Longshan Temple (Bangka Lungshan Temple)

Longshan Temple (Bangka Lungshan Temple) tickets and tours: which one to book

Longshan Temple in Wanhua is free to enter, open from early morning to late evening, and has no ticket of any kind; no online booking exists for the temple alone. You walk in from the street, and offerings such as flowers, fruit or incense are optional and paid for at the counters inside. Getting there is simple. Longshan Temple station on the blue Bannan line of the Taipei MRT is directly across the square, and the temple can be reached in ten minutes from Taipei Main Station. Many visitors fold it into a walk through the Wanhua district, the oldest part of the city. Guided options fall into two groups.

City tours of Taipei, by coach or on foot, often include Longshan as one stop alongside the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, the Presidential Office area and Taipei 101, with transport and a guide included. Evening food tours of the nearby night markets also start or end at the temple, which is beautifully lit after dark. A guide is especially helpful for explaining the order of prayer and the use of the divination blocks, which are otherwise hard to read. The page lists any GetYourGuide tours whose route passes the temple.

Visiting Longshan Temple (Bangka Lungshan Temple): what to see and how to behave

Settlers from the Quanzhou area of Fujian founded the temple in 1738 as a branch of a much older Longshan temple in their home county, and it served as both place of worship and community centre for early Taipei. Earthquakes, fires and a direct hit during the American air raid of 31 May 1945 destroyed parts of it several times; the present buildings date mainly from the rebuilding of 1919 to 1924 and the repairs after the war. The temple is protected as a national monument. Enter through the Dragon Gate on the right and leave by the Tiger Gate on the left, stepping over rather than on the raised thresholds. The courtyard opens with a small waterfall, and the front hall is notable for its pair of bronze dragon columns and the dense roof decoration of ceramic shards, figures and dragons. Worship follows a set route.

Devotees pray first in the front hall, then to Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion, in the main hall, then turn to face outward and address the Jade Emperor. The rear hall holds a row of folk deities, each with a speciality: Mazu, protector of seafarers, Guan Yu, Wenchang for students before exams, Hua Tuo for health, and Yue Lao, the old man under the moon, who is asked for help in love; worshippers collect a red thread from his altar. You will see people throwing pairs of crescent-shaped jiaobei blocks to receive a yes or no from the gods. Photography is generally fine, but do not point a camera at people praying. The scheduled chanting sessions, when volunteers in robes sing sutras, are worth timing a visit around.

Longshan Temple (Bangka Lungshan Temple): opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The temple is open every day from about 6 am to 10 pm; check the official site before a late or festival visit. Communal chanting usually takes place in the early morning and late afternoon, and the sound of hundreds of voices filling the courtyard is the best reason to come at those hours. Evening is atmospheric too, when the roofs are lit and the night markets nearby come to life. Weekday mornings are quietest. Taipei is pleasant from October to April;

summer is hot and wet, with typhoon risk from July to September. Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival a fortnight later bring huge crowds, elaborate lanterns and queues out into the street, and Guanyin's birthdays in the lunar calendar are also busy. Avoid those dates if you want space, plan for them if you want spectacle. Allow 45 minutes. Combine the temple with the restored Qing-era shopfronts of Bopiliao, the Qingshui Temple a few streets away, and supper at Huaxi Street or Guangzhou Street night markets.