Tucked amidst the towering glass skyscrapers of Singapore's Raffles Place financial district, a tranquil stone-paved courtyard at 30B Phillip Street has been fragrant with burning incense for two centuries. Look up at the twin tiled roofs of the sanctuary, and you will behold an extraordinary miniature city of two-storey pavilions, city gates, pagodas, and hundreds of vibrant opera warriors crafted entirely from cut-and-paste porcelain shards.
This is Yueh Hai Ching Temple (traditional Chinese: 粵海清廟, known in Teochew as Wak Hai Cheng Bio), the oldest Taoist sanctuary of the Teochew (Chaozhou) community in Singapore. Formally founded in 1826 (evolving from an 1820s attap shrine) by mariners who sailed across the South China Sea aboard red-headed junks to give thanks for safe passage, and rebuilt in 1852 to 1855 and 1895 under the stewardship of the Ngee Ann Kongsi, the temple preserves an imperial plaque bestowed by Qing Emperor Guangxu while also earning local fame as Singapore's Temple of Love thanks to its altar to the marriage deity Yue Lao.
IThe meaning of Yueh Hai Ching and the twin halls of Xuan Tian Shang Di, Mazu, and Yue Lao
The four characters Yueh Hai Ching Miao (粵海清廟) preserve the maritime memory of Singapore's earliest Teochew settlers: Yueh (粵) is the classical name for Guangdong Province (where Chaozhou Prefecture lies on the eastern coast), while Hai Ching (海清) means Calm and Clear Seas. In the early nineteenth century, migrants from Zhanglin Port in Chenghai County, Chaozhou braved weeks of perilous open ocean aboard wooden sailing junks painted with distinctive red prows, known as red-headed junks (紅頭船). As soon as their vessels anchored near the southern mouth of the Singapore River along Phillip Street (which then lay right beside the shoreline), the sailors and traders stepped ashore here to offer thanksgiving incense for a calm sea voyage.
Unlike almost every other Chinese temple in Singapore, Yueh Hai Ching features a rare parallel twin-hall layout beneath two adjoining pitched roofs separated by an internal party wall pierced by a circular moon gate: the left hall (east) is the Shang Di Palace dedicated to Xuan Tian Shang Di, while the right hall (west) is the Tian Hou Palace dedicated to Mazu (Tianhou). Because the two halls enshrine a male deity and a female deity side by side, older generations of Singapore Chinese affectionately call the sanctuary the Grandfather and Grandmother Temple.
In Teochew Taoist and folk belief, Xuan Tian Shang Di (玄天上帝, the Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven, venerated by Teochews as Toa Peh / Grand Lord) and Tianhou Shengmu (天后聖母, the Sea Goddess Mazu Lin Moniang of Meizhou) are the two supreme guardians governing the Water element and maritime navigation. Whereas Mazu guides seafarers safely through tempests with her beacon lantern, Xuan Tian Shang Di, treading barefoot upon the primordial tortoise and serpent while wielding his seven-star sword, commands the northern heavens (associated with the Water element), banishes malevolent spirits, and protects the homeland community abroad.
Within the left hall (Shang Di Palace), worshippers also honor the City God (Cheng Huang), the Earth God (Tua Pek Kong / Fu De Zheng Shen), and above all Yue Lao (月老仙翁, the Old Man Under the Moon). In Chinese tradition, Yue Lao is the celestial matchmaker who holds the Book of Marriages and binds destined partners together across time and distance with an invisible red thread (hongxian). Generations of single men and women as well as couples in Singapore visit Yueh Hai Ching to pray before Yue Lao's altar and tie red strings for harmonious marriage, earning this historic CBD sanctuary its popular nickname, the Temple of Love.
