Manka Longshan Temple
About
In the front hall (the Sanchuan Hall) of Manka Longshan Temple stands a pair of cast-bronze dragon pillars, the first bronze dragon pillars ever used in Taiwan, installed during the 1919 rebuilding. This is one of the oldest temples in Taipei's Wanhua District, and even the columns holding up its roof have a story. Walk through the three halls, laid out around courtyards like the character 回, and look up: the caisson ceiling is carved in a spiral, ring after ring narrowing upward in astonishing detail. Longshan Temple is dedicated first to Guanyin Bodhisattva, but its rear and side halls house more than a hundred other deities, among them Mazu, Wenchang Dijun, Lord Guan (Guansheng Dijun) and Yue Lao, the Old Man Under the Moon. One temple holds the whole Taiwanese habit of praying to gods and buddhas side by side: people come for exam success, for love, for safety, each at the right altar. International visitors flock here, yet to the people of Wanhua it is simply the temple where they burn incense on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month. Stone carving, woodwork and painted decoration fill every corner, and when worship peaks the whole forecourt is packed with people.
History
In 1738, the third year of the Qing Qianlong reign, a group of immigrants from the Three Districts of Quanzhou crossed the strait and brought a divided spirit of Guanyin from the Longshan Temple in their hometown of Jinjiang to Manka, where they built this temple. In its early years it was more than a place to pray. It was where the immigrants met and settled community affairs, and during the Qing-era clan clash known as the Ding-Xia Jiao Feud it became a scene of history itself. Over the next two centuries and more, earthquakes, storms and war came again and again. The closest call came at the end of World War II, when an Allied air raid destroyed the main hall completely, yet the principal Guanyin statue survived. Devotees still tell this as Longshan Temple's greatest miracle. The temple's overall layout today comes from the rebuilding that began in 1919, designed by the master craftsman Wang Yi-shun; the main hall bombed in 1945 was rebuilt between 1953 and 1959. Reborn from disaster, this old temple has become a landmark of traditional Taiwanese temple architecture, and in 2018 it was raised to the status of a National Monument.
Manka Longshan Temple
Wanhua District, Taipei City
Visitor Info
Address
No. 211, Guangzhou St, Wanhua District, Taipei City
Region
Wanhua District, Taipei City
Plan Your Visit
- Hours
- Daily 6:00 AM – 10:00 PM (last entry 9:45 PM)
- Getting There
- MRT Bannan (Blue) Line to Longshan Temple Station, then about a 3-minute walk. If you drive, park at the Monga Park underground garage across the street.
- When to Go
- The temple is busiest on the 1st and 15th of every lunar month, and on Guanyin's three feast days (lunar 2/19, 6/19, and 9/19).
Checked on 2026-10-11 · Sources: Taipei Travel, Wanhua District Office, NCHU Digital Formosa