Quanzhou Guandi Temple

Quanzhou is an ancient cultural city with a long history. Influenced by the ancient Central Plains culture, Quanzhou is known as "Zou Lu on the seashore", with rich folk beliefs and culture, and is called "Quannan Buddhist Country".

If you walk in the streets of Quanzhou, you will see solemn and simple temples, such as Kaiyuan Temple, Chengtian Temple, Tianhou Temple, Mosque and Guandi Temple. Despite thousands of years of wind and rain, these temples still stand on the streets of Quanzhou, witnessing the historical changes of the ancient city of Quanzhou and becoming the most proud cultural sites of Quanzhou people.

Guan Yue Temple in Tonghuai, Quanzhou is a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit with a history of 1000 years. It is one of the six ancestral temples of faith and the largest existing Wu Temple in our province. Incense has flourished for a long time and there are many folk believers. Zheng He sailed to the Western Ocean in the Ming Dynasty and set sail in Quanzhou several times, so the earliest Quanzhou God was Poseidon. Convinced by Guan Yu, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, ordered the construction of seven Guandi temples in Qimen, Quanzhou.

In the past 600 years, seven Guandi temples in Qimen, Quanzhou have flourished for a while. Because the local people believe in Guandi very much, in addition to these seven temples, some small temples have been built in every street. By the end of Qing Dynasty, there were more than 100 temples serving Guandi in Quanzhou. With the changes of the times, there are few temples left, and the most incense is still the Tonghuai Guan Yue Temple.

Just yesterday, I came to this temple. This temple is very big and spectacular.

At night, the lights here are dim and beautiful!

People say Guan Gong is smart and can protect himself. The local people say that it rains heavily every year on the 13th day of the fifth lunar month, because Guan Gong is used to sharpening his knife on this day, and he is worried that there is no water to sharpen his knife. Suddenly it rained heavily, so people designated this day as "Sharpening Day". People also respect Guan Gong very much. Every year, June 24th of the lunar calendar is Guan Gong's birthday. People cook for Guan Gong at home, and then raise money together to make a big cake for Guan Gong and have a lively birthday for Guan Gong. Now Guan Gong is not only the patron saint in the hearts of local people, but also a god believed in all parts of the country.

Every place has its own history, culture and beliefs, which are respected and cherished from generation to generation.