The Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple is an architectural complex in Loyang, Singapore known for housing the idols of both Taoist and Hindu deities as well as a Malay shrine. The temple had its roots in a small hut by the beach that was destroyed by a fire in 1996. It reopened further inland in 2000 before moving again seven years later.
History
The temple was first illegally[1] established near the coastline of Loyang, Singapore in the 1980s. According to tradition, a few local fishermen elected to house the idols of Tua Pek Kong and other Taoist and Hindu deities that they had discovered at the beach in a makeshift zinc-plated shrine for public worship.[2][3]
Soon after, a Malay shrine was added to the temple after the villagers at Loyang "received a sign" to do so.[4] The initial structure and all of the original idols—bar that of Tua Pek Kong—were destroyed by a fire in 1996. A considerably larger temple was built near the original site in 2000 and christened the Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple.[3] It relocated to 20 Loyang Way—approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the sea—in August 2007.[5]
In December 2019, the temple was included as part of the 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) "architectural highlights walk" in the National Heritage Board's Pasir Ris Heritage Trail.[6]
Architecture
The main prayer hall of the temple houses the effigies of several Taoist deities, including Tua Pek Kong, the Jade Emperor,[7] and the Tai Sui.[8] It also contains a statue of Kṣitigarbha.[8] A Hindu sanctum besides the prayer hall houses some sixteen statues of Mahaganapati.[9] Wedged between the Taoist and Hindu sections of the temple is a gravesite-shaped Datuk Gong shrine[2] that is only accessible to individuals who have not consumed pork on the day of their visitation.[10] The temple complex can accommodate more than 100,000 visitors.[5]
References
Citations
- ^ deBernadi 2016, p. 98.
- ^ a b Gibson 2025, p. 136.
- ^ a b Li & Lu 2024, p. 316.
- ^ Amrith 2013, p. 278.
- ^ a b de Jong 2024, p. 176.
- ^ Yong 2019.
- ^ Chin 2024.
- ^ a b "Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple". National Heritage Board. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
- ^ Sin 2017.
- ^ Amrith 2013, p. 277.
Works cited
- Amrith, Sunil S. (2013). Crossing the Bay of Bengal: The Furies of Nature and the Fortunes of Migrants. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674728462.
- Chin, Michelle (25 November 2024). "Devotees mark Jade Emperor's birthday at Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
- de Jong, Ria (2024). Lonely Planet Singapore. Lonely Planet. ISBN 9781837585458.
- deBernadi, Jean (2016). "On Daoism and Religious Networks in a Digital Age". In Joanne Punzo Waghorne (ed.). Place/No-Place in Urban Asian Religiosity. Springer. pp. 91–108. ISBN 9789811003844.
- Gibson, William L. (2025). Keramat, Sacred Relics, and Forbidden Idols in Singapore. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003493204. ISBN 9781032785882.
- Li, Xiaohua; Lu, Yawen (2024). "Documentary images and religious communication: the ritual transmission and functional imagination of Tua Pek Kong worship of Hakka people in Southeast Asia". International Communication of Chinese Culture. 11 (3): 309–323. doi:10.1007/s40636-024-00302-1.
- Sin, Yuen (27 October 2017). "Over 5,000 devotees attend Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple's Hindu consecration ceremony". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
- Yong, Clement (19 December 2019). "Pasir Ris trail opens as part of National Heritage Board move to bring heritage to the heartland". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 10 January 2025. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
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