Quanzhou | Guan Yue Temple, the Office of Deities among Humans

Quanzhou Tonghuai Guan Yue Temple, commonly known as Guandi Temple, is named for its main worship of Lord Guan, the Saintly Emperor, with a subsidiary worship of King Yue. It was established during the Song Dynasty, and the temple complex covers more than two acres. It consists of the main temple and the adjacent Sanyi Temple and Chongxian Hall, each with a front hall and a grand hall, three sections deep. It is the largest existing martial temple in Fujian and also a nationally renowned Taoist temple, with followers extending to Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The halls of Guan Yue Temple are adorned with exquisitely decorated wood carvings, stone carvings, and clay sculptures. The roof ridges feature porcelain dragon sculptures of various shapes, accompanied by flowers, birds, and animals, reflecting the ancient Minnan architectural style. The main hall is the Wucheng Hall, which is three bays wide and five bays deep, with a single-eave hip roof and a mortise-and-tenon wooden frame. The central position is dedicated to Lord Guan, the Saintly Emperor (Guan Yu) on the left, and King Yue Wumu (Yue Fei) on the right. It is flanked by 24 historical generals such as Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Wang Jun, Xie Xuan, Han Qinhu, Li Jing, Guo Ziyi, Wang Yanzhang, Cao Bin, Di Qing, and Xu Da as subsidiary deities. To the left is the Chongxian Hall, dedicated to Lord Guan's great-grandfather, Guang Zhao Gong, grandfather, Yu Chang Gong, and father, Cheng Zhong Gong. To the right is the Sanyi Temple, dedicated to Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, with Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun as subsidiary deities. It is said that the divination sticks of Guan Yue Temple are particularly efficacious, whether for marriage, business, illness, or job-seeking. When the local people of Quanzhou are undecided, they often come here to burn incense and draw divination sticks.