Toong On Church, Kolkata加尔各答东安会馆庙

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

India · West Bengal · Kolkata · 22 Black Burn Lane, Kolkata 700012; the ground floor formerly housed the Nanking Restaurant.

First built

1924 · Founded by Cantonese laborers who worked at a sugar refinery; closed for a period in the 1980s owing to a property dispute.

Overview

Toong On Church is located at 22 Blackburn Lane, founded in 1924 by laborers who had immigrated from Guangdong and worked at a sugar refinery in Kolkata, dedicated principally to Guandi (Guan Shengdijun, a Daoist martial deity). This temple is the best known to outsiders among Kolkata's temples, because its ground floor was for a long time occupied by the celebrated Nanking Restaurant — temple and restaurant sharing the same building, an illustration of the highly compounded use of space in Old Chinatown. In the 1980s, owing to a property dispute, the Nanking Restaurant and the temple closed their doors together, and ownership of the temple property remained unresolved for a long period; a Buddhist image was later added within the temple to help protect the property. The building has stained-glass windows and classical detailing, and the Guandi shrine and its furnishings within the hall survive. It must be honestly noted that, dedicated principally to Guandi, this temple is one of the most clearly Daoist in character among Kolkata's temples; however, its present condition, affected by the property dispute, means access is unstable and its religious function has greatly diminished.

Highlights

• Founded in 1924 by Cantonese laborers from a sugar refinery
• Dedicated principally to Guandi, one of the most clearly Daoist temples
• The ground floor once housed the celebrated Nanking Restaurant
• Closed in the 1980s owing to a property dispute
• A Buddhist image was added within the temple to help protect the property