Shanghai City God Temple上海城隍庙
- Type
- Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)
- Location
- China · Shanghai · Shanghai · No. 249 Fangbang Middle Road, Huangpu district, beside Yu Garden.
- Coordinates
- 31.227, 121.492 Map ↗
- School
- Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism
- First built
- Yongle era of Ming (1403–1424) · Originally the Jinshan Shrine (dedicated to Huo Guang); converted into a City God Temple during the Yongle reign of the Ming, enshrining Qin Yubo as City God; expanded in the Qing; Daoist activity resumed in 1994.
- Heritage status
- Shanghai Municipal Cultural Heritage Site
Overview
Shanghai City God Temple is the most important Zhengyi-order temple and center of urban cult in Shanghai. During the Yongle reign of the Ming, the county magistrate Zhang Shouyue converted the Jinshan Shrine, which had been dedicated to Huo Guang, into a City God Temple, enshrining Qin Yubo, a noted late-Yuan Shanghai literatus, as the City God, while the front hall continued to honor Huo Guang, forming a layout of 'one temple, two City Gods'; in later times Chen Huacheng was also enshrined alongside. The temple was expanded in the Qing, and the surrounding area developed into the Yu Garden and temple-market commercial district, becoming the center of life within Shanghai's old walled city. The temple repeatedly suffered fire damage and demolition and alteration; after restoration in 1994, Daoist activity resumed there. It today comprises a mountain gate, ceremonial gate, main hall (the Huo Guang Hall), the Hall of the Year Star, the Wealth God Hall, the Cihang Hall, and the City God Hall, and serves as one of the seats of the Shanghai Taoist Association. The temple fair and the Sanxun Hui (Procession of the Three Circuits) folk customs, together with the Zhengyi tradition of ritual observances, continue to this day, and the 'City God Temple snacks' of the surrounding area are also a well-known Shanghai attraction.
Highlights
- The City God Hall
- The Huo Guang Hall
- The Yu Garden temple market
- The Sanxun Hui (Procession of the Three Circuits)
- Zhengyi ritual observances