Built in 1807, Xinhua Chaotian Temple(新化朝天宮) features in a few legendary stories. It is said that downtown Xinhua was once judged by fengshui experts to be a ba gua spider’s nest(八卦蜘蛛穴). When the temple was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1862, the spider goblin took advantage to emerge and cause trouble by making the local women behave in a promiscuous way, greatly disturbing the local residents. Mazu instructed that the temple be rebuilt, then her statue was carried around the local area in a procession to drive away the spider goblin. It is also said that Mazu performed a miracle in WWII. Xinhua had a small airfield at the time; when Allied aircraft bombed it, the image of Mazu appeared in the sky, intercepted the bombs and cast them away in an unpopulated mountain area, saving local people from harm. Elderly people still talk of this story of Mazu’s mercy and benevolence today.
