Tainan CityHistoric Sites
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The temple is also named "Guandi Temple," and was first established in the Yongli Reign Period. In 1799, Lin Wun Jyun of Lukang came to Tainan (which was then the capital town of Taiwan) for a legal case. When he was released, he felt greatly thankful for Lord Guandi's (Guangong) blessings and provided capital to refurbish the temple, laying the foundation for the temple's scale today.
The custom of lighting beehive firecrackers is said to be deeply linked with the Wu Temple. Legend has it that a plague once occurred in the Yanshui area during the Guangxu Reign Period and the staggering number of people dying every day caused great panic among the residents. Not knowing what to do with the disease, they had no alternative but to ask gods and Buddha for a solution. Lord Guandi had always been very efficacious in the local area, so they prayed to him for safety. Lord Guandi answered to their plea just as expected. He ordered the residents to carry sedan chairs on the evening of the Lantern Festival with Zhou Cang at the front of the parade team and his statue at the very back and firecrackers lit along the way through every street and lane along the border the Yanshui area until dawn. After the night of Lantern Festival, the Yanshui area became safe and the local people decided to make the firecracker parade an annual custom to remember with gratitude the blessings from Lord Guandi. The custom continued to develop and became the current beehive event on the 14th and 15th day of the first month in the Lunar Calendar every year. Today, the event is hosted by the Wu Temple and considered an annual grand occasion of folk art in the Yanshui area, leaving glorious records on the history of Yanshui.
For the past one hundred years, the local residents have had the belief that the more firecrackers one is bombed with, the luckier he or she is in the coming new year. So remember to wear a helmet, mask, and transparent eye pads. Raincoats and plastic boots also come as part of the standard garments for the event. Arrive at the Yanshui Wu Temple well ahead of time, and be ready to enjoy this one-of-a-kind beehive carnival.
Yanshui Beehive Firecracker
The lantern festival in Taiwan is characterized by sky lanterns in the north and beehive firecrackers in the south. Customarily, it is believed that bad luck would go away after one is bombed with beehive firecrackers. Hence, the Yanshui Beehive Firecracker attracts tens of thousands enthusiastic participants, and even foreign media and visitors are attracted to the event.
People in Yanshui feel most proud on the 14th and 15th day of the first month on the Lunar Calendar because these are days to play beehive firecrackers. Wherever the god's sedan chairs go, town residents light firecrackers, and beehives, fireworks, and sparklers of all kinds shot up through the sky with loud thundering sounds, coming with beautiful misty smokes and lighting up the night sky in a magnificent festive fashion. The streets of entire town of Yanshui are so densely covered with scarps of firecracker paper that the surface of the asphalt road is hardly seen. Visitors from every corner of the nation and abroad are eager to see for themselves the thrilling and exciting scenery on the evening of Lantern Festival.
Travel Information
（Traffic information is subject to change. Please check with the
transportation station before departure.）
Transportation：Nat'l Fwy 1 → Exit at the Xinying Interchange → City Hwy 172 → Xinyi Rd. → Qingquan Rd. → Beimen Rd → Wumiao Rd.
Public：
- Take TRA to Xinying Station, transfer The West Coast Expressway 61 to Yanshui stop.
- Take TRA to Xinying Station, transfer Tainan City Bus BR2 to Yanshui Wu Temple stop.
Bus stops
National Highway Bus
Travel Information
Area Information
Last update time:
Oct 23, 2023