5 things you didn't know about the Yueh Hai Ching Temple

Hi, thanks for dropping by!

Since I'm giving away a hand drawn illustration of the Yueh Hai Ching Temple, I thought I might as well do a quick research and share some fun facts. All pictures in this post belong to me, if you'd like to use any of them please drop me an email at baisimu@gmail.com, thank you!

Details of the sure-win giveaway below!

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1) It is the oldest Taoist temple in Singapore.

Yueh Hai Ching Temple is Singapore's oldest Taoist temple. It was constructed between 1850 and 1855, and was rebuilt in 1895. The temple holds a special significance for the Teochew community, whose way of life was closely associated with the sea.

2) It is the only temple in Singapore to have detailed three-dimensional moulded ornaments on its roof as well as legendary Chinese figures engraved on its walls.

Can you identify the deities?

3) It has Chaozhou (Teochew) style wood carvings all around the temple

Not only is the Chaozhou-style wood carving exceptionally detailed, it is also luxuriously decorated in gold foil and paint, adding to brilliance and exquisiteness of the sculptures. 

Read more about the temple structure here. 

4) It took 2 years of research, 3 years of labourious work, and $7.5 million to give the temple a makeover.

The 777 sq m one-storey temple - about the size of a bungalow - has the highest density of craft and ornamentation works of any temple in South-east Asia.

Mr Ji Chuanying, 71, who led a team of 45 craftsmen, said each of the 200 or so clay and ceramic figurines lining the temple's rooftop and interior is unique.

"No two figurines have the same expression. It speaks volumes of the intricate work involved and the level of skill required," he said. 

Read more here.

5) The temple received  the Unesco Asia-Pacific Cultural Heritage Conservation Award in April 2015.

Yay to more awards for Singapore! And personally I think it's a great place to go with your family. The elderly will be more than happy to tell you the significance of the temple, while you can share with the kids everything you know about Chinese history and mythologies.

There you go, good things must share.

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Some time last year my grandma took me here, and I fell in love instantly. For a place so small, there is so much to explore! Apart from admiring its beautiful architecture, you'll have a good time looking for figurines all around the temple, especially if you have some basic knowledge of Chinese myths and legends. It was the first temple that came to my mind when I wanted to draw a local building I could color. Just search it on google image and you'll see how vibrant and colorful the place is.

Work in progress!

And it's all done! Quite pleased with this sharpie marker I got from popular, and a random blank book I got from Daiso.

Ta-dah! All done. I'm not quite happy with my Chinese characters though, they usually look much better, really! But oh well, no undo button on paper.

If you'd like to receive the digital image of my illustration (in JPEG, black and white) to do your coloring on a lazy afternoon, here's how - 

Sign up for my mailing list! 

This giveaway will only last 3 days, so on Wednesday night I'll email you the illustration for you to print and color away!

Your information is strictly confidential and I will only use it to email you updates of the shop, which will not add up to more than twice a month. Should you decide after a while that you no longer want to receive emails from me, you are free to unsubscribe anytime (though that will make me very sad). If you've signed up for my mailing list previously, thank you so much! You'll automatically receive the illustration on Wednesday night. 

Lastly, please feel free to share this on your instagram/facebook/twitter if you think your friends will enjoy this blog post. If you know they're only interested in getting freebies, send them to my mailing list below straightaway! 

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