Dajia Jenn Lann Temple Introduction
Dajia District Zhenlan Temple is said to have brought the Mazu statue from the Meizhou Tianhou ancestral temple in the 8th year of the Yongzheng reign (1730). Due to the flourishing worship, a small shrine was built in Dajia District, Taichung City, in the 10th year of Yongzheng (1732). It was later upgraded to the "Tianhou Temple" in the 35th year of Qianlong (1770) and rebuilt in the 52nd year of Qianlong (1787), becoming listed in the water offerings of the Tamsui District of Taiwan. Dajia's gentry has initiated several rebuilds, and it was renamed Zhenlan Temple. Every year on the 3rd day of the lunar calendar in March, the "procession and incense offering" event is grand, with countless followers, and various temples hold celebrations to welcome Mazu. The Zhenlan Temple Mazu procession in Dajia is said to have hundreds of years of history, mainly to enhance the spiritual energy of the statue. The number of participants and the scale of the event are significant, which has attracted attention and research from academia and the media both domestically and internationally. The architecture of Zhenlan Temple includes a front hall, rear hall, southern and northern halls, and a bell tower, all adorned with intricate stone carvings and wooden sculptures of figures, flowers, birds, and animals, beautifully crafted and vividly colored. The main hall enshrines Mazu, and the southern hall houses Chaste Mazu. The dragon columns in front of the temple feature finely detailed stone carvings. The roof is decorated with colorful cutouts of figures, flowers, birds, and animals, and grand gold decorations hang from the eaves. The main hall's deity niche is surrounded by lavish and ornate decorations, exuding a magnificent and solemn atmosphere. Zhenlan Temple has undergone multiple renovations, making the building more solid and majestic. Although some ancient artifacts could not be preserved due to the passage of time, precious plaques from the Qianlong and Guangxu periods remain, witnessing the historical trajectory.
