Yuli Xietian Temple
Main Deities
About
The temple's greatest treasure is a wooden plaque reading "Guardian of the Back Mountains" (後山保障) — gold regular script on black lacquer, dated the early winter of the seventh year of Guangxu, and now registered as an antiquity by Hualien County. Yuli Xietian Temple is dedicated to Guan Yu (Guansheng Dijun) and is the town's center of faith. In the Qing dynasty Yuli was called Pushige; Qing troops reached it over the Batongguan Trail, and when an epidemic struck they prayed to Guan Yu for protection — the temple grew from that prayer. If you are traveling the East Rift Valley, stop in Yuli to see this old plaque that witnessed the opening of eastern Taiwan.
History
There are two accounts of how the temple began. According to the Yuli Township Office, in 1875 (the first year of Guangxu), Qing general Wu Guangliang led troops over the Batongguan Trail to Pushige — today's Yuli — where an epidemic broke out in camp, and he built a small shrine to pray to Guan Yu. The Hualien County Cultural Affairs Bureau records the folk version: during a great epidemic in the seventh year of Guangxu, Wu prayed to Guan Yu, and after receiving the god's protection he raised a thatched shrine at the camp and inscribed the "Guardian of the Back Mountains" plaque. That plaque is therefore seen as a witness to the temple's founding, and in 2013 Hualien County registered it as an antiquity. The busiest days of the year are Guan Yu's birthday on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month and the Ghost Festival offerings on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.
IllustrationYuli Xietian Temple
Yuli Township, Hualien County
Visitor Info
Address
No. 13, Ln. 52, Minsheng St., Yuli Township, Hualien County
Region
Yuli Township, Hualien County
Plan Your Visit
- Hours
- Daily 6:30 AM – 10:00 PM
- When to Go
- Guan Gong's birthday on lunar 6/24 and the Zhongyuan Pudu on lunar 7/15 are the temple's liveliest days.
Checked on 2026-10-13 · Sources: Google Maps