Hupi Temple

Yanshui Hupi Temple primarily worships the Heavenly Holy Mother - Mazu. Yanshui's ancient names were 'Yuegang' and 'Yuejingang', and it was one of the ports of the Daofong Inland Sea. Regarding the prosperity of the ports, there's a saying: 'First Tainan, second Lukang, third Monga, fourth Yuejin'. Most ancient ports in Taiwan had Mazu Temples, which protected fishermen and merchant ships at sea, serving as a spiritual pillar for those who went out to sea. This is evidenced by the numerous Mazu statues preserved within the temple. These statues were all offered and welcomed by various merchant guilds during the Qing Dynasty, including the Sugar Guild (sugar merchants), the Jiao Guild (general merchandise merchants), the Cloth Guild (cloth merchants), and the Water/Oil Guild (merchants selling water and oil). Yanshui Hupi Temple boasts an ancient and rustic architectural style, and all decorative arts inside the temple are masterpieces by renowned artisans. The stone carvings are by the Chen family of stonemasons from Dadaocheng, Taipei; the wood carvings by Chen Ren-shui from Tianzhong; the Koji pottery cut-and-paste mosaics by Ye Jin-yi of the Ye family from Anping; and the paintings include four murals by Pan Li-shui. It can be said that it brings together exquisite craftsmanship across various fields, passed down for centuries, from the Qing dynasty to the post-war era.