Fan Sin Temple, Taoist temple in Sheung Wun Yiu, Hong Kong.
Fan Sin Temple, also called Fan Sin Kung, stands in Sheung Wun Yiu, Tai Po, as Hong Kong's only temple to Fan Sin, patron of potters. The Qing-era building has a main hall with a wooden plaque carved in 1790, four stone plaques recording restorations in 1897, 1925, 1964 and 1976, and iron-framed windows fitted after World War II.
The Ma clan, who moved south and bought the kilns at Wun Yiu in 1674, brought the potters' deity Fan Sin from Changle in Guangdong and built this temple in the Qianlong period (1736–1795). A wooden plaque carved in 1790 records over 200 years of worship. Stone plaques commemorate restorations in 1897, 1925, 1964 and 1976, the last after a serious fire in the mid-1970s.
Fan Sin, the potters' patron deity, was brought from Changle in Guangdong by the Ma clan, who ran the Wun Yiu kilns. After the kilns closed in 1930 the villagers turned to farming but kept worshipping him for good weather and harvests, so an occupational god became the district's protector. Ten villages of Wun Yiu jointly manage the temple, which also serves as the office of the Wun Yiu rural committee and a meeting place for villagers.
Fan Sin Temple stands in Sheung Wun Yiu, reachable by green minibus 23K or 23S from Tai Po Market Station. The temple was under maintenance until 15 March 2024, so confirm access before setting out. It is managed by the ten villages of Wun Yiu and also serves as the office and meeting place of the Wun Yiu Rural Committee, so visitors may find village business under way.
Iron window frames were integrated into the structure following World War II, representing a practical adaptation to modern building methods. This blend of traditional and contemporary elements gives the temple an uncommon architectural character.
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