Ho Ann Kiong Temple, Kuala Terengganu瓜拉丁加奴和安宫

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

Malaysia · Terengganu state · Kuala Terengganu · Jalan Kampung Cina (Chinatown), near the mouth of the Terengganu River

First built

c. 1801 · Generally given as 1801, making it the oldest Chinese temple in Terengganu; the exact year is disputed

Overview

Ho Ann Kiong stands in the Chinatown of Kuala Terengganu (Kampung Cina) and is generally held to have been built about 1801, making it the oldest Chinese temple in the state of Terengganu. It was founded by early Hokkien immigrants and is dedicated principally to Tianshang Shengmu (Mazu), with Guandi, the Correct God of Blessing and Virtue and Guanyin enshrined alongside. The Chinese community of Terengganu on the east coast is far smaller than that of the west coast and has long lived intermingled with Malay society, producing a distinctive local character — most local Chinese can speak the Terengganu Malay dialect, and the temple’s architecture is plainer than that of Penang or Malacca, built mainly of Minnan timberwork with little cut-porcelain work on the roof ridges. The temple has been repaired many times, and after a major restoration in the 2000s its old appearance was recovered; it is now the central node of the Kuala Terengganu Chinatown heritage trail. It is a temple of Chinese popular religion. Other founding dates circulate in popular tradition; this entry follows the most widely accepted one and notes the divergence.

Highlights

• The oldest Chinese temple in the state of Terengganu (c. 1801)
• Principally enshrines Tianshang Shengmu, with Guandi, the Correct God of Blessing and Virtue and Guanyin alongside
• An example of the high degree of localization of the east-coast Chinese community
• Built mainly of Minnan timberwork, plainer in form than the temples of the west coast
• The central node of the Kuala Terengganu Chinatown heritage trail