far as I’m concerned, Qingshui Temple makes the list as one of the 'Top Three' due to its age, and the important relationship it has played throughout history. That being said, I think it’s important to note that there are several ‘Qingshui Temples’ in the Greater Taipei area with the one in New Taipei City’s Sanxia District (三峽區) being incredibly influential, and one of my personal favorites.

Link: Qingshui Zushi Temple (清水祖師宮)

Whether you agree or not that Bangka’s Qingshui Temple belongs on the list, no one can deny it’s history and its importance with regard to the development of the city, so even though it’s relatively quieter by comparison to the two above, it’s still one of the city’s most important places of worship.

Address: #81 Kanding Road, Wanhua District, Taipei (臺北市萬華區康定路81號)

Xia-Hai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟)

Dadaocheng’s Xia-Hai City God Temple is one of the temples that is often placed on the list of the 'Top Three' temples of Taipei, and is clearly deserving of such an honor - the temple which is now over 160 years old is an important place of worship for the people of Taipei, but unlike the other temples on the list, it has never been rebuilt. Thus, when you visit today, what you’ll see is more or less what you would have seen back in 1859 when it was originally constructed.

Even though the temple is primarily dedicated to the City God (城隍爺), it has become especially popular in recent years with tourists from Japan, who visit hoping to find luck in love thanks to the effort of Yue-Lao (月下老人), the god of match-making. Of all the places of worship in Taiwan that have enshrined this deity, the Xia-Hai City God Temple is probably the most highly regarded for his high success rate in helping people find a partner. You can be sure that during any visit to the temple, you’ll encounter singles from all over Taiwan seeking some divine assistance in their search for a significant other.

While this temple is not as large as some of the others on the list, the history that it shares with the development of the Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area of Taipei, serving as a protector of the city has helped to shape the Taipei into the place it is today.

So whether you’re looking for love, or just a cool temple to visit, the City God Temple on the popular Dihua Street tourist area is one of the city’s most important places to visit!

Address: #61, Dihua Street, Datong District, Taipei (台北市迪化街一段61號)

Xingtian Temple (行天宮)

Xingtian Temple is another one of the temples that often gets added to the list of the 'Top Three' temples in Taipei. Unlike the other temples, this one doesn’t have a long intertwining history with the development of the city. Constructed a little more than a half-century ago, the temple is not even remotely close in age as some of the other entries on the list, but don't let age fool you, the significance of this one cannot be understated. The temple is visited by an estimated 10,000 people each day, and even though it has a short history, it has become a quintessential place of worship, and also a major attraction for tourists.

Due to its age, and the lack of centuries-old traditions, the temple has become somewhat of a trendsetter in recent years making waves within the spiritual world in Taiwan. In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, Xingtian Temple became one of the first major places of worship in Taiwan to ban the practice of burning paper or incense within the temple, which in turn has resulted in many other places of worship reconsidering some of their practices in order to protect the environment.

Primarily dedicated to Lord Guan (關聖帝君), a historic figure whose exploits are told in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (三國演義), his legend has transcended history books, and he has become an important figure within Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese Folk Religion traditions. Lord Guan is worshiped as an ‘all-knowing’ and ‘all-powerful' deity as a god of war, and a patron saint of business people and scholars. Worship of Lord Guan, however, may not necessarily be the main reason why Xingtian Temple has become so popular - the temple is highly regarded within the capital as one of the best places to go to have a traditional "recalling frightening souls" (收驚) ceremony performed. While visiting you are very likely to see long lines of people waiting to have this age-old, yet slowly disappearing, Taoist ritual performed, which helps purify oneself and bring calm to your soul.

Xingtian Temple is conveniently located next to an MRT station that shares its name, so getting there is rather straightforward, paying a visit to the temple is quite easy for any of you who’d like to check it out.

Address: #109 Minchuan Road Section 2, Zhongshan District, Taipei (台北市中山區民權東路二段109號)

Qingshan Temple (艋舺青山宮)

One of the temples that I feel deserves a place on the list of the city’s most important places of worship is Bangka’s Qingshan Temple. Located a short distance away from both Longshan Temple and Qingshui Temple, it is one of the most important places of worship in the historic Bangka District of the city, and in recent years has enjoyed a revival in its popularity thanks to the revival of the Qingshan King Festival (青山靈安尊王), which has become one of the most lively temple events on the yearly calendar.

