Fushan Temple

Northern Taiwan


Blending Japanese, Chinese and European decorative motifs (note the angels over the altar), 200-year-old Fushan Temple was where the region's miners would pray to Tudi, the Earth God, to point them to a rich vein of gold. To reach the temple, walk up the main road to the top of the hill, where the road splits. Left goes to Jinguashi and right will take you to Fushan Temple in about 1km.

Fushan is also known as 'the temple within a temple', after a larger structure was constructed on top of the original in the 1930s, rather than replacing it and risking doing damage to the feng shui. Alas, the damage appeared to have been done in any case (some claim that other gods were jealous to see Tudi raised so high), and many blame the building of the larger temple for the decline of Jiufen not a decade later. The Earth God has one of the lowest rankings in the Chinese pantheon, but, not surprisingly in these old mining towns, he is among the most exalted.