Thian Hock Keng Temple, Singapore National Monument of Singapore since 6 July 1973, and winner of 2001 Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Culture Heritage Conservation, Honorary Mention
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Thian Hock Keng Temple at Telok Ayer Street is the oldest Chinese temple in Singapore. Also known as the Temple of Heavenly Bliss, it is located at 158 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068613. If you wish to photograph this temple, I would recommend using wide angle lens to capture the tight exteriors.
Thian Hock Keng was dedicated to the Taoist goddess Ma Cho Po, also called Matsu, the Mother of the Heavenly Sages. Matsu is the patron goddess of sailors, and temples dedicated to her is commonly found where there are new Chinese settlements. Followers pray to her for safe passages across the turbulent waters. This is especially relevant for the early settlers to Singapore, having newly arrived after charting the choppy South China Sea.
To give you an idea how much Singapore has changed, I draw your attention to the fact that Thian Hock Keng is located at Telok Ayer Street. The name Telok Ayer means watery bay, and as the name suggests, when the temple was first built, it overlooks a bay that has since disappeared. As you examine the patron deities of Thian Hock Keng, you will understand the purpose of its proximity to the sea.
Thian Hock Keng Temple, the oldest Chinese temple in Singapore.
Within Thian Hock Keng, the main temple is dedicated to Matsu. Behind it, there's also a shrine dedicated to Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva or goddess of mercy. This ecletic mixture of Taoism and Buddism in one place of worship is not unusual among the Chinese temples.
The history of Thian Hock Keng goes back to the founding days of Singapore. As early as 1821, there was already a small shrine for early immigrants arriving from China to pray to Matsu and thank her for the safe journey. A proper temple was only built in 1839, completed around 1842, through funds collected among the devotees, among them the Hokkien philanthropist Tan Tock Seng. The sum was $30,000, a huge amount allowing for the use of the finest materials and employing craftsmen from China.
The doors into the Thian Hock Keng Temple are embellished with ornate paintings of door gods, the sentinels into Taoist temples. Also seen are tigers and lions. The door gods and beasts are intended to keep evil spirits at bay. The main shrine is dedicated to Matsu, while secondary shrines and pagodas on both sides are dedicated to various immortalized personalities, including Confucious, the Bodhisattva Sangharama, Governor Kai Zheng, Great Generals Da Er Ye Bai, and City Gods.
The Thian Hock Keng Temple, like so many architectural masterpieces, are built without a single nail used. The entire structure is supported on iron and wooden posts.
Another temple which was built for very much the same purpose as Thian Hock Keng is Penang's Kong Hock Keong, known in the vernacular Hokkien as the Kuan Yin Teng, or in English, Temple of the Goddess of Mercy, along Jalan Kapitan Keling.
How to reach the Thian Hock Keng Temple
The easiest way is to go by MRT. You should alight at the Tanjong Pagar Station, and take the Telok Ayer Street Exit. From there, walk along Telok Ayer Street, passing the Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church on your right, cross the junction of McCallum Street, and continue straight on. After you pass the Al-Abrar Mosque on your left, you will arrive at the Thian Hock Keng Temple a short distance down the road, on the same side of Telok Ayer Street.
Photos of Thian Hock Keng Temple
Thian Hock Keng Temple as seen from the main entrance.
The courtyard around Thian Hock Keng Temple.
The Keng Teck Huay Pagoda at Thian Hock Keng Temple.
Tim and Chooi Yoke by the Dragon Door at Thian Hock Keng.
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Thian Hock Keng Temple, Singapore
