Ancient temple destroyed

    THE Dongshan Temple in Dapeng, Longgang District, was built in 1394 during the Ming Dynasty, and rebuilt in the fourth year of the Xianfeng Reign in the Qing Dynasty. It was listed as one of the Key Cultural Relics to be protected in Shenzhen.

    You can imagine my shock and disappointment when, taking some friends there for a cultural trip on March 6, I discovered that this venerable temple had been demolished and reduced to rubble.

    The three halls dedicated to Lord Guan, Jade Emperor, Taoist Trinity and various Guanyin statues all completely disappeared.

    The only remaining structure was the stone arch at the entrance that was built in the Qing Dynasty.

    The spectacular old construction of granite stones with all the beautiful decorations, cultural relics and nice sea view will be replaced by a new wooden temple. The reconstruction is also not respectful to Mother Nature as it will use thousands of trees to be completed.

    Miserably the wooden tablet with the Chinese characters “Dongshan Ancient Temple” (see photo) that a legend says were written by Lai Enjue, a commander of Dapeng Fortress and later the navy admiral of Guangdong, now lies in the rubble.

    Shenzhen could be the city of the future, but we cannot bury the past in this way. The future has its roots too and it is Shenzhen’s duty to take care of its historical sites.

    Marco Loglio via e-mail