We had a Chinese Christmas break to Guangdong in China.
While we were there we visited the amazing Foshan Ancestral Temple and the Yip Man museum.
The Foshan Temple was first built in the Song dynasty during the reign of Emperor Zhezong, in the Yuanfeng Era (1078-1085), but was ruined towards the end of the Yuan Dynasty. It was rebuilt in the 5th year of Hongwu Era of the Ming Dynasty (1372). The temple is dedicated to Beidi (the “Northern God”), a Cantonese form of the “Dark Warrior” Xuanwu, who is said to have power over the waters of Guangdong.
Foshan Ancestral Temple consists of Ancestral Temple, Confucius Temple (孔庙), Huang Feihong Memorial Hall (黄飞鸿纪念馆) and Ip Man Hall (叶问堂).
The Ancestral Temple worships the Taoist deity Xuan Wu, known as the Northern Emperor. The ancient building was built in 11 century, and now is a key cultural relic protected by the State Council. It opened for visit in the year 1956.
Foshan Ancestral Temple culture includes Taoism culture, martial art and the folk art. Moreover, different kinds of folk culture activities are held every year, for instance, Spring Blessing Ceremony, Temple Fair, Community Drinking Rituals and Mid-Autumn Festival. There are also other interactive folk custom activities such as the Preschool Children Enlightening Ceremony, Lion Dance, Cantonese Opera, Foshan Martial Art Performance and Cantonese Opera. Such activities are held all the year round.
The Confucius Temple was constructed in 1911. It is an important place for people to admire the eminent ancient Chinese educator Confucius. The historic site is protected by the Foshan Municipal Government and received visitors since 1981.
Huang Feihong Memorial Hall and Ip Man Hall were newly founded in the first year of the 21 century to commemorate two Foshan born martial art masters Huang Feihong and Ip Man.
After the foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the temple was converted into Foshan Municipal Museum and listed as one of the main cultural relics under the preservation by the Guangdong provincial government.
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foshan_Ancestral_Temple)
Yip man, also known as Ip man, is the grandmaster of Wing Chun Kung fu. He was a famous Chinese martial artist and enjoyed an international fame. Many of his students become very excellent martial artists and among them Bruce Lee was his favorite.
Master Yip Man contributed his whole life to spread Wing Chun Kung-fu. This Yip Man Memorial Museum in Foshan is built to show respect towards Yip Man master as well as spreading Wing Chun Kung-fu culture.
The small memorial holds the grandmaster’s desk and chair, wooden dummy, and photos of Wing Chung students from around the globe. In another building, tourists can watch kung fu and lion dance performances, or if they miss those, watch grainy black and white videos of the great-grandfathers (and grandmothers!) of today’s action film stars shadow-fight with swords, sticks, and their iron palms.
(Source: https://www.topchinatravel.com/china-attractions/yip-man-memorial-museum.htm)
After visiting the largest grotto we’ve ever seen we had a beautiful Chinese dinner with friends.
Apologies for video quality, we forgot our camcorder.
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