aeeble

"Hamasen" is the old name for the southern area of today's Gushan District in Kaohsiung City. Originally a marine area, the Japanese authorities in the Japanese colonial period reclaimed this land by filling the seabed with earth and rocks excavated during harbor channel dredging to form new land. Due to two coastal railways leading to the commercial port, fishing port, and fish market, this new land was called "Hamasen" in Japanese (*Hamasen*), with local residents giving it the name "Hamasen" (*Ha-ma-sing*) in Taiwanese Hokkien. Positioned at the starting point of the modern development of Kaohsiung Port and as the terminus of railways, Hamasen became the birthplace of the political and economic center of Kaohsiung, and it once enjoyed great prosperity. Taitian Temple in Hamasen was constructed in 1951, enshrining the Five Lords of the Kingdoms, whose worship was derived from Nanqunzhi Taitian Palace, along with separate enshrinements of Lord Chi, Master Qing Shui, and Goddess Guanyin, among others. A beautifully ornate entry gate was built before the temple. The architectural style of the temple adopts a Cantonese-style temple design, dignified and magnificent. Its roof with a double-eave hipped-and-gable structure features exquisite and detailed sliced porcelain decorations of figures, animals, pavilions, flowers, and birds. The murals and carvings inside the hall narrate stories from traditional folklore such as the Assemblage at瑶池 (Blessing Pool), the Eighteen Arhats, and the Great Assembly of Ten Thousand Deities. Clay figurines take on various lifelike forms. The door gods and divine sculptures painted on the three-bay hall are masterpieces by the renowned artist Pan Lishui, who rendered the noble and elegant divine images as rare art treasures. Taitian Temple has served the Hamasen residents as both a center of faith and a gathering place. The local snacks at the temple square are numerous and attract crowds of worshippers, embodying the folk culture and regional flavor of Kaohsiung most profoundly.