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 an area of about 4,600 square meters
Coordinates: 2.1975, 102.2469 Map ↗
First built: 1645 · Built during the Dutch Malacca period and presided over by successive Chinese Kapitans; located within the core zone of Malacca's World Heritage Site (inscribed 2008)
Heritage status: UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award of Excellence (2003)Core Zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Melaka Historic City (2008)

Overview

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple was built in 1645 during the Dutch Malacca period, and is the oldest still-functioning Chinese temple in Malaysia. It is dedicated mainly to Guanyin, with the God of Wealth, the God of Longevity, and ancestral tablets of successive Kapitans also worshipped there, making it a place where Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism are jointly venerated. The temple has been presided over by successive Chinese Kapitans and served the threefold function of temple, ancestral hall, and self-governing institution of the Chinese community, making it a key surviving witness to the social organization of the Chinese in colonial-era Nanyang. It occupies an area of about 4,600 square meters, with two seven-meter-tall red flagpoles standing before the main hall and a traditional opera stage attached. The temple stands on 'Harmony Street,' alongside the Kampung Kling Mosque and the Sri Poyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple, symbolizing the coexistence of diverse religions in Malacca. It received the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award of Excellence for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2003, and 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
Functioned as a Kapitan-led self-governing institution
One of several religious sites side by side on Harmony Street
UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award of Excellence for Cultural Heritage Conservation (2003)

References