Tianhou Temple – the Temple of the Queen of Heaven
Tianhou
temple is also known as the Temple of the Queen of Heaven. These types of temples
can be frequently seen in the coastal cities of China, Macau, Hong Kong and
even the Southeast part of Asia. It is believed that veneration of the Queen of
Heaven can guarantee the calm going of the sea journey; hence, you can notice that
every front door of this Temple is made facing the sea. Tianhou temple in the
Qingdao Province in China was built in the year of 1467 during the Ming Dynasty
(1368-1644), and is widely known for combining the folk and the marine
cultures. It is situated at the Taiping Road and is an ancient structure of
architecture containing strong national features sideways the shoreline. It is
a renowned cultural fascination place and base for learning the folk talent of
Qingdao.
Amazing art works
The entire temple has
sixteen erections and more than eighty rooms, counting the central hall,
wing-rooms, subsidiary halls, a bell tower, an opera tower and a drum tower.
The opera tower is enclosed with glassy tiles, whereas the rest of the
buildings, made with gray tiles and dry walls, have colorful carvings and
paintings. Two stone tablets preserved here noted the renovation of the temple
for the duration of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Of all the early buildings of
Qingdao, the painting art and architecture here are lesser to no one.
The biggest woodcarving
in the entire world
Toward the inside of
the temple, one will initially see the two-storey splendid opera tower. The
pole and two large stone lions in front of the tower create the temple to be
even more wonderful. The four riches of the study (ink stick, writing brush,
paper and ink slab) and exceptional antiques are on exhibition inside. The
crossbeams which are present in the opera tower are decorated with gorgeous
drawings. The bell and drum towers are present on the borders of the opera
tower. The central hall is the place where the Mazu (the Heavenly Empress or
the Queen of Heaven) is preserved. The 2.8-meter (9.2 feet) tall sculpture of
Mazu, prepared from camphorwood, is the biggest woodcarving in the entire world.
In addition, several rare primeval trees exist here which is a mixture of archetypal
temple and appealing garden. A huge osmanthus tree blooms vermeil flowers in the
season of autumn and the fragrant smell entices many tourists. It would be
wonderful information knowing that a female and a male gingko trees have
continued to exist more than 500 years!
Traditional folk museum
of Qingdao
The temple has been
converted into a traditional folk museum of Qingdao. In excess of 100 folk traditional
remnants are reserved in the museum, comprising Chinese fancy knots, paper-cut,
bead-weaving, agate, clothing art, calligraphies, portraits, montages,
inside-painting bottles and poker work. They can be called the Qingdao folk art
in miniscule and the echo of Chinese folk art and the museum has developed into
a market for the folk handiworks of the province of Qingdao. You can visit the
temple by taking bus no. 6, 26 and 214 and getting off at the gates of the
temple.
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