New China Archive

China in the 2020s

Neighborhood Temple in Jingzhou

At the edge of a neighborhood in Jingzhou is a small temple surrounded by walls and almost hidden. The temple is called Heavenly King Hall (possibly meant to reference the Jade Emperor). The idols inside the temple depict both Buddhist deities and those belonging to what’s often called “Chinese folk religion”. These photos were taken in 2021.

This photo shows the entrance to a small shrine in Jingzhou, China in 2021.
The temple entrance gate with a bowl of incense sticks by the post.
This is a photo of an alter with many idols. Some of the deities represented include Guanyin (Bodhisattva), Guanyu (ancestral deity, god of war), Caishen the money god, and the earth god.
The alter with many idols. Some of the deities represented include Guanyin (Bodhisattva), Guanyu (ancestral war god), Caishen (money god), and the earth god. The cushions on the ground are meant for people to kneel and pray.
This photo depicts the names of donors to a small temple in China written on a red cloth (2021).
The names of various people who donated to the little temple.
This photo shows a furnace in a Chinese temple meant to burn joss ghost money. It was taken in 2021.
A concrete furnace used for burning joss money (also called “ghost money”). The top of the furnace is adorned with ceramic fish.

On certain holiday nights, especially in the winter, my friends and I would visit this temple late at night as embers burned down and the incense faintly illuminated the faces of the idols. An eerie and interesting environment.

Like almost all temples in New China, this one is not particularly old, and it was probably built about thirty years ago along with the neighborhood it serves. The whole structure is made out of poured concrete. These photos were taken in 2021.