Dating back to 1854, the temple is located on what is known as 'Taipei's First Street' (台北第一街), and is near the historic wharf, which once made Bangka an economic powerhouse. Dedicated to the Qingshan King (青山王), a historical figure from China's warring states period, similar to Bao-An Temple, people often visit the temple to seek divine assistance in curing sickness and disease.

However, the Qingshan King is also highly regarded for his ability to drive out evil, so 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.

Given that the temple’s annual three-day parade has become such a popular affair, a visit to Qingshan Temple should be high on any travelers list, and a visit can easily coincide with the other temples and tourist destinations within the heart of Bangka.

Address: #218 Guiyang Street, Section 2, Wanhua District, Taipei (臺北市萬華區貴陽街二段218號)

Clearly, even though this article advertises a list of the Top Three places of worship in Taipei, I assure you that my math isn’t that terrible. The list of Taipei’s most important temples is one that I find quite arbitrary, but the ‘Top Three’ title is a term that has become well-known in both Mandarin as well as English, so I suppose it’s important to hold true to these traditions.

There are, of course a number of other places of worship within Taipei that are deserving of a visit, so if you are interested in including some of them on a trip to Taipei, I recommend checking out some of the following:

Taipei Confucius Temple 台北孔廟 (Datong District)
Huguo Rinzai Temple 臨濟護國禪寺 (Datong District)
Songshan Ciyou Temple 松山慈佑宮 (Songshan District)
Taipei Tian Hou Temple 台北天后宮 (Ximen)
Guandu Temple 關渡宮 (Beitou District)
Puji Temple 普濟寺 (Beitou District)
Zhinan Temple 指南宮 (Wenshan District)
Bishan Temple 碧山巖 (Neihu District)
Jiantan Historic Temple 劍潭古寺 (Zhongshan District)
Hongludi Temple 烘爐地南山福德宮 (Zhonghe District)

Or you can just check out the list of some of the other places of worship that I’ve written about in the link below:

Link: Temples

Travel guides will insist that anyone who travels to Taiwan must visit at least one temple, and some of those on the list above are the most popular places to visit. While there are of course very important religious aspects to these buildings, it’s also important to note they’re are also perfect places to visit if you are eager to learn about the complexities of Taiwanese culture, language, history and identity. Even if you don’t understand much of what’s going on within them, visiting a temple here is a pretty cool experience.

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Xia-Hai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟)

November 12, 2016 in Travel, Photo Post, Taipei, Temples

The historic and beautiful Dadaocheng area (大稻埕) of Taipei has a colourful history dating back to the 1850s becoming one of the earliest centres for trade in Taipei helping to fuel the development of the city and make the people living there rich. Today the area is a popular tourist destination and is well-known for putting its well-preserved history on display.

Like a lot of other historically successful towns of the past, the merchant shopping area around Dadaocheng, specifically Dihua street has been converted into what Taiwanese people refer to as an "old street" (老街). These streets are quite common around the country and if you visit one (Daxi, Hukou, Sanxia) you will be treated to a historical journey through a town with preserved architecture and merchants selling local good and traditional products to the masses of tourists.

Dihua Street (迪化街) in particular is busiest during the lead up to Lunar New Year when it becomes one of the most important places in the capital for purchasing traditional snacks and necessary items for the all important holiday celebration.

The area however is not only home to Dihua Street but also the Taipei Confucius Temple (台北孔廟), Bao-An Temple (保安宮), Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市), Daodaocheng Wharf and many other buildings that have been preserved for their historical importance.

For more English resources check out the wonderful 'Love, Dadaocheng' website run by a fellow expat blogger who beautifully introduces the area in English.

Today I want to introduce one of Dadaocheng's most famous residents - The Xiahai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟) which happens to sit in the middle of Dihua Street and is one of the busiest places of worship in the city. The temple is one of the oldest in the city and (as I was surprised to find out) has a very interesting history that is related to the immigrants who came to Taiwan and helped to develop it into the amazing country it is today!

The Xiahai City God Temple is a small one, especially if you compare it to the so-called 'big three temples' of Taipei (台北三大廟門) or to its cousin, the Hsinchu City God temple.

Size however is not an important factor to the thousands of people who visit this temple each and every day - both inside and outside are constantly jam-packed full of locals and tourists alike who visit to learn more about the city and its history as well as pray for peace, love and happiness.

