When it comes to the design of the temple, Sanxia's Xing-Xiu Temple is almost an identical twin to what you see in Taipei - The only major difference is that one is situated within a large metropolitan city while the other sits on the side of a mountain meaning that the environment that surrounds the temple makes it seem much larger than it actually is. All three temples however were built within a few years of each other making their age somewhat insignificant. This means that it actually predates its popular Taipei sister-temple by a couple of years but is still not the oldest temple in the group as the Beitou branch (北投行天宮) opened its doors to the public a few months earlier. The construction of Xing-Xiu Temple started in 1962 and was finished three years later in 1965. The area which is known as " Baiji" or White Chicken (白雞) is one that is known historically for the coal mining industry (of which there are still a few in operation) and is significant for the Hsin-Tian organization (恩主公) because its founder Master Hsuan Kung (玄空師父) was brought up and made a fortune in the mining industry before becoming a popular religious figure. Xing-Xiu Temple (行修宮) is nestled in the mountains near New Taipei City's Sanxia district (三峽區). These two gems have not really become tourists attractions in the same way that Xing-Tian temple has but are equally worthy of receiving the same amount of attention. While Xing-Tian temple gets the majority of the attention - the other two temples that belong to the organization are equally grand and visually very similar. The organizations decision to ban the usage of burning incense and paper throughout each of its three temples ultimately caused a ripple effect among some of the other larger temples in Taipei which have been reluctant to change but have since made plans to follow suit and contribute to help make Taipei a more environmentally friendly place to live! The temple has been able to use its relative youth to its advantage and has taken a leadership role in promoting progressive policies that aim to help protect the environment. According to the temple's own estimates, over 10,000 people walk through its doors each day making it one of Taipei's busiest tourist spots despite only being half a century old. Though most temples in Taiwan achieve " famous" status due to their age and their historical significance - Xing-Tian Temple has been able to become one of the most highly-visited places of worship in Taipei and also a popular destination for people who are visiting the city and want to experience a bit of Taiwanese culture in action. While in the process of doing research for my recent post about Taipei's popular Xing-Tian Temple, I was surprised to learn that the popular religious and tourist landmark was the headquarters of an organization that consisted of three temples, several libraries and a hospital which were all built thanks to the charitable donations of the organization and its vast group of followers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |