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The City God is the focal point of popular devotion. Within his temple he is honored, together with Lord Guan the Martial Sage, the Birth-Registering Goddess, the City God’s own Lady, the Holy Mother of Heaven, the God of Prosperity, Lord Wenchang of Literature, the Civil and Military Judges, Generals Xie and Fan, Ox and Horse Lords, and the Yin-yang Secretary. First erected in 1884, the tenth year of Guangxu, by Qing magistrate Huang Chengyi at Leye village in the eastern district—today’s site of the Taichung Sugar Refinery—the shrine was lost when Taiwan was ceded after the First Sino-Japanese War; the Japanese turned the ground into a factory and the sacred tablets were repeatedly moved. In 1921 a group of local gentry—Lin Zijin, Wu Ziyu, Lin Yandun, Lin Zufan, Lai Qingyan, Lin Chengpo—raised funds to rebuild the temple at its present address: No. 50, Lane 94, Hezuo Street, South District, Taichung City. The City God enshrined here is the magistrate-spirit who once governed the original provincial city of Taichung. Popular faith remains fervent, and incense never wanes. Each year on the fifteenth day of the sixth lunar month—the deity’s birthday—the temple hosts a grand celebration. From the first day of that month pilgrims stream in from every quarter; processions, opera performances and other folk activities fill the streets. Before the temple the ritual stage resounds with gongs and drums as operas of gratitude are performed for the god, creating a scene of bustling jubilation.