Holiday Ayo - Before and during Chinese New Year, the Sam Poo Kong Temple in Semarang is always filled with local residents and tourists. Apart from being used for prayer, one of the oldest Chinese temples in Semarang also holds lively Chinese New Year celebrations.

source: Phinemo

For those of you who want to experience an exciting holiday while learning about the history and culture of Chinese New Year, just go on holiday to Semarang and visit the Sam Poo Kong Temple. Traveloka has summarized the following information and travel guide to Sam Poo Kong Semarang.

The Sam Poo Kong Temple was founded by Admiral Cheng Ho in the early 15th century. Previously, this temple was the first stopover and landing place for Admiral Cheng Ho or also known as Sam Poo. He is a famous world explorer from China who is Muslim. According to historical accounts, Admiral Cheng Ho was sailing through the Java Sea and his helmsman, Wang Jing Hong, fell ill. Then he docked at the North Coast of Semarang to treat the helmsman.

Wang settled in the cave and made the area grow rapidly. So Wang erected a statue of Cheng Ho in the stone cave area. That is the history of the founding of the Sam Poo Kong Temple. Even though Admiral Cheng Ho was a Muslim, people considered him a god because Confucians or Taoists thought that dead people could provide help.

The main activity you can do at Sam Poo Kong Semarang is walking around the temple area. This temple complex consists of five buildings that combine traditional Javanese and Chinese architecture. The five buildings are the Main Temple or Sam Poo Kong, Kyai Juru Mudi Temple, Dewa Bumi Temple, Kyai Anchor Temple, Kyai Nyai Tumpeng, and Kyai Tjundrik Bumi Temples, and the Sam Poo Kong Worship Cave.

source: Tribunnewswiki

Entering the Sam Poo Kong Semarang area, you will be greeted by a building whose walls display stone reliefs. For this reason, the Sam Poo Kong Temple often gets the nickname Batu Building. The relief tells the story of Admiral Cheng Ho's expedition in the 15th century for 30 years. Every day, this temple in Semarang is a place of prayer and pilgrimage as well as a tourist attraction.

You can find the altar and statues of Sam Po Tay Djien inside. You can also find two statues, each made of sandalwood and porcelain, which symbolize the arrival of Cheng Ho in Semarang.