Cixuan temple (慈玄宮)

Unlike many other temples you can find on this website, Cixuan temple is not a big temple in an impressively decorated building. Instead it is a smaller neighbourhood temple, of which you will find a lot when you're walking the Taiwanese streets.

This temple has a very active local following, for me it is my home temple and the one that where Shixiong introduced me to Taiwanese religion. The altar inside the temple is small, but packed with a lot of Daoist and Buddhist deities, and the main God in this temple is Xuantian Shangdi (God of the Profound Heavens).

The people at the temple here are very welcoming, but they don't speak much English. So when you visit it helps if you speak a bit Mandarin, but they will be happy to welcome you in either way. To help you bridge the language gap, below you will find a guide on how to pray in the Cixuan temple.

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How to get there

Depending on where in Taipei you're staying, the nearest station is either Houshanpi (後山埤) station (exit 3) or Kunyang (昆陽) station (exit 1) both on the blue line of the Taipei metro. From both stations it's about a 10-15 minute walk before you arrive at the temple.

Deities found in this temple

Xuantian Shangdi (玄天上帝)
Jade Emperor
Hu Ye

How to pray in Cixuan temple (慈玄宮)?

To pray in Cixuan temple you need a total of 9 incense sticks, which you will find at the right side next to the entrance. Inside, and outside, the temple you will find 5 altars with incense burners which you pray to in the following order:

1. Jade Emperor, the big incense burner outside the temple. Place 3 incense sticks
2. Xuantian Shangdi, the incense burner is in the center of the main altar. After praying you place 3 incense sticks here.
3. Hu Ye, under the main altar you will find the Tiger god, here you place 1 incense stick.
4. Protectors of the temple inside, in the left back corner of the temple you will find an altar for the protectors of the temple. Here you also place 1 incense stick.
5. Holding the last incense stick you need to go back outside, to your left you will find a metal house with in there the outside protectors of the temple. Here you place your last incense stick.