Ji'an Qingxiu Yuan
About
Walk into Ji'an Qingxiu Yuan and for a moment you may think you are in Japan. This is the only Japanese-style Buddhist temple in Hualien and Taitung listed as cultural heritage. It began as the 'Shingon-shu Yoshino Mission' and is a Hualien County historic monument. In the Japanese era its principal image was Kobo Daishi; after the war it was rededicated to Shakyamuni Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva. It has a square 'hogyo-zukuri' roof, a 'Hyakudo Stone' in the courtyard for making wishes, and eighty-eight stone Buddhas modeled on the Shikoku pilgrimage sites, set out quietly one after another in the calm of a Japanese temple. If you are looking for a quiet corner of Hualien where you can slow down, this is a good fit.
History
In 1917 (the 6th year of Taisho), the Japanese priest Kawabata Manji founded this mission in Hualien's Yoshino immigrant village as an outpost of Japanese Shingon Buddhism, and it became a spiritual home for the Japanese settlers of the time. Its principal image was Kobo Daishi, attended by Fudo Myoo and Bishamonten. After the Second World War the Japanese settlers were repatriated and the mission was left to decline. It was later renamed Qingxiu Yuan, rededicated to Shakyamuni Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva, and placed under local civilian management. In 1997 it was designated a Hualien County historic monument, and after a full restoration it reopened. Its eighty-eight stone Buddhas copy the 'eighty-eight sacred sites' of Shikoku in Japan, so that worshippers who could not make the long voyage home could still make the pilgrimage close by.
Ji'an Qingxiu Yuan
Ji'an Township, Hualien County
Visitor Info
Address
No. 345-1, Zhongxing Rd, Ji'an Township, Hualien County
Region
Ji'an Township, Hualien County
Plan Your Visit
- Hours
- Tuesday–Sunday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM; closed Mondays
- When to Go
- Buddha's Birthday (the Bathing the Buddha Festival) on lunar 4/8 and Guanyin's feast days are important Buddhist days; on ordinary days the grounds are quiet, good for a slow walk.
Checked on 2026-10-13 · Sources: Google Maps