Hualien City God Temple
Main Deities
About
During the Japanese colonial 'kominka' campaign, many temples across Taiwan were forced to close or be torn down — the Hualien City God Temple slipped through with one clever move. The temple quietly began enshrining Koxinga (Guoxingye, whose mother, Lady Tagawa, was Japanese, so the colonial authorities regarded him as part-Japanese) and even set Koxinga's cap upon the City God, and so the temple was saved. One of the oldest temples in Hualien City, it is dedicated to the state-protecting City God (Chenghuang) and has witnessed a century of the region's change. Its architecture blends Minnan style with Japanese elements — the roof of the opera stage across the plaza still carries a distinctly Japanese flavor — and together with local snacks like the famous temple-front black tea, it anchors a lively neighborhood, a fine place to pay respects to the City God and eat well in Hualien.
History
The temple was founded in the Japanese Taisho era, around the 1920s, funded by Hualien's Han settlers as the city's foremost center of City God worship. Modest at first, it enshrined the City God attended by the civil and martial judges and the Fan and Xie generals — the well-known Seventh and Eighth Lords. As Hualien's population grew after the war, the temple was expanded several times into its present form. It has never been merely a place to burn incense: for years it has run charitable works and winter relief, a mainstay of local welfare. Its grandest moment comes with the Zhongyuan (Ghost Month) festival of the seventh lunar month, when the City God's touring procession winds mightily through the streets and draws crowds lining every road.
Hualien City God Temple
Hualien City, Hualien County
Visitor Info
Address
No. 169, Chenggong St, Hualien City, Hualien County
Region
Hualien City, Hualien County