Zhangzhou Jinfapalace

Zhangzhou Jinfapalace

On a houseboat moored by the riverside park between Zhongshan Bridge and Zhanbei Bridge over the Jiulong River in Xiacheng District, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, sits the world’s smallest and most mysterious pocket-sized floating temple — Jinfapalace.

The Jiulong River has been home to numerous houseboats through the generations. As the boat dwellers lived, ate, and worked entirely on their boats, drifting from place to place, the boats became their homes, hence the name “houseboats.” Early boat dwellers were engaged in fishing, clamming, sand dredging, and transportation, living under extremely harsh conditions. Because their work on the water was fraught with danger, they worshipped deities to seek protection and safety.

The world’s smallest and most mysterious floating temple — Zhangzhou Jinfapalace

Jinfapalace is a temple passed down through generations of boat dwellers, with a history of over 500 years. Measuring just 90 cm in width, 85 cm in length, and 88 cm in height, it is eligible to apply for a Guinness World Record. The temple is divided into front and rear halls. The main hall enshrines the Goddess Jiutian Xuannü, her attendants Sword Boy and Seal Boy, the Jade Emperor, the King of Hell, Guan Yu the Great God, Nezha the Third Prince, and the Four Kings — Chi, Zhu, Xing, and Li. The front hall houses the Black Tiger General and the Earth God, along with the Snake Goddess Famo Ye. The religious ritual of Nezha Drum Music, which coexists with the temple, is an intangible cultural heritage of Fujian Province; the unique ceremony of sending the King Boat out to sea on the 13th day of the ninth lunar month is a distinctive part of boat dweller culture. The temple’s devotees are spread across Xiacheng District, Longhai City, Nanjing County, Pinghe County, Changtai County, Hua’an County in the Jiulong River basin, as well as some local residents on land.

The temple features exquisite wood carvings, with a roof resembling glazed tiles. The ridges of both the front and rear halls are carved with the motif of two dragons fighting over a pearl. Four dragon pillars stand in front of the hall, with a lion on each side of the main entrance and four smaller lions around the railing. Behind the dragon pillars are the hall doors, all adorned with exquisitely carved openwork patterns. Two pillars connect the beams between the front and rear halls.

There is also an untold story behind how these statues have survived 500 years of turmoil to remain to this day. Zheng Shizi, now 68 years old, has lived on houseboats for generations. He made a living as a fisherman in his early years and joined the Zhangzhou Hemp Textile Factory as a worker in 1966. During the Cultural Revolution, when the campaign to “smash the Four Olds” required households to burn religious statues, Zheng Shizi, who was part of the “Red Guards,” along with several other boat dwellers, risked their lives to secretly move the statues, changing their hiding places multiple times. Eventually, they hid them in an old fishing boat, which they then left on an uninhabited sandbank in the Jiulong River, making it look like an abandoned vessel. To deal with the “Red Guards” at the time, he and his clansmen also bought some wooden carved statues, publicly burned them, and managed to get through the situation. It wasn’t until after the Cultural Revolution, when the country implemented new religious policies, that these statues saw the light of day again.

Because boat dwellers were historically at the bottom of society, unable to compete with those on land and thus relatively self-isolated, this temple was never made public before. In the past, when worshiping, the temple boat would sail to areas of the river far from crowds, so very few people knew about it. Additionally, most boat dwellers were illiterate, and no effective written records were kept throughout history, adding to the mystery of boat dweller culture.

Due to the government’s dismantling of houseboats and the resettlement of boat dwellers on land, to address the issue of the temple’s preservation, the boat dwellers proposed to the government that the temple be moved ashore, providing a place for them to worship and ensuring the continuation of this long-standing boat dweller culture. This also unveiled the many layers of boat dweller culture, allowing it to step into the spotlight.

For this reason, newspapers such as the Minnan Daily, Zhangzhou Radio and Television News, and the Strait Metropolis Daily, as well as Zhangzhou TV, reported on the houseboats and Jinfapalace, calling for the protection of this unique culture, which sparked strong public response.

After reporting to the Cultural History Committee of the Zhangzhou CPPCC, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center of Zhangzhou, the Office of the Zhangzhou Cultural Relics Management Committee, the Xiacheng District Government, the Xiacheng District CPPCC, the Xiacheng District Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau, and the Xiacheng District Taoist Association, leaders at all levels paid high attention, reached consensus, and it has now been decided that the houseboat where the temple is located will be preserved, and an application for intangible cultural heritage status will be submitted. Several representative houseboats will also be retained to become a scenic feature of the riverside park.

In addition, on Hong Kong Road connected to Zhongshan Bridge, there is the world’s smallest aerial temple — Qielan Temple, built on Dashixiang Lane. It is approximately 1.80 meters wide, 3.30 meters long, and with the balcony, about 2.50 meters in length, covering a total area of only about 11 square meters. It is also a pocket-sized temple. Qielan Temple is just a few hundred meters away from Jinfapalace — one in the air, one on the water. Both are historic and uniquely distinctive, complementing each other beautifully.

Also within this key protected area of the historical and cultural city and its surrounding region are national key cultural relics protection units such as the Confucius Temple, Shanggan Temple, Shangshu Tanhua Archway, and San Shi Zai Er Archway; provincial-level cultural relics protection units such as the former site of the Provisional Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in Fujian; and municipal-level cultural relics protection units including the Church, the Mansion of Pan Shangshu, the Site Where Jian Dashizi Met His Doom, Tongyuan Temple, Dongqiao Pavilion, Xiqiao Pavilion, Wangsheng Ancestral Hall, and the site of the Jiaji Temple Stele. Together, they form a historical and cultural circle.

The public unveiling of Jinfapalace is, for Zhangzhou City, a cultural calling card with deep historical roots and will also become a highlight for tourism. To protect and promote this precious cultural heritage and to let the world learn about this legendary folk custom, it is now being made public. Some of the photos included are being shown to the public for the first time and are definitely worth seeing.