Beigang Wude Palace

Beigang Wude Palace is dedicated to Zhao Gongming, the heavenly-official Martial God of Wealth, who is the 'God of Wealth of the Center' commanding the Gods of Wealth of the five directions: east, west, south, north, and center. The temple's forerunner was the Baosheng Tang Chinese herbal medicine shop, opened in 1957. Wude Palace was formally founded in 1978, and its new temple was completed in 1980. Beigang has been a commercial hub of the Yunlin-Chiayi region since the Qing dynasty, and its traders held the Martial God of Wealth in special reverence, so the temple's incense burned ever brighter. Known widely as 'the founding ancestral temple of the Five Directions Gods of Wealth,' Wude Palace became one of the most famous wealth-god temples in Taiwan. In the main hall, Zhao Gongming is enshrined as the Martial God of Wealth of the Center, with the Gods of Wealth of the east, west, south, and north on either side. On the fifteenth day of the third lunar month, the Martial God of Wealth's birthday, worshippers pour in from all over Taiwan, and the temple's tradition of handing out 'fortune money' draws crowds of people hoping for prosperity.