Jinhu Wanshanyeh Temple Introduction
The Fish Port Festival honors ancestors and seeks peace for all. The Jinhu Wanshan Temple was established in the 46th year of the Republic of China and is a branch of the Wanshan Shrine founded in Huanzi Village, Hanzi Liao, to commemorate the maritime disasters during the Daoguang era. Residents from Jinhu and Hanzi Liao hold a ritual on the 7th and 8th days of the sixth lunar month to conduct a water-drawing ceremony to guide the spirits of the deceased and pray for local peace. The Jinhu Wanshan Temple, located near Jinhu Xia in Gangdong Village, Kouhu Township, Yunlin County, was built during the Qing Xianfeng period to mourn the souls of four thousand people who perished in a tsunami in Jinhu District in 1845. The residents designated a stone platform for Wanshan and constructed a shrine for future generations to worship. It has a history of over 150 years, but due to heavy rains that cause seawater backflow and the widening of the West Coast Highway, it has been relocated eastward and elevated, resulting in its current appearance. The water-drawing ritual held on the 8th day of the lunar June is now a sensational event in the province and is the most important folk activity in Kouhu Township's coastal area. Image source: Su Yu-Ching/photographer. (Please do not reprint authorized photos.)
