Taoist Temple is located in the wealthy residential suburb of Beverly Hills about 6 km. north of downtown Cebu. We took a local taxi to get there and we asked the driver to wait for us for a few minutes because we knew we could hardly find a cab to get back to the hotel.

There were only few people when we got there, maybe because many of the Taoist devotees have their rituals done particularly on Wednesdays and Sundays, to light joss sticks and have their fortunes read by the monks.


The temple was built by substantial Chinese community who make up about 15% of Cebu's population. The temple is the center of worship for Taoism, the religion which follows the teachings of the ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tze.


Built in 1972, the Taoist Temple is constructed in highly ornate and, some would say, gaudy style of Chinese architecture, and is topped with pagoda style roof. It has a towering, multi-tiered, muli-hued attraction accessible by three separate winding routes. Various attractions consist of huge and colorful dragon, a replica of the Great Wall of China, spacious balconies offering scenic views, souvenir shops, mini library with instructional materials, and dozens of escalating steps.


The temple has an elevation of 300 meters above sea level, so when we climbed its 99 steps to reach to the top, we were satisfied and enjoyed the nice scenery of Cebu City.