Dalongdong Baoan Temple Introduction
Dalongdong Bao'an Temple, established in 1742 and rebuilt in 1805, is dedicated to Baosheng Dadi and is commonly referred to as "Dalongdong Gong" or "Da Dao Gong Temple." It is designated as a national historic site. Every year on the 15th day of the 3rd lunar month, a two-month-long "Baosheng Cultural Festival" is held to celebrate the birthday of Baosheng Dadi. This festival combines religious rituals, folk arts, historic site tours, art workshops, aesthetic competitions, family lineage performances, street parades, fire-walking, health care, and academic seminars, making it the largest and most vibrant temple fair in northern Taiwan and establishing Dalongdong as an important cultural hub in northern Taiwan. The temple's decorative arts, including stone lions, dragon pillars, floral and bird motifs, paper-cutting, clay sculptures, Chinese ceramics, wood carvings, and painted murals, are renowned artistic treasures, each with historical and artistic value. When the temple was built, artisans Guo Ta and Chen Ying-bin were commissioned to create wood carvings, showcasing a competitive spirit popular at that time. Therefore, while admiring the decorative arts of the temple, visitors can also appreciate the works of different craftsmen on both sides. The seven murals in the main hall's corridor are the masterpieces of the national treasure-level painter Pan Lishui, attracting many domestic and international tourists who are captivated and impressed. Dalongdong Bao'an Temple has transformed from a local temple into a place integrating religion, culture, education, and art, profoundly impacting the revitalization of local culture in the Datong District of Taipei City. In particular, the historic architecture and its restoration have received significant attention both domestically and internationally. Although the temple has undergone numerous repairs and expansions since its reconstruction, the aging of the structure, coupled with damage from wind, sun, and insects, has seriously affected the building’s integrity, diminishing its former splendor and raising safety concerns. To preserve this cultural asset, in 1995, the temple embarked on the largest restoration project since its reconstruction, raising all funds independently and managing the project, becoming the first case of private-funded historic site restoration in the country. The restoration project received the UNESCO "2003 Asia-Pacific Cultural Heritage Conservation Award" and was designated as a national historic site in 2019. The 44 Kankan Street is located on Hami Street, west of Bao'an Temple, and was established in the seventh year of the Jiaqing era (1802), completed the following year. At that time, the merchants Wang Zhi-ji and Chen Lan-ji from Dalongtong invested to establish the "Jin Tong Cheng" business, constructing a row of twenty-two contiguous storefronts in the Southern Fujian style on this street. In Holo (Taiwanese) dialect, a store is referred to as a "kan," hence the name 44 Kankan. Each store is the same size, measuring 1.77 meters wide and with a depth of one courtyard and three sections (open spaces), with arcade walkways connected, forming a uniformly organized street facade. There are narrow passageways at both ends to prevent theft, with "Xiao Yi Xuan Ge" inscribed in the east and "Da Long Tong" in the west. Over time, as the market prospered, it gradually developed westward toward "Nei Tu Di Gong" (He'an Temple), so the original 44 Kankan Street was referred to as "Ding Street," while the new shops were called "Xia Street." Read more about the surrounding area of 44 Kankan Street in Taipei Huakan Issue 615 (Strolling through Dalongdong District to find the splendid time of the old streets).
