Changhua Kaihua Temple

Commissioned in 1724 by Tan Jingzheng (談經正), the first magistrate of newly established Changhua County, this serene temple in central Changhua City venerates Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, and is popularly known as Guanyin Pavilion (觀音亭). It has been rebuilt many times after a series of disasters: the Chen Zhouquan (陳周全) uprising in the Qing dynasty, a major fire in 1860, Allied bombing during World War 2, and the 921 Earthquake of 1999. It reopened in April 2013 after a decade of restoration work. A side altar in the rear hall enshrines Dougong Doupo (痘公痘婆), a husband-and-wife pair of deified doctors renowned for curing smallpox and seldom venerated elsewhere, to whom people now pray for clear and beautiful skin.