Manka Qingshan Temple

Hided between two concrete buildings, Manka Qingshan Temple (艋舺青山宮) as a typical Taoist and Taiwan-folk-belief temple may come to your eyes with your surprise. Built in 1854, this temple is worshipped to Zhang Gun (張滾), a famous general stationed in Quanzhou (泉州), China, in Three Kingdoms Period. Due to his capable management, local people deified him as Qingshan Wang (青山王), literally means Lord of Green Mountain, or Ling An Zun Wang (靈安尊王). Qingshan Wang is worshipped as a god with the power to dispel disease, a divine authority of justice in charge of rewarding virtue and punishing evil. Especially worth mentioning is many Taiwanese people believe the SARS plague was able to be controlled because of a pilgrimage held by Manka Qingshan Temple.

A ceremonious festival will be held on the 22nd day of October in lunar calendar every year to celebrate Qingshan Wang’s birthday. All the gods worshipped in other temples nearby such as Guanyin, Qingshui Zushi and Mazu will be invited to join such a big occasion making it one of the largest annual religious celebration in Taipei. Want a deep local cultural experience in Taipei? Come and check out how cool it is!