According to historian Phua Chye Long's landmark 1950 study Teochews in Malaya (馬來亞潮僑通鑑) and the 1819 journals of Sir Stamford Raffles, William Farquhar, and John Crawfurd, even before the British landed in Singapore in January 1819, the local Malay chief Temenggong Abdul Rahman had financed more than a hundred Teochew planters cultivating gambier and pepper on the slopes of Mount Stamford (modern Pearl's Hill). Leading those earliest Teochew pioneers were Singapore's first Kapitan China, Tan Heng Metal (陳亨欽, who arrived via Siam), and merchant Heng Hong Sung (王豐順, from Anbu town in Chaozhou), who together erected the earliest wood-and-attap shrine on the south bank of the Singapore River.
Visitors hearing of a historic Mazu temple near Singapore's old waterfront often confuse Yueh Hai Ching with Thian Hock Keng on Telok Ayer Street. In fact, Thian Hock Keng was founded in 1839 to 1840 as the Mazu temple and community headquarters of the Hokkien (Southern Fujian) community, whereas Yueh Hai Ching on Phillip Street (a few hundred meters north) was formally established in 1826 as the twin-deity temple and headquarters of the Teochew (Eastern Guangdong) community. Remarkably, both sanctuaries are the only two temples in Singapore honored with imperial calligraphic plaques from Qing Emperor Guangxu.
IITwo centuries of Teochew heritage and the Ngee Ann Kongsi (1820 to 2014)
From a humble wood-and-attap waterfront shrine in the 1820s, Yueh Hai Ching Temple became the institutional cradle of the Ngee Ann Kongsi (義安公司), the premier philanthropic and educational foundation of Singapore's Teochew community.
- c. 1820Teochew pioneers Tan Heng Metal and Heng Hong Sung erect an attap waterfront shrineWhile some oral legends claim an even earlier eighteenth-century date (1738), historical consensus records that around 1820 Teochew merchants Tan Heng Metal and Heng Hong Sung and red-headed junk sailors built a simple wood-and-attap shrine south of the Singapore River.
- 1826Lim Poon and Ban See Soon Kongsi formally establish Yueh Hai Ching TempleIn the 6th year of the Daoguang reign (1826), pioneer Lim Poon (林泮) of the Ban See Soon Kongsi (萬世順公司) and a 14-member board of trustees formally erected the temple on a 999-year leasehold plot at Phillip Street to enshrine Xuan Tian Shang Di and Mazu.
- 1845Formation of Ngee Ann Kongsi under Seah Eu Chin to steward the templeProminent Teochew scholar-merchant Seah Eu Chin (佘有進, 1805 to 1883, known as the King of Gambier and Pepper) united twelve surname clans from Ngee Ann Prefecture (the ancient name of Chaozhou) to found Ngee Ann Kun (later Ngee Ann Kongsi) to manage Yueh Hai Ching Temple and community welfare.
- 1852 to 1855Major brick-and-stone construction of the twin-hall temple complexUnder the stewardship of Ngee Ann Kongsi, the shrine was rebuilt on a substantial scale between 1852 and 1855 using granite, brick, and timber imported from the Chaoshan region, establishing the present twin-hall layout.
- 1895 to 1896Grand late-Qing reconstruction and expansionAs the Teochews grew into the second-largest Chinese dialect group in Singapore, Ngee Ann Kongsi submitted plans in 1895 and carried out a comprehensive reconstruction and ornamentation of the temple completed in 1896.
- 1899 (or 1907)Qing Emperor Guangxu bestows the imperial plaque Shuhai XiangyunIn recognition of the Ngee Ann Kongsi and Singapore Teochew community's generous famine relief donations to Guangdong and Shandong Provinces, Emperor Guangxu presented the temple with the imperial plaque Shuhai Xiangyun (曙海祥雲, Ngee Ann Kongsi and NLB records date the bestowal to the 25th year of Guangxu, 1899, while some accounts cite 1907).
- 28 June 1996Gazetted as a National Monument of SingaporeDuring a restoration campaign carried out from 1995 to 1997, Yueh Hai Ching Temple was officially gazetted as a National Monument of Singapore on 28 June 1996.
