White Snake Temple
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| White Snake Temple | |
|---|---|
白蛇廟 | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Chinese folk religion, Taoism |
| Deity | Bai Suzhen (白素貞) |
| Location | |
| Location | Fangliao, Pingtung County, Taiwan |
 Interactive map of White Snake Temple | |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Luo Shifu (羅士富) |
| Established | 2002 |
The White Snake Temple (白蛇廟), officially known as Fangliao Ditang Temple (枋寮地龍殿), is a Chinese folk temple located in Fangliao Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan. The temple is notable for being primarily dedicated to Bai Suzhen (the White Snake Lady), a central figure from the famous Chinese folktale, the Legend of the White Snake. It is one of the few temples where a character from a folk legend is worshipped as a principal deity and is famous for housing live snakes, which are considered sacred by its devotees.[1][2]
The temple was founded by Luo Shifu (羅士富). According to the temple's history, Luo had a dream in the 1990s in which a woman identifying herself as Bai Suzhen appeared. She told him that she had been practicing asceticism for a long time and wished for him to build a temple in her honor, promising to aid local development and protect worshippers.[3][4]
Following the dream, Luo established a small shrine in his home. As belief in the deity grew and worshippers increased, he raised funds to construct the current temple in 2002. The temple's formal name, Ditang Temple (地龍殿), translates to "Hall of the Earth Dragon," a term that elevates the snake from a common animal to a powerful spiritual entity. It has become a major tourist attraction in Pingtung County.[3][5]
