Introduction to Temple of Guan Yu in Dongshan

The Temple of Guan Yu in Dongshan is located in the Wind Moving Rock National 4A Tourist Attraction which sits at the foot of Hulou Mountain in Tongling Town of Dongshan County on the southeast coast. It was built more than 600 years ago in the 20th year under Hongwu’s reign of Ming Dynasty (1387). In 1996, it was included into the fourth group of major cultural heritage sites protected at the national level by the State Council. In 2009, it was approved as the first group of major palace temples for exchanges with Taiwan by Zhangzhou Municipal Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and Taiwan Affairs Office of Zhangzhou Municipal People's Government. In October of 2017, it was further awarded as the first group of Fujian-Taiwan Exchange Bases by Taiwan Affairs Office of Fujian Provincial Party Committee and Taiwan Affairs Office of the Fujian Provincial People's Government. In October of 2019, the Temple of Guan Yu in Dongshan initiated a joint application of cultural heritage project for Guan Yu cultural and historical relics. 

The Temple of Guan Yu is not big in size, with a total length of 40 meters, a width of 17 meters and a building area of 680 square meters, but it is delicate and magnificent with overhanging eaves and brackets, carved beams and painted rafters, as well as dazzling gilt wood carving and stone carving. The roof is paved with glazed tiles, and the ridge is fixed with decorative porcelain in various styles of flowers, birds, fish, animals or fictional and historical characters, adding to its brilliance and magnificence.

As the ancestral temple of Guan Yu temples in Taiwan, the Temple of Guan Yu in Dongshan plays a critical role in the introduction of Guan Yu culture from the Central Plains to Taiwan and the rest of the world. Over the past centuries, on account of reclamation, military disputes, trade and other factors, there have been close exchanges between Dongshan and Taiwan, by means of which the incense has been distributed across the Straits to temples in Taiwan together with the Gu Yu culture. At present, there are nearly 1000 Guan Yu temples in Taiwan that recognize the Temple of Guan Yu in Dongshan as their ancestral temple, with thousands of believers coming to pay tribute. In addition, some of the Guan Yu temples in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and even the Americas were built with the incense and spirit coming from the Temple of Guan Yu in Dongshan back in the Qing Dynasty.