Bangka Dizang Temple

It was originally private property; during Japanese rule its management was transferred to Longshan Temple to keep it from being taken over by the state. The temple faces west and still keeps the style of a single-hall temple, with a simple structure and plain, rustic carving. The hall is three bays wide, with a swallowtail ridge and gabled walls. The entrance has a porch with a rolled roof, the column bases are round, and the main timber frame is a raised-beam structure with two main beams and three melon-shaped struts. A lantern beam runs between the main beams for hanging lanterns. Besides the main deity, the Bodhisattva Dizang Wang, the temple houses Beiji Dadi on the left, Fu Chenghuang and Tiandu Yuanshuai on the right, and Generals Fan and Xie on either side. The Fu Chenghuang temple originally stood inside the walled city of Taipei; it was destroyed during Japanese rule and Fu Chenghuang was moved here. Tiandu Yuanshuai was originally worshipped at Zilai Temple on Xiyuan Road, and when that temple was destroyed the deity was also moved here. Every year on the 30th day of the seventh lunar month, the birthday of Dizang Wang, a large Pudu (universal salvation) ceremony is held. On the offering table is an old incense burner from 1899 (Meiji 32), inscribed 'autumn of the jihai year of Guangxu'. The plaque reading 'Dizang Wang Temple' above the main deity was put up in 1882 (the eighth year of the Guangxu reign). The old incense burners on the offering tables of Generals Fan and Xie date from 1901 (Meiji 34). Next to the temple is Dazhong Temple, dedicated to Dazhong Ye, the unclaimed souls of the dead, mostly early migrants who came to Taiwan alone to clear land and died here. It too was built in 1760 (the 25th year of the Qianlong reign), and the histories of the two temples are closely linked.

Translated by DealTaipei from Taiwan's national tourism database. Sources are on the terms page.