The Historical Sam Poo Kong Temple Semarang: A Must-Visit Place in Indonesia
The Sam Poo Kong Temple Semarang is a historical tourist attraction located in Semarang, the Central Java province’s capital city. It is regarded as the oldest Chinese historical site and worship temple there, it is also better known as Gedong Batu or the Stone Building to the locals.
Sam Poo Kong Temple, Beautiful Merge of Historical Cultures
However, albeit this sam poo kong temple is a worshipping site, it does not belong to a specific kind of religion, unlike most temples in anywhere else.
It functions as a place of worship and gathering for people who come from various religious groups, as well as ethnicities including Muslims, Taoists, and Buddhists.
It is situated on Jalan Simongan, Western Semarang, and the place is open 24 hours to the public, with an entrance fee of 30,000 rupiahs.
There are 5 temples in the Sam Poo Kong complex that expands across 3.2 hectares.
The oldest of the five temples is the Sam Poo Kong temple, which is influenced by the 14th-century architectural styles of both Chinese and Javanese cultures and covers a wide area of 1,020 square meters.
It is painted with a brilliant red color typical to those architectural work influenced by Chinese culture, and it has a pagoda roof with triple layers as the crown of the building, a typical East Asian architectural style.
When you visit the Sam Poo Kong Temple Semarang, you would find the place to be heavily incensed with incense smokes, deepening the sense of being in China as well as creating a serene atmosphere for the worshipper.
The foundation of the temple was first built by Admiral Zheng He or Admiral Cheng ho, as better known in some places.
He was a Muslim traveler and world explorer from Mainland China. History shows that he arrived in Java Island around 1400 and 1416, albeit the exact date or year remains a mystery that is disputed amongst historians up to this day.
It is said that Admiral Cheng Ho found a small cave located on a rocky side of the hill one day, and decided to use the site to pray.
Later though, he decided to build a small temple there. During his stay in Java, Cheng Ho also taught local people on how to cultivate the land and how to farm better. After a while, the admiral left the island.
However, many of his ship crew decided to stay in the place and ended up settling as residents in the area.
Marriage between locals and the crews was inevitable, and up until now, Simongan is populated by many descendants of Chinese people.
As for the temple itself, it has gone through several attempts of restorations due to the fact that it collapsed in a landslide back in 1704.
After 20 years, the residents decided to rebuild it in a different and better location, this time in a place that is closer to the center of the city.
From that point on, the place serves as both a shrine to honor Admiral Cheng Ho as well as a place for worship.
On the other hand, Sam Poo Kong Temple Semarang also manages to become one of the most iconic tourist attractions in the city, which is something that every tourist and visitor of Semarang should not miss.