The people who work and volunteer in the temple speak a number of languages and are well-versed in explaining its history and more importantly how to properly pray and show respect to the City God so you don't end up looking like a dumb tourist! The temple also provides reading material to guests free of charge, so learning about this place is quite a lot easier than almost all of the other larger temples in the city！

History

Despite having a 160 year old history in its current location, it is not the oldest temple in the city yet has been lucky to differentiate itself from the other 'older' temples as the structure you see today is the same one you would have seen in 1859 when it was first built.

Unlike some of the other temples in the city which have had to be completely rebuilt on a few occasions, this one is still intact although it has undergone a few renovations over the years.

Temples like Longshan (1738) and Bao-An (1804) are 'technically' older but have unfortunately had to be rebuilt several times due to natural disaster and war. Check out my blogs about them to find out more.

The history of the temple (and the Dadaocheng area) is one that is intertwined with a group of immigrants who came to Taiwan in the 18th and 19th centuries originating in Fujian Province's (福建省) Tong-An County (同安縣), which is today a northern district of Xiamen city (廈門市).

Having first arrived in Taipei and settled in the Bangka (艋舺) area of the city, the immigrants had a difficult life in the early days which were confounded by sour relations with fellow immigrants from Fujian. In 1853 hostilities broke out (頂下郊拚) between the four major groups of immigrants who occupied the port area.

Being on the losing side of the conflict, the immigrants hailing from Tong-An county packed up and moved out of Bangka resettling in nearby Dadaocheng. The relocation however did not go very smoothly and over thirty-eight men died while transporting the City God statue from Bangka to its new home in Dadaocheng.

The Dadaocheng area (Pronounced: Tōa-tiū-tiâ in Taiwanese Hokkien) was populated a few years prior with another group of immigrants from Tong-An who moved from Taiwan's northern port of Keelung to do business in the city. The move proved to be extremely beneficial for the merchants who fled from Bangka as they used their resources and knowledge to make Dadaocheng, with its wharf into a commercially successful port of trade that quickly overtook Bangka as the most successful port of trade in northern Taipei.

Having learned from their experience in Bangka, the residents of Dadaocheng worked together to remove the possibility of conflict making the area a safe-haven for anyone of Han descent (漢人居住區) where it didn't matter what county or province you came from as long as you worked hard and contributed to society.

Interestingly, as I mentioned in my blog post about Bao-An Temple (保安宮), the name of the temple (which predates the City God Temple) is actually a play-on-words in Chinese with the character "Bao" (保) which means to "protect" and also the first character of the Baosheng Emperor's (保生大帝) name while the latter character "An" (安) means "safety" and also refers to the people from Tong-An.

To make a simple analogy, Bao-An Temple was constructed to act as a place for people to meet with a supernatural doctor to pray for assistance with health-related matters while the City God temple would be the place people would go to pray and make requests to a supernatural governor of sorts. The two temples would work hand-in-hand to help protect the people living in the area as well as give them a place to meet, congregate and keep traditions alive making their new home in Taipei feel a little bit like their own.

In 1856, an affluent general named Su Fei-Ran (蘇斐然) purchased and donated a suitable piece of land on Dihua Street for the construction of a temple while Lin You-Zao (林右藻) the leader of the Tong-An immigrants association worked to collect donations from the people in the area in order to build the temple.

Construction commenced in 1856 and was completed in March of 1859. The temple was a small 46 square meter structure designed according to Feng Shui.

Despite the important role the temple has served throughout its history, it has never expanded and has kept to its origin as a small temple that is likened to a "cave of a hen" which is said to help protect the people of Dadaocheng in the same way that a mother hen would protect its chicks.

The City God (城隍神)

The City God statue worshipped in the temple today was relocated from Bangka district and before that from a temple in China. The statue is not a Taiwanese native and like the immigrants who came to Taiwan was itself a stranger in a new land. The statue was originally named the "Xia-Cheng City God" (霞城城隍爺) when it sat in its original home in China. It was later renamed the "Xia-Hai City God" (霞海城隍爺) after crossing the Taiwan strait and making its new home in Taipei. (Hai "海" refers to the sea)

The City God (城隍神), or "Cheng Huang Ye" (城隍爺) is an interesting figure in Taoism and is an important god in the hierarchy of deities. There are temples dedicated to the City God all over Asia with at least 95 in Taiwan alone.

