A small temple in front of Hoi An Market at night...

#VietnamTravel #HoiAn #ChùaÔng Ong Pagoda - Chùa Ông In the past, Hoi An was a bustling trading port where merchants often made trade contracts and concluded deals. Merchants had to swear at a sacred place to show trust to their trading partners, and the most representative place was **Guan Gong Temple**. This is because the people of Hoi An worshipped Guan Gong as the ‘god of trust’. This god not only played a role in witnessing trust in commercial relationships, but also punished those who broke their promises. Whenever merchants on trading ships arrived at or departed from a port, they would burn incense and pray for safe sailing and good luck at sea. Their faith was a very important factor while trading across the sea, and Guan Gong had great significance to them. This temple was built in 1653 and is dedicated to **Guan Yu**, a general famous for his outstanding talent, strong spirit, courage, and righteousness. He was a famous general who lived during the **Three Kingdoms Period** of the **Han Dynasty** of China, and was widely known as a man of noble character. The Hoi An merchants respected his virtues and made him the center of their faith. The Hoi An government temple was not just a religious site, but had an important meaning for the merchants at the time, symbolizing trust and promise.