How to Visit the Oroville Chinese Temple

Oroville Chinese Temple is a working religious site as well as a museum, so its grounds connect living traditions with local history. Its main temple, Liet Sheng Kong, or “Temple of Many Deities,” honors multiple Eastern religions. The complex also includes chapels dedicated to Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

The temple stands at 1500 Broderick Street. Its historic buildings and garden make up a compact site where you can see religious spaces alongside displays of art and artifacts.

The temple reflects the history of Oroville’s Chinese community and the city’s development. Its history spans 1863–1873: the landmark building was dedicated in spring 1863 and served 10,000 Chinese residents, and the temple was built in 1873 to serve the largest Chinese community north of Sacramento.

The site first opened to visitors during California’s Centennial in 1949. It is a California Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Five museums in the Downtown Historic District are within a mile of one another. A walking guide to historic downtown Oroville can help you place the temple among the district’s streets and landmarks.

The museum brings together religious spaces, historic objects and folk art across the temple complex. You can view embroidered tapestries, parade parasols, Chinese artifacts and gardens, as well as displays in Tapestry Hall and the Fong Lee Company Building.

Added in 1968, Tapestry Hall displays embroidered art, ceremonial parasols and Chinese and American costumes from 1850–1930. Its collection also includes a 16th-century Imperial Pillar rug, a bronze urn, shadow puppets made of donkey skin, and historical photographs and drawings.

The Fong Lee Company Building, completed in 2008, displays artifacts from a historic herb shop and gold exchange run by the Chan family. Outside, the garden includes bamboo planted in the 1860s, lily pads that bloom and a pomelo tree that fruits during Chinese New Year.

The grounds also include the Workers Hut, a replica of a typical Chinese miners’ hut from the 1860s, built using materials from a local barn of the same period. Give yourself time to take in the buildings and garden as well as the museum displays.

The temple is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., during its February–December opening period. At other times, it is open when volunteers are available. City museums close on federal holidays and may close during normal hours if volunteers are unavailable.

Admission is cash only: $4 for adults and $3 for seniors, while children under 12 enter free. Group and classroom tours can be requested through the City museum page. Hours and access can depend on volunteer availability, so check the official site before you go.

The temple is about 15 minutes on foot or 3 minutes by car from Sunset Inn Lake Oroville. Its address is 1500 Broderick Street, Oroville, CA 95965. The City’s Greenline Tour route begins at Highway 70 and Montgomery Street and includes the Chinese Temple, giving you another way to connect it with sights around town.

If you are planning a day around downtown, five museums in the Downtown Historic District are within a mile of one another. You can combine the temple with a walk through the historic district, then use a one-day Oroville itinerary to shape the rest of your visit.

Historic downtown Oroville is a natural companion to a temple visit: five museums sit within a mile of one another in the Downtown Historic District. The Greenline Tour also includes the temple, with its route starting at Highway 70 and Montgomery Street.

For a change of scenery beyond downtown, North and South Table Mountain are 3 miles outside Oroville. The nearby historic district and the mountains offer two different ways to build a fuller day around the temple.