Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, Malacca马六甲青云亭

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

Malaysia · Malacca State · Malacca City · No. 25 Jalan Tokong (“Harmony Street”); occupying about 4,600 square metres

Coordinates

2.1975, 102.2469 Map ↗

First built

1645 · Built during the period of Dutch Malacca and presided over by successive Chinese Kapitans; located within the core zone of the Malacca World Heritage Site (inscribed 2008)

Heritage status

UNESCO 亚太文化遗产保护奖 Award of Merit(2002)Core Zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Melaka Historic City (2008)

Overview

Cheng Hoon Teng was built in 1645, during the period of Dutch Malacca, and is the oldest Chinese temple still in operation in Malaysia. It is dedicated principally to Guanyin, with the God of Wealth, the God of Longevity and the ancestral tablets of successive Kapitans also enshrined, making it a place where Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism are jointly venerated. The temple was presided over by successive Chinese Kapitans and combined the threefold function of temple, ancestral hall and self-governing institution of the Chinese community; it is a key surviving witness to the social organization of the Chinese of Nanyang in the colonial period. It occupies about 4,600 square metres, with two red flagpoles seven metres high standing before the main hall and a traditional opera stage attached. The temple stands on “Harmony Street,” next to the Kampung Kling Mosque and the Sri Poyatha Hindu temple, a symbol of the coexistence of many religions in Malacca. In 2002 it received the Award of Merit in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation; the historic city of Malacca in which it stands was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008.

Highlights

• The oldest Chinese temple in Malaysia
• Its function as a Kapitan-led self-governing institution
• Religions standing side by side on Harmony Street
• UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award, Award of Merit (2002)