Lukang Tianhou Temple (鹿港天后宮) - Spectral Codex
Spectral Codex
鹿港天后宮

Locations
Inside Tianhou Temple, Lukang.
Inside Tianhou Temple, Lukang.

I visited the famous Tianhou Temple (鹿港天后宮) in Lukang, Changhua, one peaceful night of my bicycle ride around Taiwan. Mazu (媽祖), also known as Tianhou (天后), is the most important goddess in Taiwan—and this is one of her most important places of worship.

The gateway to Tianhou Temple. Notice the convenience store next to the temple on the left…
The gateway to Tianhou Temple. Notice the convenience store next to the temple on the left…
Incense and paper money counter.
Incense and paper money counter.
Another incense counter with local artistry hanging overhead.
Another incense counter with local artistry hanging overhead.
Central courtyard in Tianhou Temple, Lukang.
Central courtyard in Tianhou Temple, Lukang.
Modern essentials in the ancient temple.
Modern essentials in the ancient temple.
Boxes of paper money at Tianhou Temple.
Boxes of paper money at Tianhou Temple.
Leave the lights on for me.
Leave the lights on for me.
Vending machines in Tianhou Temple, Lukang.
Vending machines in Tianhou Temple, Lukang.
Deep inside Tianhou Temple.
Deep inside Tianhou Temple.
Deep inside Tianhou Temple.
Deep inside Tianhou Temple.
Choose your own deity.
Choose your own deity.
A shrine in Tianhou Temple.
A shrine in Tianhou Temple.
Vending machines in Tianhou Temple.
Vending machines in Tianhou Temple.
An old door in Tianhou Temple, Lukang.
An old door in Tianhou Temple, Lukang.
Paper slips in Tianhou Temple, Lukang.
Paper slips in Tianhou Temple, Lukang.
Incense and paper money counter in Tianhou Temple, Lukang.
Incense and paper money counter in Tianhou Temple, Lukang.

For more from this trip read the others in the series.

Map

Heritage Status

  • National Monument (國定古蹟)

Links

Themes

Series: Taiwan Huandao 2013

An incomplete series of posts about my first bicycle tour around Taiwan in September and October 2013. The complete trip around the main island is known in Chinese as huándǎo (環島), literally “around the island”, and is typically conducted as a rite of passage for young people in Taiwan. It took me a full lunar month to complete, but I was not in any particular rush, and it can be done in under a week if you’re in a hurry.

Note: this series is far from complete and the quality of each entry varies as it was originally drafted in 2014. Since 2024 I have been revising each entry with and redoing all the photos.

Connections

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Author

Profile photo of Alexander Synaptic, founder of Spectral Codex
Alexander Synaptic
Curator, Spectral Codex

I am a web application developer, photojournalist, urban explorer, and history enthusiast passionate about the open web and documenting my experiences on this planet. This project was founded in the early 2010s and has evolved into a sort of personal Wikipedia of places that interest me (and often the photographs I’ve taken there). I’m originally from Toronto, Canada, but spend most of my time residing in Taiwan.