Shiding Huye Temple

Also known as Fuhu Temple (伏虎宮), this is reputedly the largest temple in Taiwan dedicated specifically to Huye (虎爺), the Tiger God, who is ordinarily a subordinate spirit crouching beneath the altar of more prominent deities. The foremost tiger idol enshrined here previously attended Kshitigarbha at Bangka Dizang Temple (艋舺地藏庵) in Wanhua, Taipei, until 1989, when he announced through a spirit medium that Yuhuang Dadi (玉皇大帝) had granted him a jade edict and seal authorizing a temple of his own. Work began in 1990 on this hillside overlooking the Shiding section of National Freeway 5 and finished in 1996, with incense derived from Fuhu Temple (伏虎寺) on Mount Emei in Sichuan, where the temple sends an annual pilgrimage. The principal image is a five-tonne black tiger draped in an embroidered robe, elevated in 2007 to the rank of Huwei Dajiangjun (虎威大將軍).