THIAN HOCK KENG TEMPLE, Thian Hock Keng Temple

Hi, my name’s Rick, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: the Thian Hock Keng Temple.

The Thian Hock Keng Temple is the oldest Chinese monument in Singapore.

Dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu, the temple was built on the site of an earlier shrine by the Chinese Hokkien community, who arrived here from Fujian in southern China, between 1839 and 1842. This shrine originally stood on the waterfront, and it was here that the Chinese seafarers arrived in Singapore before the land reclamation shifted it to the end of the street.

The complex is built in wood, in traditional Chinese style, featuring a group of pavilions with curved roofs clustered around a courtyard.

The actual temple is the building in the center. At the sides, you can see two pagodas with octagonal bases: the one on the left is a shrine to Confucius, while the one on the right houses the ancestral tablets of the Hokkien immigrants. Behind the temple is another courtyard, with a smaller altar dedicated to Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy. The aisles on either side lead to the monks’ quarters....