Yehliu Baoan Temple Introduction
Located next to the Yehliu Fishing Port in Wanli District, the Baoan Temple is dedicated to "Kaizhang Shengwang," the most revered deity among local fishermen and a spiritual refuge. According to oral traditions from the elders, the origin of the deity can be traced back to the time when ancestors inadvertently discovered a ship at sea filled with construction materials for a temple and a statue of the king. The locals sought a place for the statue, eventually settling at the current site of Baoan Temple. In the past, the temple was smaller, mainly built of stone materials. The building materials, which had been transported across the ocean, have largely disappeared after several renovations and expansions; today, only a few stone bases and platforms remain for future generations to reflect upon. The belief in the protective deity "Kaizhang Shengwang" in the Wanli area has a long history. The "Yehliu Deity Cleansing Port Cultural Festival," held on the 15th day of the lunar calendar each year, has a history of over a hundred years and is one of the few registered as intangible cultural heritage in the folklore category. It is celebrated alongside the Lantern Festival, known for "Northern Sky Lanterns and Southern Firecrackers." Its most distinctive feature is "coming through the water and going through the fire." The ceremony includes four main activities: "Cleansing the Sea and Patrolling," "Full Holds of Catch," "Deity Cleansing the Port," and "Deity Crossing the Fire," making it a unique century-old religious ritual in Taiwan.
