Oldest Chinese Temple in America (Mendocino 1854)

This is something I have learnt: "Anything is Possible".

Last week I spent a magical week at a tiny coastal town in Northern California called Mendocino (pop. 1300).

I was there for the Core Value Mastermind retreat with Linda Chandler, an annual class for her mentorees from all over the world to learn, appreciate and reconnect with ourselves and with one another. In many ways it was an intensely enriching and meaningful experience.

Mendocino is a quintessential rural American town, sitting atop the craggy cliffs, inlets, rocks and the pounding waves on an achingly beautiful stretch of the Pacific Coast. Above, on the hills behind it, enormous Redwood trees stand majestically some of them as much as 2400 years old, amidst gentle rivers that gleam with jade-green water. The sun rises from behind the hills, so each day break I gasp at the views of the coast covered in golden spray from the pounding surfs while the hills are wrapped in golden ribbons of mist. The sights, sounds and the spiritual energies of its surrounding nature are beautiful beyond words. The towns are occupied by artists, artisans and all kinds of refugees from urban / material life. Almost everyone in this part of the world is white. Quite the last thing I would expect to find is a Chinese temple.

So imagine my delight when Low, a course mate from Singapore now living and working in Guangzhou, showed me a temple right in the middle of Mendocino. Moreover, it is in good repair, in use and the altar fittings and decorations are quite new. The temple was dedicated to Kuan Ti and a picture of him adorned the altar. I felt a good connection with it, not only because it was a nice surprise, but because for days that week I have been reflecting on the very same value that Kuan Ti (or Kuan Yu) symbolises: integrity, friendship and courage as they apply to my own life.

It was not open, though, both times when I visited last week, because the key is kept with a few town's people and the one Low know of was not in. According to the website (yes, it has one) the temple has been maintained by 4 generations of the "Hee" family.

A plaque outside the temple indicate that the temple was built in 1854 and is now in California's list of historical places. That means it was built only 5 years after the Gold Rush started in California and 2 years after Mendocino was settled. According to some, it is the oldest surviving Chinese temple in America.

Wow! all that right in this tiny little town of Mendocino. Life is full of wonderful discoveries.

[photo from online. Will post more when I receive them]