Chongqing Temple

　　Chongqing Temple is situated in the West Central District of Tainan City and was declared 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 historic Tainan Prefecture. Originally belonging to the Linji school of Zen Buddhism, it is now a branch of the Kagyu (White) sect of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism and is also one of Tainan’s well-known religious and cultural landmarks.

　　Originally located in the Ningnan Ward of Tainan Prefecture, Chongqing Temple had a width of three bays and consisted of a main entrance gate, the main hall, rear hall, and side chambers. It belonged to the Linji school of Zen Buddhism and enshrined Sakyamuni Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. In 1778, Jiang Yuan-shu, the prefect of Tainan Prefecture, oversaw renovations of the temple. Later, during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan, the temple was expropriated in 1915 due to the construction of the Tainan Prefectural Office. Devotees then rebuilt the temple at its current location in October 1916. In 1943, it 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 Sea” and her retinue, the “Powerful Lord Hayagriva.” Paintings on the temple gate and the dragon-tiger walls of the main hall depict the Door Gods Heng and Ha, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Arhats—masterpieces by renowned Tainan artist Pan Lishui, making them highly valuable.

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