12.9.2023
I arrived at Nansha quire early, around 10am. The ride is about an hour from Tianhe district (where I’m living). The trip felt shorter because I was surrounded by beautiful views.
The palace was built to worship the Goddess of sea, also called Mazu (or Tianhou, literally meaning Heavenly Empress). Tianhou palace is the largest palace compound of its category in the world. It is reputed as the biggest Mazu Temple in southeastern Asia.
Two lions guard at the entrance to the temples. Honored statues of two legendary immortals, Clairvoyance “thousand-mile eye” and Clairaudience “wind-accompanying ear”.
This palace was first built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), then was renovated during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1737-1795) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), but was later ruined. The current place was rebuilt in 1994 and completed in 1996.
Temples are places for worshipping but also for wishing and fortune. It is common to see and be able to purchase fortunes and offerings in many temple areas.
Here wishes are written down on paper and hung up with wind chimes and glass balls. The wind blowing through them symbolizes the wishes going out into the world..
This is the main temple, the center of the whole palace. In the hall, two statues of the Goddess are honored in a shrine. One is 3.8 meters high, plated and carved from sandalwood. The other is known as ‘soft-body’ statue, whose hand and foot joints are movable.
Nanling Tower is located at the very back of the palace, on top of the mountain. It is an 8-storey building and rises to a height of 45 meters.
This was my sight as I had climbed down and left the temples. A paifang is a traditional Chinese architectural structure used to divide places into municipial areas. Originally, the word paifang referred to the gate of a fang and the marker for an entrance of a building complex or a town.
This is a wishing tree. It’s located just near the entrance to the temple area.
Wishing trees in different forms are common in various cultures. In China, wishing trees are traditional to go to during Chinese New Year. Every year, billions of people around the world gather to toss their red ribbons up into the wishing tree with hope that it will stick and their wish will come true for good fortune in the coming year.
In Finland, wishing trees are branches used decorated on Easter. They have served as a blessing, a bringer of health and a warding off evil. According to the people’s Christian understanding, the power of the willow curses is based on touching the most powerful person in the world, Jesus.
Tree is a universal symbol of life, strength, wisdom, and longevity. Many people throughout the years have believed trees to possess magical and spiritual properties, while others have honored them simply for the gratitude for nature.
Facing the Lingdingyang (Lingding Ocean), the mouth of the Pearl River stands a 14.5 meters tall statue of granite for the goddess Mazu. The statue symbolizes that Mazu could bless fishermen and bring favorable weather for the whole year. There are many stories where the goddess Mazu saves people from shipwrecks.
I then walked a landscape route back to the parking lot. It was a beautiful day that had cost me only the entrance fee, 20 RMB (2.50€), definitely worth it.
Thank you for your curiosity!
