About Shanghai Temple Of the Town God
Shanghai’s famous scenic and historical ancient view – City God Temple, located in Fangbang Middle Road, Anren Street West. It was originally a temple of the god Jinshan, dedicated to Huo Guang (also known as Huo Guang Xing Shrine), the Marquis of Han Bolu. Covering an area of about 25,000 square meters, Shanghai began to have a city god temple from the Song Dynasty, the temple site in the current Yongjia Road, called Temjing Temple, also known as Huating County Chenghuang Xing Temple.
At that time, Shanghai was a town under the Huating County, so the Temple of Light Well is actually the city god of Huating County to the 28th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1291). Shanghai after the establishment of the county will be converted into the temple of the god of the city, until the Ming Yong’an years (1403 – 1424), so the city of Shanghai began to have a temple.
Qing Kangxi forty-eight years (1710), the people of the euphemism to the left of the temple to build up the East Garden, the temple has become the city’s famous place. In the middle of the Qianlong period, Pan’s Yu Garden sold back to the City God Temple as the West Garden and restored, due to the convergence of merchants, a hundred industries, the City God Temple has become a famous market for small commodities, souvenirs and specialty goods.
In July of the 13th year of the Republic of China, there was a fire, the entire hall, including the main hall. In November of the same year and the fire burned the East Wing, the disaster and the temple, because of the serious losses, repair funds are very large, so Gold Wing, Du Yuesheng, etc. initiated to raise funds to form a board of directors to rebuild the temple.
Reconstruction of the City God Temple, the main hall, two halls are reinforced concrete structure, and the appearance is still the form of ancient temples, hillside roof, flying eaves and high ridges, colorful buildings painted beams, square painted on the story of the Three Kingdoms, Qin Xitian has a record cloud: “Hall height of four feet eight feet, six feet three feet three inches deep, with cement as the material, without a brick a wood, and colorful puisne painting, Chui tile eaves, still dip ancient temple ritual …… ”
On the main axis, there is a shining wall and flagpole in the south of Fangbangzhong Road. There is a pagoda in front of the temple, which is a stone pillar structure built in 1543, the forehead of which is inscribed with the words “Haisumi Protection” by a young child of Yongjia. Inside is a theater. In front of the main hall, there is a courtyard with the original monument pavilion and the stone pillar with a dragon on it, which was engraved by Li Ri, the governor of Tianshun in the Ming Dynasty (1457-1464). In 1994, the temple resumed religious activities.
How to get there
Exit at Exit No. 3 of Yuyuan Subway Station (Lines 10 and 14), go south on Henan Road and turn left on Fangbin Zhong Road. After crossing the T-junction with San Pilou Road, the entrance is on the left. It is about a 15-minute walk. The location of the subway station is shown incorrectly on the map.
No. 249 Fangbinzhong Road, Shanghai
上海市方浜中路249号
Tips
The Yu Garden area was once surrounded by city walls. The temple was built to pray for the safety and peace of the enclosed area. The temple originated from Taoism, an ancient belief unique to China, and there are temples with the same name in various parts of China.
Shanghai’s City God Temple is so familiar that it is also known as Yu Garden. It is located along Fangbin Middle Road and was restored in 2005. The entrance is so small that many people do not even notice it when they visit Yu Garden, but visitors can see people eagerly paying their respects every day. The entrance fee is 10 yuan.