Jiulong Temple

Following a winding mountain road, the view opens up to a spacious courtyard. Ascending the steps, a pair of majestic stone lions stand proudly at the temple entrance. Jiulong Temple, perched high, offers a panoramic view of distant Wuzhi Mountain. Its overall architecture is simple, with understated decorations that nonetheless maintain its aesthetic value. Inside the temple, the main deity worshipped is the Jade Emperor. However, upon passing the front hall, a surprising secret is discovered in the shrine behind it: a rarely seen statue of Chiang Kai-shek worshipped as a deity in Taiwan. Due to the conservative social norms in early Taiwan, the temple management worried that deifying the former president would invite trouble, so they enshrined the Jade Emperor in the front hall to divert attention. As society liberalized, the story of this unique enshrinement spread far and wide, and it has now become one of Taiwan's "unique temples."