Following our previous guide to renting a car in Kinmen <click here for the Kinmen car rental guide>
On a Kinmen car rental trip, besides famous sights like Qingtian Hall, Mount Taiwu and the War Museum, there’s another fascinating activity: hunting for Kinmen’s “Wind Lion Gods” (Fengshiye).
The origins of Kinmen’s Wind Lion Gods
Kinmen has long suffered from blowing sand and dust, so islanders brought over the custom from the Zhangzhou and Quanzhou area of using lion statues to ward off evil, erecting Wind Lion Gods at village entrances facing northeast or north. There are about seventy-odd weather-beaten Wind Lion Gods across Kinmen, standing in all kinds of poses throughout the island. Today they have gone from being gods that subdue the wind to guardian deities of the villages.
Legend says the Wind Lion Gods have a sweet tooth, and you’ll see locals offering candy and snacks when they come to worship. Many of the statues even wear big capes given in thanks for answered prayers, which makes them look very dashing.
<Download the official Wind Lion God guidebook>
Wind Lion God designs in Kinmen
[Scholarly] Holding a vermilion brush or an official seal → blessings for studying and acing exams
[Martial] Holding a sword or a command banner → blessings for work and promotions
[Wealth] Holding coins → blessings for earning money and striking it rich
How big are Kinmen’s Wind Lion Gods?
Among the seventy-odd Wind Lion Gods in Kinmen, the largest stands three stories tall and the smallest is just 30 centimeters, and they come in all sorts of colors. While traveling around Kinmen, see who can spot the most of them!
If you’d like to learn more about the Wind Lion Gods, take a look at this article — the author put a lot of care into it.
Read more >>
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This article was translated by AI from the original Chinese version.
