Xingang

Xingang (新港) is a township in Chiayi County just across the Beigang River from Beigang in Yunlin. The area was originally known as Bengang (笨港), one of Taiwan’s earliest Han Chinese settlements, appearing as “Pankam” on Dutch maps from 1623. When a flood destroyed the original Tianhou Temple in 1799, residents split: half the relics went to what became Chaotian Temple in Beigang, while displaced settlers founded Xingang and built Fengtian Temple with the help of naval commander Wang De-lu. The two temples have disputed their claims as successor to the original Mazu ever since. In 1988 the annual Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage switched its destination from Chaotian to Fengtian Temple, making Xingang the halfway point of one of Taiwan’s largest religious processions.