Tainan Travel

Every year on January 9th, on the birthday of the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝), a trip to Tiangong Temple (天公廟) has become a ritual adhered to by many Tainan residents. Crowds of people follow a path inside the temple running from the Ying Liaoli Pavilion (鶯料理亭) to the front of the Meteorological Building (氣象館) on Gongyuan Road (公園路). The Temple of Heaven (Tiangong Temple) was built in 1854, and according to legend was established in honor of Koxinga (鄭成功). The modern external appearance of the temple is borne out of being repeatedly rebuilt and transformed, but the interior of the temple still retains many of its precious cultural relics. The old stone carvings of auspicious Chinese characters on the left and right walls inside the temple, as well as the pair of granite coiled dragon pillars inside the palace hall, both date back to 1855. The temple also features many plaques which are many decades old, one of which features “a single stroke” which is the most noted of the “famous three” plaques. It means “Whatever the human minds intend, the Gods decide the end,” expressing great respect for the heavenly Gods.