Taipei Travel

The 2023 Baosheng Cultural Festival kicked-off at the Dalongdong Baoan Temple in the evening of April 23. The religious event celebrates the birthday of Lord Baosheng, the deity of medicine. It is also one of the three major temple activities of Taipei City.

During his address at the opening ceremony, Mayor Chiang Wan-an remarked that the city government officially declared the 2021 Baosheng Cultural Festival as Taipei’s intangible cultural heritage. The various rituals – the three offering rites, the temple plays, the Fire Lion fireworks, the street parade, and more – are all important aspects of the unique temple activity. 

He also praised Chairman Liao of Baosheng Temple’s governing board for setting up the Baoan Culture Academy, inviting experts and scholars to seminars and classes to enrich the contents of local culture and religion.

The mayor pointed out that Chairman Liao is also a renowned artist who worked on the major overhaul of Baoan Temple back in 1995. The effort of preserving the cultural heritage won the recognition of UNESCO in the form of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Chairman Liao was also invited to visit Vatican and meet Pope Francis in 2018.

As the birthday of Lord Baosheng is on March 15 of the lunar calendar, the mayor offers his prayers, hoping that citizens can enjoy peace and prosperity, as well as wishing the success of this year’s Baosheng Cultural Festival.