Chenghuang Miao (Temple of the Town God)

Frommer's Review

Every Chinese city once had its Temple of the Town God, the central shrine for Daoist worship. Shanghai's version dates from 1403 when local official Qin Yubo, who had been posthumously designated as Shanghai's patron town god by the Ming Dynasty Hongwu emperor (A.D. 1328-98), was finally honored with his own temple, though it didn't take on its present name until 1929. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), the temple, which had grown to become more of a marketplace, was destroyed. In the early 1990s, the temple and surrounding bazaar area, which encircled part of Yu Yuan, were extensively restored to become one large complex devoted to the god of commerce. The temple's main courtyard is usually jammed with worshippers praying before the statues of Huo Guang (a local military hero) in the front hall, and the town god in the back. The smell of incense is overpowered only by the smell of money wafting from the nearby shops.

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