Situated in the foothills of Mt. Zhentou in Baihe District(白河區枕頭山麓), Dasian Temple(大仙寺) is nicknamed “old temple.” Built during the 40th year of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty in 1701, it enshrines Sakyamuni, San Bao Fo Zu (Three Treasure Buddha), Guanyin Bodhisattva and Di Zang Wang Ksitigarbha(地藏王菩薩) and also has the ashes of the founding priest for tourists to worship. Dasian Temple is a Municipal Heritage Sites. It is also a temple of one of the nine schools of Buddhism in Taiwan. In style, the building is a traditional Chinese Buddhist temple and the surrounds are tranquil. In 1915, Daxiong Hall (大雄寶殿) was built. The temple design copies that of Nara’s Todai-ji Temple in Japan, with a Japanese style tiled roof. It is one of only two temples to have such a Japanese style roof surviving in Taiwan. The painting “Lei Jin Hua” (擂金畫)on a beam in Daxiong Hall is by master painter Li Han-qing; “Da Bei Chu Xiang Tu, (大悲出相圖)” at the rear of the Hall, is by famous painter Pan Li-shui. The temple attracts a large number of believers seeking spiritual comfort.
