Bangka Lungshan Temple
艋舺龍山寺
Taipei's oldest temple, founded in 1738 by immigrants from Quanzhou. Guanyin and the Old Man of the Moon are both worshipped here, and its fine stone carvings and caisson ceilings make it the city's most popular center of faith.
Bangka Lungshan Temple is in Wanhua District. In 1738, immigrants from the Sanyi area of Quanzhou in Fujian raised funds to build it. It is a branch of the Longshan Temple in Anhai, Jinjiang. It is Taipei's oldest and most popular temple. Together with the Qingshuiyan Patriarch Temple and the Dalongdong Baoan Temple, it is known as one of Taipei's three great temple gates. The temple is a three-hall courtyard palace. The main hall enshrines Guanyin Bodhisattva. The rear hall houses Mazu, Wenchang Dijun, Guan Gong and the Old Man of the Moon, among other Taoist deities, reflecting a blend of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Toward the end of World War II, the main hall was bombed, but the statue of Guanyin survived intact, and devotees regard this as a sign of its efficacy.
The most notable features include the copper-cast coiled dragon columns in the front hall (the only pair in Taiwan), the spiral caisson and octagonal caisson in the main hall (built without a single nail), and the stone carvings and jianian ceramic decorations at the entrance. All were made by master craftsmen in the 1920s and are considered representative of temple art in Taiwan. Young visitors most often pray to the Old Man of the Moon for love or to Wenchang for success in exams. The temple provides free incense and fortune-telling slips. Admission is free.
The surrounding area is Taipei's oldest neighborhood, and you can combine a half-day tour of Huaxi Street Night Market (snake meat shops and drunken shrimp), the Bopiliao Historic Block (Qing-era street houses and a filming location for the film Monga) and Qingcao Lane (century-old herbal tea shops). Getting there: take Exit 1 from Longshan Temple Station on the Bannan MRT Line.
Notes: inside the temple, enter from the right and exit from the left, and do not step on the center of the threshold. Do not take photos in front of worshippers. The Longshan Temple Park area can be complex at night, so keep an eye on your belongings.
Opening hours
06:00–22:00
Nearby sights
- Ximending
- Presidential Office Building
- Taiwan Museum
- Dihua Street & Dadaocheng
- Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
- Ningxia Night Market
- Huashan 1914 Creative Park
- Xingtian Temple