Worship of the City God is said to have started over two thousand years ago but is a religious tradition that has had to evolve over time with changes in political ideology as well as urban planning. The City God is a protector deity of sorts and is considered to be an important liaison between the living and the supernatural. The god was thought to have the ability to assist the earthly bureaucracy in making the right decisions as well as helping the government maintain order.

The function of the City God, who is also known as the God of "walls and moats" (城 means 'city' while 隍 is a 'moat') was to act as a supernatural 'magistrate' of sorts that would make decisions about the city's governance (along side human colleagues), the final judgement of citizens who lived within the borders of the city as well as helping to keep it safe.

It is believed that the City God works together with appointed officials of the court (or elected government in Taiwan's case) to improve not only the safety of an area but also its prosperity.

The City God's duties evolved over time into an all-purpose type of deity who not only held authority upon all matters in life and death within his specific territory but could offer assistance to someone with bad health, was robbed, was having business issues, etc.

Interestingly, in the early days of City God worship, if people prayed for rain and the god failed to 'bring the rain', it was within their ability to hold the god 'accountable' and punish him. Punishments for such heinous inaction could include leaving the statue in the hot sun, or having the local governor or magistrate whip him.

Holding a god accountable for not holding up his end of the bargain actually seems like a pretty good idea to me!

Modern worship of the City God is much different and the notion of taking the statue out of its shrine to torture it seems like an impossibility.

Today, the City God continues to be that all-purpose deity but is widely revered in Taiwan with 95 temples dedicated in his honour.

The Xiahai City God temple in particular though is a special one due to the fact that the economic successes of the immigrants who lived in the Dadaocheng area seemed to be a direct reflection of the City God's favour. As a protective deity from their home, the City God in the temple became a symbol of the immigrants ethnic identity and was thought to be the mould that kept the people together.

Every year, on May 13th (Lunar Calendar), Dadaocheng celebrates the "Xia-Hai City God Cultural Festival" (台北霞海城隍文化節) in honour of the birthday of the City God. The festival is one of the most well-known temple events on the yearly calendar in Taipei that features a parade, an inspection, a birthday feast, art performances, Taiwanese opera performances, traditional hand puppet performances, etc.

The festival goes on for five days (May 14th - 18th) and while it is extremely loud, it is one of the happiest times of the year in Dadaocheng, so if you're in the area, make sure to try to take part.

The City God's Wife (城隍夫人)

The City God's Wife is an important fixture in City God temples and a temple dedicated to the City God wouldn't be complete without a shrine to his wife. While the City God is busy being the all-important politician, his wife deals with matters of the heart and is known as a Chinese Cupid of sorts. She is a useful goddess to pray to when you are looking for love, marriage or having children - And even if your husband has bad habits like gambling, drinking or sleeping around - She'll help take care of that!

This specific shrine to the City God's wife was created in 1894 making the statue over 120 years old. The shrine is used primarily by women, but it is also common to see men praying to the City God's wife to ask for help in making his wife happy or helping her become pregnant.

While it may seem like a sexist tradition to some, the City God's wife is just as important as the City God himself and despite their shrines being in different rooms, they are set up to represent the roles that leaders of the past would have had. The shrine to the City God's wife is set up to be very official and she seems to be working a lot harder than the City God himself.

Accompanying the City God's Wife in this shrine is the Goddess Mazu (媽祖) who is one of the most important and widely worshipped of all the deities in Taiwan as well as the Childbirth Goddess (註生娘娘) who does pretty much what her name suggests. Women will pray to both the City God's Wife and the Childbirth Goddess for help getting pregnant, a successful and healthy pregnancy and a happy marriage.

The Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人)

Another interesting thing about this temple is how it has evolved over time - While it is primarily dedicated to the City God it has since become an important place for people looking for luck in love. The temple's statue of the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人) who is commonly known as "Yue-Lao" (月老) has become the most famous in the country and is widely revered for its matchmaking skills.

Young people from all over Taiwan will visit the temple to pray to the god and also make offerings hoping that the god will grant them favour and they'll find that 'special' person. The temple keeps an elaborate list of all the people who have attributed the gods help to their finding love and if you do seek the help of the god it's a good idea to come back after the wedding and bring some of your wedding cookies as a sign of your appreciation.

