Fuhai Temple
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| Fuhai Temple | |
|---|---|
福海宮 | |
 Exterior of the temple | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Taoism |
| Deity | Mazu |
| Location | |
| Location | Fangyuan, Changhua County |
| Country | Taiwan |
 | |
| Geographic coordinates | 23°57′12″N 120°20′05″E / 23.9532°N 120.3347°E |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | 1812 |
| Direction of façade | West |
Wanggong Fuhai Temple (Chinese: 王功福海宮; pinyin: Wánggōng Fúhǎi Gōng) is a temple located in Wanggong, Fangyuan Township, Changhua County, Taiwan. The temple is dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu.
Like most coastal villages, Wanggong had a small temple dedicated to Mazu to pray for the protection of its fishermen. In 1812, Yang Gui-sen, a Qing Dynasty official serving as the Changhua County magistrate, visited Changhua County's coast. When Yang reached Wanggong, he noticed that Wanggong sits in a place with good feng shui and called for a larger Mazu temple to be built, hence the origin of Fuhai Temple. When Yang was returning to mainland China, only the main hall of Fuhai Temple was completed; Yang instructed that any further construction must be overseen by another government official. In honor of Yang, Fuhai Temple was left untouched, and fell into disrepair.[1]
In 1958, Wanggong residents petitioned for Changhua County's governor Chen Xi-qing to refurbish the temple, which he agreed and attended the groundbreaking ceremony. According to legend, immediately after the ceremony, Wanggong's milkfish production unexpectedly surged. The villagers believed that Mazu had blessed the town and donated money into Fuhai Temple's reconstruction, and the project was completed in a year.[1]