Taiwan Religious Culture Map

Situated on Shennong Street, Jinhua Temple is dedicated to Wenheng Shengdi (Sagely Emperor Weighing Literary Talent, more commonly known as Guan Yu, Guangong, or Guansheng Dijun). Shennong Street was once known as Beishi Street, part of the old Five Canals area. Jinhua Temple started out as the tutelary deity temple of the Hsu family, one of the most prominent clans of the Five Canals area. The original temple was built across the street from the current site when around 70 members of the Hsu family living on Beishi Street brought a statue of Wenheng Shengdi from their hometown of Haicheng County, Fujian in the 10th year of Daoguang Emperor's reign in the Qing era (1830 CE). The temple was moved to its current location in the 2nd year of the Taishō era (Japanese colonial period; 1913 CE). Its layout is restricted by the street and the two townhouses on either side, making it a townhouse temple that showcases how townhouses in the Five Canals area could be converted into places of worship in the Qing era. A post-war renovation project conducted from 1947 to 1948 CE formed the style and layout of today's Jinhua Temple, which has two central structures and an additional baiting (worship pavilion). From front to back, the temple consists of the front gate, baiting, and main hall, with guoshui (small passageway between structures) on both sides of the baiting.