Name of Temple: Taichung Lin Family Ancestral Shrine
Commanding deity: Mazu
Address: No. 55, Guoguang Road, South District, Taichung City
Brief introduction: Taichung Lin Family Ancestral Shrine was constructed by the later generations of Lin family in central Taiwan to cherish the memory of their ancestors.
Lin Family Ancestral Shrine has a big courtyard with two entrances and side halls on the two wings. Configured with the main gate in the front and the main hall in the rear and the connecting porches in the middle, the Lin Family Ancestral Shrine does not have a rear hall like an ordinary temple. The space is instead used to expand the main hall into a width of nine rooms. (The main gate and connecting porches are five-room wide). Consisting of seven yards (including inner courtyard and patio), the Lin Family Ancestral Shrine looks really stately. Judging from its building plan in which the Shrine looks like a “dustpan” in shape, with a narrower front part but a wider rear part, you can see how important the concept of feng shui means to the ancestors of the Lin family.
The load-bearing brick walls and wood-based systems appear to be the most important ingredients in its architectural framework. Wooden frame is the most distinctive feature in the Lin Family Ancestral Shrine, especially in the main gate and the main hall. Moreover, the architectural features of Chen Ying-bin (陳應彬), a great master architect from Zhangzhou (漳州), China, stand out in many spots, such as the main crossbeam, brackets, double rooftops, the archway, loom columns and stone pillars.