Sandakan's Chinese Temples: History & Visitor Guide
What are Sandakan's main Chinese temples?
Sandakan's two landmark Chinese temples are the Sam Sing Kung (Three Saints) Temple, built between 1885 and 1887 and described as the town's oldest, and the small Goddess of Mercy Temple from the late 1880s. Both are on the Sandakan Heritage Trail.
Sandakan's Chinese temples at a glance
Sandakan's history is bound up with the Chinese immigrants who arrived during the colonial era and built a town once known as the "Little Hong Kong of the East." Their faith left a lasting mark in the form of temples that still stand today — places of worship that double as windows into more than a century of community life on Sabah's east coast.
Two temples anchor this heritage: the Sam Sing Kung (Three Saints) Temple, described by the Sabah Tourism Board as the oldest, and the small Goddess of Mercy Temple. Alongside them, the worship of Tua Pek Kong reflects folk religious traditions found in many Chinese communities across the state.
Sam Sing Kung (Three Saints) Temple: first constructed 1885, completed 1887, beside the town padang. Goddess of Mercy Temple (Kun Yam / Kuan Yin): a small temple from the late 1880s, off Singapore Road. Both are on the Sandakan Heritage Trail (Sabah Tourism Board, checked 7 October 2026).
Goddess of Mercy Temple
The Goddess of Mercy Temple, also called the Kun Yam or Kuan Yin Temple, is reached from Singapore Road, close to St. Michael's Church. The Sabah Tourism Board describes it as a small temple built in the late 1880s (Sabah Tourism Board, checked 7 October 2026).
The temple stands as a testament to the earliest Chinese immigrant religious presence in colonial Sandakan. Its peaceful hillside setting offers a quiet contrast to the town below, and it is a stop on the Sandakan Heritage Trail for visitors tracing the town's origins.
Sam Sing Kung Temple
The Sam Sing Kung, or Three Saints, Temple stands beside the town padang. The Sabah Tourism Board calls it the oldest temple on the heritage trail, first constructed in 1885 and completed in 1887 (Sabah Tourism Board, checked 7 October 2026). It dates from Sandakan's years as a thriving port where different Chinese dialect groups lived and worshipped side by side.
Over the generations it has witnessed Sandakan's history unfold — from the days of the North Borneo colony, through the formation of Malaysia in 1963, to the present tourism era — making it a living chronicle of the town's enduring Chinese heritage.
Tua Pek Kong and folk worship in Sabah
Beyond Sandakan's two landmark temples, the worship of Tua Pek Kong, a guardian and prosperity deity in Chinese folk religion, is found in many Chinese communities across Sabah, with temples and shrines around the state.
Worship follows the rhythm of the lunar calendar. Many families make offerings on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month, and some business owners observe the 2nd and 16th. Offerings commonly include fruit, incense, tea, joss paper and cooked meals — small daily acts of devotion that keep these folk traditions alive.
| Who worships | Lunar days |
|---|---|
| Families | 1st and 15th of the lunar month |
| Business owners | 2nd and 16th of the lunar month |
Temples on the Sandakan Heritage Trail
Both the Goddess of Mercy Temple and the Sam Sing Kung Temple are stops on the Sandakan Heritage Trail, alongside St. Michael's and All Angels Church and Agnes Keith's House. The Sandakan Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Sandakan) is the contact for guided tours (Sabah Tourism Board, checked 7 October 2026).
Together, Sandakan's Chinese temples and its heritage churches tell a layered story of a colonial port shaped by migration, trade and faith. Walking the trail lets visitors experience that history in place, moving between the hilltop temple, the surrounding streets and the wider townscape that grew up around them.
Temple etiquette
These temples remain active places of worship, so respectful behaviour matters. Dress modestly, keep your voice low, and move quietly through the prayer halls.
Ask before photographing people at prayer or any ceremony in progress, and do not touch altars, statues or offerings unless you are invited to do so. Treating each temple as the sacred space it is ensures that worshippers and visitors can share these historic sites with ease.