In Taiwan when something achieves the status of being "famous", word spreads quickly and means that lines are soon to follow. Despite the fact that fame is often a fleeting thing, the fame achieved by the Yue Lao statue and it's (so-called) miracles has somewhat trumped the importance of the City God in modern Taiwan making the temple renowned for its matchmaking skills than for the City God and its history.

Interestingly, the fame enjoyed by this statue is not contained to Taiwan alone as it is well-known in Japan as well. If you visit the temple you will undoubtedly run into crowds of Japanese tourists who visit to seek help from the Old Man Under the Moon in matters of the heart.

The Brave Guards (義勇公)

The temple has a special shrine set up to the "Brave Guards" that is very similar to the Yimin Shrine (義民爺) at the Yimin Temple in Hsinchu. The shrine is a very simple one that consists of a spirit plaque (神位) dedicated to the thirty-eight people who sacrificed their lives transporting the City God statue from Monga to Dadaocheng in 1853.

In front of the spirit plaque are two interesting statues, one of General Shi Lang (施琅) and another of an interesting figure known as Taiwan's Robin Hood (廖添丁).

General Shi Lang was the commander-in-chief of the Qing army which forced the surrender of the Kingdom of Tungning (東寧王國) which had its base of operations in Tainan. The so-called kingdom was a group of Ming (明朝) loyalists under the leadership of the Zheng clan (鄭). In 1683, General Shi Lang's navy landed in Taiwan and accepted the surrender of the Zheng's ending their rule over Tainan and their rebellion against the Qing.

The importance of Shi Lang to this temple however is that his base of operations in China was in "Xia-Cheng" (霞城) which he helped build up into a prosperous city. The statue of the City God in this temple was originally from Xia-Cheng, so the statue of General Shi Lang sits in the temple today to commemorate his founding of the city.

Taiwan's "Robin Hood" is a whole different story and is one that is actually comical and somewhat hard to believe. Basically the story goes that a Taichung-born outlaw named Liao Tian Ding held a very low opinion of the Japanese during the colonial period and used his skills as a master thief to steal from the rich and help the poor. He moved to Dadaocheng which was an affluent neighbourhood of Taipei and after robbing from the rich, he hid his loot under the City God shrine which he would later distribute to the poor.

Unfortunately Liao would die at the age of 27 while hiding from authorities in a cave. He has since become a folk hero and a statue of his likeness was placed in the temple to remind people of the relationship he shared with it. There has since been movies, tv shows, comics and games made using the character of Taiwan's Robin Hood, so while the stories of his legend might be as hard to believe as the English Robin Hood, its still a nice folk tale.

Buddhism Shrine (佛像)

While the City God and most of the other shrines in the temple are dedicated to Chinese folk-religion deities, there is also a shrine set up for Buddhists. It may seem strange to westerners that different religions have the ability to intermix within the same building without explosions or violence, but that is the beautiful thing about the way Taiwanese people practice their religions. The combination of Taoism, Folk Religion and Buddhism in a single place of worship has become commonplace here and no one would ever find it strange.

The Buddhist shrine in this temple is full of statues of the various Buddha's who are worshipped in Taiwan. You will see Guanyin (觀音), Bodhidharma (達摩祖師), Ksitigarbha (地藏王菩薩), the Medicine Buddha (彌勒佛), Mulian (目犍連), the Earth God (土地公 or 福德正神) and Guan Gong (關帝爺).

While the Buddha shrine in the temple is a small one (and mixed together with a couple of Taoist gods) it is a nice one as far as Buddhist shrines go in temples of this kind. There is a wide variety of statues, some of Buddha's that you don't commonly see in Taiwan and they more or less are all made with the same material and very aged.

The temple continues to this day to be an important place of worship for the descendants of the Tong-An immigrants but has opened its doors to all the people of the world who want to visit and show respect to the City God and the amazing history of immigration in this country.

As a popular tourist attraction, the temple offers excellent multi-lingual services to guests from all over the world. There are knowledgable volunteers who are available to offer guided tours and instructions as to how to take part in worshipping at the temple - not a common practice among some of Taiwan's larger more touristy temples.

If you are visiting Taipei, a stop at this temple and a day of exploring the historic district is highly recommended - You can learn a lot about the history of the city and experience it while walking through the beautiful streets and alleyways!

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