- 2011 to 2014Scientific conservation and the 2014 UNESCO Award of MeritNgee Ann Kongsi undertook a meticulous restoration from 2011 to 2014 guided by architectural conservationist Dr. Yeo Kang Shua and master Chaoshan artisans, earning the 2014 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation (Award of Merit) and the URA Architectural Heritage Award.
When consulting historical sources on the exact date of the imperial plaque Shuhai Xiangyun (曙海祥雲, literally Auspicious Clouds Above the Sea at Dawn), stamped with the imperial seal of Emperor Guangxu and hung inside the Mazu hall, readers will encounter two dates: official archives of the Ngee Ann Kongsi (thengeeannkongsi.com.sg), the National Library Board (NLB Infopedia), and epigraphic studies record that the plaque was bestowed in the 25th year of the Guangxu reign (1899) following the 1895 to 1896 reconstruction and famine relief campaign, whereas the History section of English Wikipedia and several travel guides state 1907. The Hall of Myriad Paths records both 1899 and 1907 so readers may cross-reference both traditions.
Alongside this imperial treasure, Yueh Hai Ching Temple and the Ngee Ann Kongsi collection preserve 19 historic wooden plaques, 11 pairs of calligraphic couplets, 2 stone stelae, 2 nineteenth-century bronze bells, 5 inscribed roof beams, and a stone incense burner dated to the 24th year of the Jiaqing reign (1819), the oldest dated Chinese ritual artifact associated with the founding year of modern Singapore.
IIITeochew cut-and-paste porcelain towns (Qian Ci) on the roofs and multi-layered gilded wood carvings
Whereas Southern Fujian (Minnan) temples emphasize sweeping swallowtail curves, Yueh Hai Ching is a supreme showcase of traditional Teochew (Chaozhou) architectural craftsmanship, renowned across southern China and Southeast Asia for its exuberant three-dimensional roofscapes and deeply pierced gilded wood carvings.
Entering the stone-paved enclosed courtyard through the main gate, visitors encounter a subtle spatial asymmetry: the entrance bay of the left hall (Shang Di Palace) steps slightly farther forward than that of the right hall (Tian Hou Palace). Between the two parallel halls runs a dividing wall pierced by a circular moon gate that allows worshippers to pass smoothly from one deity's sanctuary to the other.
Crowning the two roofs is one of Southeast Asia's most intricate ceramic roofscapes: beneath the ridge dragons flanking a blazing pearl unfold entire miniature one- and two-storey Chinese towns complete with pavilions, pagodas, courtyards, and hundreds of porcelain figurines enacting heroic scenes from classical Teochew opera. Crafted in the Chaoshan art of Qian Ci (嵌瓷, cut-and-paste porcelain), each figure is built over a copper-wire armature coated with seashell-lime mortar and clad in gleaming porcelain shards.
Inside both halls, the structural timber beam-frames are left fully exposed and adorned with Chaoshan pierced-relief gilded wood carvings (Jinqi Mudiao / 金漆木雕). Tie-beams, brackets, and altar canopies are carved in multiple three-dimensional layers depicting dragons, phoenixes, scholars, and battle scenes, all covered in radiant gold leaf over vermilion and cobalt-blue grounds.
Suspended above the altar bay of the Mazu hall is the gilded imperial signboard Shuhai Xiangyun (Auspicious Clouds Above the Sea at Dawn) bearing the seal of Qing Emperor Guangxu, accompanied across the two halls by 19 historic calligraphic plaques, 11 sets of couplets, two bronze bells, and stone inscriptions.
The temple's traditional color palette follows classical Chinese cosmology: gold leaf on the roof trusses and plaques represents Earth and imperial dignity, red on the purlins and doors represents Fire, yang vitality, and good fortune, blue on the beam patterns represents the eastern sky, and green glazed tiles along the rafters and boundary walls evoke the Water element of the calm southern sea.
