Visit the Fazhugong Temple

#2月好地方2025 Taipei Fazhugong Temple is a Fazhu Zhenjun Temple located in Chaoyangli, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan. It originated from the beliefs of the Minnan people in Anxi and is listed as one of the three major temples in Dadaocheng along with Dadaocheng Xiahai City God Temple and Dadaocheng Cisheng Temple. Fazhugong Temple Fazhugong is said to be the patron saint of tea merchants in Dadaocheng area. This five-story building is built in a rectangular style. The temple is separated by alleys and has elevator facilities, which is really a major architectural feature of the temple. This subverts Taiwan’s traditional temple architecture. The origin of this temple is said to be that in the 19th century, due to trade exchanges, Dadaocheng in Taipei City gathered shops from all walks of life, and tea shops were an important industry for each store to open. In order to prosper his business, in 1867, tea merchant Chen Shuchu separated the spirit from the Biling Palace in Anxi County, Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province. The main deity of the temple is Fazhugong. In 1878, tea merchant Chen Jide made a special trip to Xiamen and sculpted a golden statue of Fazhugong for worship. This was also the earliest Fazhugong temple dedicated to Fujian immigrants when they crossed the sea to open up Taiwan. It was not until 1968 that the Taipei City Government demolished the rear hall of the Dharma Lord Temple to widen the road. After the demolition, the Fazhugong Temple became a small rectangular temple with only the front hall left. In 1996, the temple rebuilt it and converted the hall site into a five-story building. The temple has four pairs of the largest bronze dragon pillars in Taipei City. Thirty-six heavenly soldiers and generals are carved on the dragon pillars, which have the meaning of guarding the temple. The Fazhugong Temple is not only a rare temple building in Taiwan that has four halls arranged in a narrow and tall building, but the entrance and exit of the temple is also designed as an elevator, which is also unique in Taiwan. The Fazhugong Temple has a special Taoist ritual called begging for turtles. Red tortoise cake which is commonly used in sacrifices. Legend has it that when the Lord of Dharma was capturing a demon, he was hungry and had no strength to fight. After eating red tortoise cake, he immediately recovered his strength and continued to subdue the demon. Therefore, every year on the 23rd day of the ninth lunar month, believers would come to beg the Dharma Master for red tortoise cakes to pray for peace, and the following year they would repay double the amount of the previous year. If the red tortoise cake is not returned within three years, the believer’s name will be written on red paper and pasted on the temple wall, commonly known as the tortoise wall. 📍Address: No. 2, Lane 344, Nanjing West Road, Datong District, Taipei City 103 #2月好地方2025