Thian Hock Keng Temple

This guide to Thian Hock Keng Temple in Singapore starts on the vanished shoreline where Hokkien immigrants once stepped off their junks to give thanks to the sea goddess Mazu, on ground that used to be Telok Ayer Bay before land reclamation swallowed it. It follows the temple's 1839 construction, funded by community donations including a large gift from merchant Tan Tock Seng, and the shipments of stone and timber that arrived all the way from Fujian province. Listen for the carved donor tablet just inside the entrance.