During the acclaimed 2011 to 2014 restoration, rather than replacing aged timbers with concrete or repainting over historic surfaces, Ngee Ann Kongsi's conservation team led by Dr. Yeo Kang Shua brought master artisans from Chaoshan to splice decayed beam ends using traditional timber joinery, prepare authentic seashell-lime mortar, and conserve the original gold-leaf patina. This rigorous fidelity earned Yueh Hai Ching Temple the 2014 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation (Award of Merit) as well as the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority's Architectural Heritage Award.
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
Like other traditional sanctuaries of the Guangdong and Fujian diaspora, Yueh Hai Ching Temple was sited and oriented by early nineteenth-century Teochew pioneers according to traditional Chinese form feng shui and the ritual precedence of Left and Right (Zuo Zun You Bei). The section below examines the temple's historical waterfront setting and its modern position in Raffles Place.
In terms of geographic coordinates and the historical river-mouth waterfront, Yueh Hai Ching stands at coordinates 1.28450° N, 103.84933° E at 30B Phillip Street, just steps from Raffles Place and roughly 180 meters south of the lower reach of the Singapore River. When the shrine was founded in the 1820s, Phillip Street lay right beside the shoreline where the Singapore River emptied into the open sea (long before colonial and modern land reclamation pushed the waterfront out to Collyer Quay and Marina Bay). In classical water-form theory, the junction where a meandering river meets the sea is prized as a water-mouth convergence (Water Mouth (Shui Kou) giao hội) where maritime qi and commercial wealth first gather before entering the land, placing a twin sanctuary of the two supreme water and sea deities (Xuan Tian Shang Di and Mazu) right at that landing point both calmed the waters for incoming red-headed junks and anchored the prosperity of the Teochew merchant community.
In terms of compass facing and the ritual hierarchy of Left over Right, the temple is aligned sitting Northwest and facing Southeast (opening onto Phillip Street at roughly 115 degrees East-Southeast), looking directly toward the historic sea bay and the morning sun rising over the water (an orientation poetically captured by Emperor Guangxu's plaque Auspicious Clouds Above the Sea at Dawn). Viewed from the deities' thrones looking out toward the front gate, the left-hand side is the east (the Azure Dragon on the left, corresponding to Yang and the seat of higher honor), which is assigned to the male deity Xuan Tian Shang Di, while the right-hand side is the west (the White Tiger on the right, corresponding to Yin), assigned to the female deity Mazu. Today, surrounded on all sides by the towering skyscrapers of Raffles Place, the enclosed stone forecourt acts as an inward-gathering bright hall (Bright Hall (Ming Tang)) that shelters and concentrates tranquil qi at the very heart of Singapore's financial district.
VFeast days of Xuan Tian Shang Di and Mazu, and matchmaking prayers to Yue Lao
Under the unbroken stewardship of the Ngee Ann Kongsi since 1845, all annual liturgical celebrations at Yueh Hai Ching follow the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, preserving authentic Teochew ritual customs.
