, image = Alter_chinesischer_Tempel_-_Old_Chinese_Temple_of_Johor_Bahru_(2025)_-_img_16.jpg , caption = Front facade of the main temple building in 2025 , location =

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

, deity = Yuan Tian Shang Di (元天上帝) (Main deity)
Hong Xian Da Di (洪仙大帝)
Gan Tian Da Di (感天大帝)
Hua Guang Da Di (华光大帝)
Zhao Da Yuan Shuai (赵大元帅) , coordinates = , religious_affiliation =

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

, district =

Johor Bahru District The Johor Bahru District is a Districts of Malaysia, district located in the southern part of Johor, Malaysia. It covers an area of 1,063.97km2 and has a population of 1.8 million, making it the second largest district in Malaysia by populatio ...

, state =

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

, country =

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, founded_by =

Tan Hiok Nee Major China Dato' Tan Hiok Nee (; 1827 – 21 May 1902), also known as Tan Yeok Nee (), was the leader of the Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor, succeeding Tan Kee Soon in circa 1864, he transformed the Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor from a quasi-militar ...

, established = 1870s , architecture_type =

Chinese temple Chinese temple architecture refer to a type of structures used as place of worship of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, or Chinese folk religion, where people revere ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors. They can be classified as: * '' mi� ...

Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple () known as Old Temple () by the locals, is a Chinese temple located in

. Located at Jalan Trus, the temple is flanked by modern skyscrapers. This temple is one of the oldest structures in the city and become the symbol of unity among the seven Chinese dialect groups namely Teochews,

Hoklo The Hoklo people () are a Han Chinese subgroup who speak Hokkien, a Southern Min language, or trace their ancestry to southeastern Fujian in China, and known by various related terms such as Banlam people (), Minnan people, Fujianese people or ...

(Hokkiens),

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

, Foochowese,

Henghua The Putian people ( Chinese: 莆田人, pinyin: ''Pútiánrén''; Puxian Min: 莆仙儂, Hinghwa Romanized: ) are a Min-speaking people native to Putian, Fujian, China. They are also known as Xinghua, Henghua, Henghwa or Hinghua people (''Hin ...

and

Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ''Hái-nâm-oe'', Hainanese Pinyin: ''Hhai3 nam2 ue1'', ), also known as Qiongwen (), Qiongyu () or Hainan Min () is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the far southern Chinese island province of Hain ...

peoples. In 2007, a documentary series called ''My Roots'' featured the temple in the episode "Grand March with the Deities".

History

The temple history dates back as early as between 1870 and 1880 in the 19th century. Since the relationship between the local

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

are very warm with the Johor monarchy, Sultan

Abu Bakar Abū Bakr () is an Arabic given name meaning "Father of a Young Camel" (Abu meaning 'Father of' and Bakr meaning 'Young Camel') that is widely used by Sunni Muslims. Other transliterations include Abu Bakar, Abu Bekr, Ebubekir, Aboubacar, Abubaka ...

encouraged the Chinese to build their

places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...

and for the burial by providing them land. The temple was then founded by then Head of Ngee Heng Company led by

. In 1981, the temple was proposed to undergoing renovation with the request was accepted in 1994 with total expenditure of RM1.5 million. The renovated temple was then completed in the following year in December 1995 with much of its cultural design are being preserved and important relics such as the century-old bronze bell,

incense burner A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...

and wooden tablet remain.

Features

Two old artefacts located inside the temple which are the

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate, usually fixed to a wall or other vertical surface, meant to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military p ...

and bronze bell. The main alcove of the temple holds the image of the main

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

, Yuan Tian Shang Di. There are five deities inside the temple with each of them are separately worshipped by the main ethnic Chinese groups such as the dominant Teochew,

(Hokkien),

and

people (and to a lesser extent

as well as the

Fuzhounese The Fuzhou language ( zh, t=福州話, s=福州话, p=Fúzhōuhuà; Foochow Romanized, FR: ), also Foochow, Hokchew, Hok-chiu, or Fuzhounese, is the Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige variety of the Eastern Min branch of Min Chinese spoken ...

): * Yuan Tian Shang Di (元天上帝) (大老爷) * Hong Xian Da Di (洪仙大帝) (洪仙公) * Gan Tian Da Di (感天大帝) * Hua Guang Da Di (华光大帝) * Zhao Da Yuan Shuai (赵大元帅)

The annual Chingay parade

Every year in the first lunar month of 20-23rd, the temple organises its annual Chingay known as the "Parade of Deities" (). The parade lasts for four days with the final is on the night of the 3rd day when the deities parade around the Johor Bahru city centre. The annual parade attracted more than 300,000 people to march around the major roads of the city together with the five deities being worshipped in the old temple. In 2021, date changed to 1st-15th of the first lunar month.

References

External links

A brief introduction of the Old Chinese Temple (Chinese)
{{Iskandar Malaysia Religious buildings and structures completed in 1870 Buildings and structures in Johor Bahru Chinese-Malaysian culture Taoist temples in Malaysia Tourist attractions in Johor