Liu Hai Temple and Liu Hai Well

Liu Hai Temple and Liu Hai Well

Liu Hai Temple and Liu Hai Well are cultural tourism attractions.

There is a local legend in Mengcheng about the Seven Immortals and Eight Scenic Spots. Among the seven immortals, one is revered by the locals as Liu Hai the Immortal.

Liu Hai, whose given name was Zhe, courtesy name Zhaoyuan, and alias Haichan, was a native of Bohai. He passed the imperial examination of the Jin Dynasty at the age of sixteen and became prime minister at fifty. One day, after court, he encountered two Taoist priests who bowed to him and invited him to their home for a short rest. They then asked him for a gold coin...

In the northwest corner of the old town stands an ancient temple and its courtyard, with a well located just outside the eastern wall of the temple. This is the legendary Liu Hai Temple and Liu Hai Well passed down among the locals. Though the temple is not large, its fame reaches far and wide. Inside the temple are three shrines. On the central altar sits a plump, smiling deity, with a Ruyi belt adorned with a gold coin slung across his shoulders and held in both hands. Before the deity lies a golden toad seemingly trying to bite the coin — this is “Liu Hai the Immortal.” Later, a statue of Xiao He, the founding figure of China’s earliest legal system, was erected on the eastern shrine platform. On the western platform stands a statue of the Swift Retribution God. Within the temple courtyard are two east-side rooms that were initially used as living quarters for the temple caretaker but later became a place where locals who practiced vegetarianism and good deeds would come to hold prayer sessions, chant scriptures, and pray for wishes. The walls inside are adorned with paintings that encourage people to do good. The well just outside the eastern wall of the temple is known as “Liu Hai Well.” The mouth of the well is surrounded by a single, round bluestone well curb. Around the well opening are various rope marks of different sizes and depths, said to have been worn over time by the magical rope Liu Hai once used to retrieve the golden toad maiden from the well. These marks reportedly remained until the toad maiden was finally saved. This is the legend of Liu Hai Temple, Liu Hai Well, and Liu Hai retrieving the golden toad.