[2025 Shanghai Attraction] Travel Guide for City God Temple (Updated Mar)

#travelinginchina Where the old and cultural meets new and developed, this temple stands as a reminder to traditional Chinese values and architecture in an ever developing and modernising city. In some way it's a lie - hypermodern in its own way with how we see it as a touristic hotspot. It's a crowded place with lots of food and various shops in the heart of Shanghai, so the location is very convenient. This place has everything that you need. A lot of food, snacks, souvenirs to buy. Very fun place to walk around.

Transportation: Take Qingpu Bus 9/29 and get off at Qushuiyuan Station. Tips: Qingpu City God Temple is next to Qushuiyuan. Tickets are CNY 10 per person, and incense is available for purchase. Qingpu City God Temple was built in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and has a history of over 400 years. Qushuiyuan was built after the City God Temple. The old man at the door said that Qushuiyuan does not charge an entrance fee because it is subsidized by the government, while the City God Temple is completely self-sufficient. Although Qingpu City God Temple is a temple, it is actually a Taoist temple. The main hall of the temple is the City God Hall, not the Three Saints Hall of a general Taoist temple. It is unknown who the original City God was. From the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, the temple began to worship Shen En, the former governor of Sichuan who had passed away 60 years ago. Shen En was originally from Shanghai County, so this can be considered as a return to his roots. I was just curious about the City God Temple next to Qushuiyuan, and I heard from the old man at the door that the City God Temple has a history of over 400 years, so I went in to pay my respects. The most eye-catching part of the entire City God Temple is the painted door gods on the gate, and the two osmanthus trees at the entrance of the City God Hall. It is the season when the osmanthus trees are full of golden flowers. The two osmanthus trees at the entrance of the hall do not have the Zen of the golden ginkgo in late autumn, but the green and gold also have a bit of the artistic conception of Taoism. It turns out that admiring osmanthus in the temple is a different mood. It is completely different from the mood of admiring osmanthus in Qushuiyuan, which is separated by a wall. It adds a bit of tranquility here. Only in the candlelight of auspicious blessings, one kneels and one prays. But I smell the osmanthus, and my heart is naturally at peace.

Qingpu Chenghuang Temple, a Taoist temple, is located in the northeast corner of Qingpu District, Shanghai, on Gongyuan Road. Chenghuang, as one of the important deities widely worshipped in ancient Chinese national religious culture, is mostly played by famous heroes who have contributed to the local people, and is a god believed by the Chinese folk and Taoism to protect the city. The main hall of Qingpu Chenghuang Temple enshrines the Lord Shen En, the Chenghuang Fuyou Xianling of Jiangnan Prefecture and Qingpu County, and the rear hall is the bedroom. The temple building of Qingpu Chenghuang Temple is a large-scale city-style building. The main building in the temple now consists of the square in front of the temple, the main hall, the Yuanchen Hall, the God of Wealth Hall, the Cihang Hall, and the Chenghuang Hall. Qingpu Chenghuang Temple is located in the western suburbs of Shanghai, the ancient town of Jiangnan Water Town Qingpu, which is an important Taoist palace in Qingpu area. It was built in the sixth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1573), rebuilt in the tenth year of Chongzhen (1638), and expanded in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644); in the tenth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1745), the county magistrate Qiao Shizu advocated donations and built a separate cemetery on the left, surrounded by towers, with clear water and trees, winding paths, fragrant flowers and green grass, like spring in all seasons, and it has a history of nearly six hundred years. Through the vicissitudes of life and the changes of dynasties, Qingpu Chenghuang Temple has also experienced ups and downs.