Tin How Temple, San Francisco
Day Ju, one of the first three Chinese immigrants to arrive in San Francisco, dedicated the Tin How Temple to the Queen of the Heavens and the Goddess of the Seven Seas in 1852. Tin How is the oldest Chinese temple in the United States.
On the 2nd floor is a popular mah-jongg parlor, and in the temple's entryway, elderly ladies can often be seen preparing "money" to be burned as offerings to various Buddhist gods or as funds for ancestors to use in the afterlife.
Red-and-gold lanterns adorn the ceiling – the larger the lamp the larger its donor's contribution to the temple – and the smell of incense is usually thick. Oranges and other offerings rest on altars to various gods.
The gold-leaf wood carving suspended from the ceiling depicts the north and east sides of the sea, which Tin How and other gods protect. A statue of Tin How sits in the middle back of the temple, flanked by a lesser red god and green god.
| Address: | 125 Waverly Pl., Chinatown, San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Phone: | no phone |
| Hours: | Daily 9-4. |
| Cost: | Free; donations accepted. |
| Photos: | Not permitted. |
Source: Fodor's San Francisco 2005
