aeeble

The Jin'an Temple houses an ancestral Guanyin statue with a history of over two hundred years; the solemn ambiance within the temple calms the spirit. Located along the Sunan Highway near the third fishing harbor of Nanmau in Hualien County, the Jin'an Temple is said to have originated when a China-bound junk during the 19th century sought shelter from the northeast monsoon and carried the Guanyin statue from the ship into a stone cave on land for worship. The deity ultimately decided to remain in this place to safeguard fishermen. In 1975, when the government designated Northern Mau (Bei Mau) as a military zone, the fishermen were forcibly relocated to Southern Mau (Nan Mau). Due to these relocations, the fishermen wished to transfer the Guanyin statue as well. However, the oracle dice ceremony (zhai jiao) revealed that the Guanyin did not wish to leave Northern Mau. As a result, the principal Guanyin statue remained in the original temple. In accordance with this decision, the villagers followed spiritual guidance to reconstruct another Jin'an Temple at the edge of Southern Mau Harbor, serving as the spiritual anchor for the relocated community. In 2006, a coral trader had a vision from the Black-Faced Guanyin, entrusting him to donate deep-sea gemmy coral. After visiting temples across Taiwan, he discovered that the Black-Faced Guanyin worshipped at Jin'an Temple was the one who appeared in his dream, and thus donated a one-of-a-kind Guanyin statue crafted entirely from coral and gold. The coral Guanyin statue stands four feet and eight inches high and weighs a total of 600 kilograms, with exquisite fine craftsmanship rendering a serene and dignified deity, embodying divine power to protect all the virtuous men and women who come to worship.