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Chinese Temple of Dili
The Chinese Temple of Dili is a temple used by the Chinese diaspora of Dili, East Timor. The temple was built in 1928, during the Portuguese control of East Timor, and is still in use today.[1] The main shrine of the temple is dedicated to Lord Guan, a historical Chinese general from the 3rd century, who is popularly worshipped in Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, and Chinese Buddhism. Another room is dedicated to Guan Yin, a bodhisattva venerated in Chinese folk religion.[2] HistoryIn 1926, the Chinese community who migrated from Macau set up a shrine in a garage where they worshipped a 30 cm high statue of Guan Gong that had been sent from China. In 1928, after getting funding from both the Portuguese government[3] and the Chinese diaspora,[4] they built the current temple and enshrined the statue inside the temple.[1] The Guan Di temple was believed to have been built in 1936 or 1937. A shrine dedicated to Guan Yin was built in 1977. The temple survived the Japanese occupation during World War II and the Indonesian occupation without being vandalized.[2]
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