| Date | Calendar basis | Festival / Observance | Liturgical rites and cultural traditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month | Chinese lunar calendar | Sacred Birthday of Xuan Tian Shang Di (Toa Peh) | The principal festival in the left hall (Shang Di Palace): leaders of the Ngee Ann Kongsi and Teochew elders conduct the solemn three-offering sacrifice, present traditional Teochew pastries, and stage Teochew ritual music. |
| 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month | Chinese lunar calendar | Sacred Birthday of Mazu (Tianhou Shengmu) | Celebrated in the right hall (Tian Hou Palace) to honor the Goddess of the Sea, featuring thanksgiving offerings, longevity buns, and prayers remembering the red-headed junk pioneers. |
| 15th day of the 1st lunar month (Chap Goh Meh), 7th day of the 7th month, & 15th day of the 8th month | Chinese lunar calendar | Birthday of Yue Lao and Matchmaking Festival Days | Single worshippers and couples flock to the altar of Yue Lao (the Old Man Under the Moon) offering sweets and flowers and praying with red threads for destined romance and lasting marriage. |
| 12th lunar month & Lunar New Year | Chinese lunar calendar | Year-end Thanksgiving Rites and New Year Blessings | Devotees and office workers from the surrounding Raffles Place financial district visit to give thanks for the past year's protection and pray for auspicious beginnings. |
| 1st and 15th days of every lunar month | Chinese lunar calendar | New-moon and full-moon incense offerings | Regular bi-monthly worship with oil-lamp offerings and prayers for family peace and business harmony. |
Every weekday lunchtime, Yueh Hai Ching presents a striking scene unique to Singapore: bankers, lawyers, and executives in business attire step out of the surrounding glass office towers of Raffles Place into the nineteenth-century stone courtyard to offer incense or pray before Yue Lao's altar, bridging two hundred years of Teochew maritime faith with the rhythm of a global financial hub.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Số 30B phố Phillip Street (ngay trung tâm tài chính Raffles Place), Singapore 048696
- Getting there
- Located at 30B Phillip Street (in the Raffles Place financial district), Singapore 048696. Take the North-South MRT Line (red line) or East-West MRT Line (green line) to Raffles Place Station (NS26 / EW14), exit via Exit D or Exit G, and walk along Chulia Street onto Phillip Street for 2 to 3 minutes (150 meters) to reach the temple gate.
- Coordinates
- 1.2845, 103.84933
Yueh Hai Ching Temple is open daily to worshippers and visitors in the heart of Raffles Place. When entering the twin halls, please dress respectfully, speak quietly, and follow the temple's incense guidelines (burning fewer joss sticks indoors helps protect the nineteenth-century gilded wood carvings and Emperor Guangxu's imperial plaque from smoke damage). Visitors wishing to compare Singapore's Hokkien Mazu sanctuary nearby may also read our article on Thian Hock Keng Temple.
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?Quick Questions
Why does Yueh Hai Ching Temple have two main halls standing side by side?
Yueh Hai Ching is built on a rare parallel twin-hall plan separated by a moon-gate wall so it can accord equal honor to the two supreme protector deities of Teochew seafarers: the left hall (Shang Di Palace) enshrines Xuan Tian Shang Di (Toa Peh), while the right hall (Tian Hou Palace) enshrines the Sea Goddess Mazu (Tianhou). Because of this pairing, locals affectionately call it the Grandfather and Grandmother Temple.
Why is Yueh Hai Ching popularly called the Temple of Love in Singapore?
Inside the left hall stands a revered shrine to Yue Lao (the Old Man Under the Moon), the Taoist deity of marriage who binds destined couples together with an invisible red thread. Thousands of single people and couples visit the temple to pray before Yue Lao with red threads and sweet offerings for romance and harmonious marriage.
What is the story behind the imperial plaque Shuhai Xiangyun inside the temple?
Hanging in the Mazu hall is the gilded plaque Shuhai Xiangyun (meaning Auspicious Clouds Above the Sea at Dawn), bearing the personal seal of Qing Emperor Guangxu (Ngee Ann Kongsi and NLB records date the bestowal to 1899, while some sources cite 1907). It was presented by the Qing court to honor the Singapore Teochew community's generous famine relief donations to China.
What makes the roof decorations of Yueh Hai Ching so extraordinary?
The twin roofs are a masterpiece of Chaoshan Qian Ci (cut-and-paste porcelain shard work): instead of simple floral ridges, master artisans constructed entire miniature one- and two-storey Chinese towns, pavilions, and pagodas populated by hundreds of porcelain figurines enacting scenes from classical Teochew opera.
Who manages Yueh Hai Ching Temple and what heritage awards has it received?
Since 1845, the temple has been owned and managed by the Ngee Ann Kongsi, the premier Teochew philanthropic foundation in Singapore. The temple was gazetted as a National Monument of Singapore on 28 June 1996, and following its meticulous 2011 to 2014 restoration, it won the 2014 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation (Award of Merit).