Manka Longshan Temple
About
The only pair of bronze dragon pillars in all of Taiwan stands right before the main hall of Manka Longshan Temple, one of the oldest temples in Taipei's Wanhua District — here, even the columns holding up the roof are something you won't find anywhere else. Step into the three-hall, courtyard-enclosed complex and look up: the main hall's spiral caisson ceiling coils inward ring by ring, astonishing in its detail. Longshan Temple's main hall is dedicated to Guanyin Bodhisattva, yet its rear hall houses more than a hundred deities — Mazu, Wenchang Dijun, Lord Guan (Guansheng Dijun), and the beloved Matchmaker (Yue Lao) among them — packing all of the Taiwanese 'no divide between gods and buddhas' spirit into a single temple, where you can pray for success, love, or peace, each at its own altar. It ranks alongside Taipei 101 and the National Palace Museum as a must-see for international visitors, but to the people of Wanhua it is simply the neighborhood temple they come to on the 1st and 15th of every lunar month. Stone carving, woodwork, and painted decoration fill every corner, and at the height of worship the entire forecourt fills with people.
History
In 1738, during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, a group of immigrants from the Three Districts of Quanzhou crossed the strait to Taiwan and brought a divided incense of Guanyin from their hometown's Longshan Temple in Jinjiang to Manka, building this temple. In its early days it was far more than a place of worship — it served as a center where immigrants met and settled affairs, and even became a historical stage during the Qing-era 'Ding-Xia Jiao Feud' between clan factions. Over more than two centuries, earthquakes, storms, and war struck again and again. The most harrowing came near the end of World War II, when Allied air raids destroyed the main hall completely — yet afterward people found the Guanyin statue unharmed, a wonder devotees still recount as Longshan's 'greatest miracle.' The temple we see today is largely the work of the master craftsman Wang Yi-shun, who led its meticulous restoration in the 1920s, turning this temple reborn from disaster into a masterpiece of traditional Taiwanese temple architecture.
Manka Longshan Temple
Wanhua District, Taipei City
Visitor Info
Address
No. 211, Guangzhou St, Wanhua District, Taipei City
Region
Wanhua District, Taipei City