Bao'en Hall

Built in the 11th year of Xianfeng (1861 AD), it was located in Youyingpu, Dong'anfang, then part of the prefectural capital. It served as the ancestral hall for the Xiantian (Pre-heaven) School of vegetarian Buddhism. Initially, it was a simple thatched hall and was renovated in the 5th year of Tongzhi (1866 AD). In the 12th year of Guangxu (1888 AD), believers, seeking a permanent structure, gathered funds and labor to reconstruct it, transforming it into a vegetarian hall made of tile and stone. In the 29th year of Meiji (1896 AD), the Japanese expropriated Bao'en Hall and rebuilt it as Tainan Hospital. The superintendent, Zheng Liangmo, then used the compensation funds and donations from believers to relocate and rebuild the hall at its current site. Tainan Bao'en Hall is renowned as 'Tainan's most beautiful traditional wooden building'.