Chongqing Temple

Chongqing Temple

Chongqing Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Chongqing Temple is located in the West Central District of Tainan City and was designated as a historical monument on April 26, 2007 (the 96th year of the Republic of China). It is one of the Seven Temples and Eight Shrines of the Taiwan Prefecture City. Originally belonging to the Linji school of Zen Buddhism, it is now a branch of the Tibetan Kagyu (White) sect of Vajrayana Buddhism, and is also one of Tainan’s well-known religious and cultural destinations.

Chongqing Temple was originally situated in the Ningnan Ward of the Taiwan Prefecture City. It had a width of three bays and comprised a main gate, the main hall, the rear hall, and side chambers. Belonging to the Linji school of Zen Buddhism, it enshrined Sakyamuni Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. In 1778, Jiang Yuan-shu, the prefect of Taiwan Prefecture, oversaw renovations of the temple. Later, during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan, the temple was expropriated in 1915 for the construction of the Tainan Prefectural Government Office, prompting worshippers to rebuild it at its current location in October 1916. In 1943, the temple was bombed by Allied forces, and was subsequently reconstructed after the war. In 1969, the temple converted to Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism under the guidance of Guru Gongga, shifting its focus to the Kagyu (White) sect. As a result, it began enshrining the “Red Avalokiteshvara of Great Compassion and Victorious Ocean” and her consort, the “Powerful Horse-Headed Vajra King.” Paintings on the temple gate and the dragon-tiger walls of the main hall depict the Four Heavenly Kings, the Two Door Gods (Heng and Ha), and the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Arhats—all masterpieces by Tainan’s renowned artist Pan Lishui, making them highly valuable.

Cjongqing Temple

Must-visit reason: One of Tainan’s most famous temples