Oroville Chinese Temple

The Chi­nese Tem­ple in Oroville is a muse­um and active tem­ple that show­cas­es the his­to­ry of the Chi­nese com­mu­ni­ty in Butte Coun­ty and North­ern Cal­i­for­nia, start­ing dur­ing Cal­i­for­ni­a’s Gold Rush and into the ear­ly 20^th cen­tu­ry. The Chi­nese Tem­ple is a unique piece of Cal­i­for­ni­a’s cul­tur­al her­itage and should be on every Butte Coun­ty vis­i­tor’s itinerary.

Read more about the Chi­nese Tem­ple and oth­er Oroville muse­ums.

About the Chi­nese Temple

Built in 1863 to serve the largest com­mu­ni­ty of Chi­nese north of Sacra­men­to, this tem­ple of trea­sures is list­ed on the Nation­al Reg­is­ter of His­toric Places and also as a Cal­i­for­nia Land­mark. It was first opened to vis­i­tors dur­ing Cal­i­for­ni­a’s 1949 Cen­ten­ni­al. In 1968, Tapes­try Hall was built to dis­play the exten­sive col­lec­tion of embroi­dered tapes­tries, parade para­sols, and oth­er objects of beau­ty. A price­less col­lec­tion of Chi­nese and Amer­i­can cos­tumes is arranged to con­trast the two cul­tures rep­re­sent­ing the decades from 1850 to 1930.

Admis­sion

• Check web­site for cur­rent admis­sion hours
• Chil­dren Under 12 are Free
• Group/​classroom tours by pri­or arrange­ment. Please call (530) 538‑2401

The Chapels

• The Main Chapel: Called the Liet Sheng Kong-Tem­ple of the assort­ed deities. It is a place or prayer for var­i­ous wor­ships, includ­ing Tao­ism, Con­fu­cian­ism, and Buddhism
• The Chan Room: A Con­fu­cian room for rev­er­ence of ancestors
  
• The Moon Tem­ple: The Wong Fat Tong Hall of the Yel­low Bud­dha. It has a unique moon-shaped door and is above the Coun­cil Room
  
• The Coun­cil Room: Served a vari­ety of civ­il and cul­tur­al needs of the work­er, such as bank­ing, let­ter writ­ing, dis­ci­pline, and arrang­ing for the bur­ial of the dead
  

Oth­er Rooms & Buildings

• The Tapes­try & Dis­play Halls: Con­tain price­less tapes­tries, parade umbrel­las, an Impe­r­i­al Pil­lar rug of the 16^th cen­tu­ry, an his­tor­i­cal bronze urn, and a dis­play of ​“Shad­ow Pup­pets” made of don­key skin. Also dis­played is a col­lec­tion of ear­ly pho­tographs and draw­ings that depict the Chi­nese his­to­ry in Oroville
• The Cul­lie Room: Show­cas­es Chi­nese and Amer­i­can cos­tumes from 1830 to 1940, which were a gift from Chi­nese mis­sion­ar­ies Mabel Clay and Jessie Mae Henke
  
• The Work­ers Hut: A repli­ca of a typ­i­cal Chi­nese min­er’s hut from the 1860s. It was con­struct­ed using mate­ri­als from a local barn built in the same period
  
• The Fong Lee Build­ing: A repli­ca of the Fong Lee Com­pa­ny build­ing, which con­tains the orig­i­nal light fix­tures, cab­i­nets, cas­es, and arti­facts from the med­i­c­i­nal herb and gold pur­chas­ing store
  
• The Court­yard & Gar­dens: Many of the plants with­in the gar­den are of Chi­nese ori­gin, includ­ing a Tis­sue-bark pine tree and bam­boo, which can be traced back to the 1860s. A fish pond has lily pads that bloom in the sum­mer. And in the cor­ner of the court­yard stands a Chi­nese pume­lo grape­fruit tree pro­duces fruit