Dajia Jenn Lann Temple


The Dajia Jenn Lann Temple, also known as the Zhenlan or Mazu Temple, is a temple to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu, the deified form of the medieval Fujianese shamaness Lin Moniang, located in the Dajia District of Taichung, Taiwan.

History

The temple started as a small temple in 1730, the 8th year of Yongzheng Era of the Qing Dynasty.

Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage

The largest annual religious procession in Taiwan, organized by the Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung’s Dajia District. The procession celebrates the birthday of the sea goddess Mazu and features the Mazu statue of the Jenn Lann Temple, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims will gather along the more than 340 kilometres route that extends through Taichung, as well as Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi counties.

Taiwan Mazu Fellowship

The Dajia Temple organized in the late 1980s the first association of Mazu temples, called Taiwan Mazu Fellowship. Its membership increased gradually from eighteen temples in 1990 to sixty temples in 2010. This is not the only association of Mazu temples in Taiwan, as it is rivaled by the Taiwan Golden Orchid Association of Temples, which in 2010 included seventy temples. According to scholar Hsun Chang, while some temples are affiliated to both associations, there are political differences in attitudes to both Mainland China and local politics, the Fellowship favoring the Kuomintang and the Golden Orchid Association the Democratic Progressive Party.

Transportation

The temple is accessible within walking distance west of Dajia Station of Taiwan Railways.