Sun Tien Kong Chinese Temple

Banda Islands


There are still a few Chinese families living on Bandaneira and the 300-year-old Sun Tien Kong Temple is testament to the ancient Chinese involvement in the Banda spice trade. Ask for the key at the Chinese-run grocery store almost opposite. Otherwise, the temple is open at Chinese New Year.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Banda Islands attractions

1. Dutch Church

0.04 MILES

This restored 1852 Dutch church with a portico of four chubby columns is open for services. Inside are a decorative bell-clock and wooden pews, as well as…

2. Rumah Budaya

0.05 MILES

Bandaneira’s little museum displays colonial artefacts including coins, silverware, crockery, pipes, swords and flintlock pistols and muskets. There's…

3. Mesjid Hatta-Syahrir

0.09 MILES

Behind the main port are the eye-catching minarets of the Mesjid Hatta-Syahrir. Some locals claim this was converted into a mosque from the mansion that…

4. Benteng Belgica

0.14 MILES

A classic star fort, the Unesco-nominated Benteng Belgica was built on the hill above Benteng Nassau in 1611, when it became apparent the lower bastion…

5. Benteng Nassau

0.15 MILES

Quietly crumbling among tropical foliage, Nassau was the scene of the Banda Massacre, the greatest obscenity in the violent history of Dutch Banda. The…

6. Hatta’s House

0.23 MILES

Of three early-20th-century ‘exile houses’ in Banda, Mohammed Hatta’s house is the most appealing. It’s partly furnished and photos of the dissident, his…

7. Istana Mini

0.31 MILES

This grand, atmospheric yet empty 1820s mansion gives a sense of the scale of the Dutch enterprise in the Banda Islands. Once the residence of the…

8. Schelling House

0.33 MILES

This massive columned house, owned by the daughter of the last Banda king, has a leafy courtyard, high ceilings and, in the the master bathroom, a stone…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "indonesia/bandaneira/attractions/sun-tien-kong-chinese-temple/a/poi-sig/1223818/1318749",
      "destination": "Banda-Islands",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "Indonesia",
      "region": "Banda-Islands",
      "position": "superzone"
    }