The City God Temple forms the heart of the old city Shanghai of China. It is popularly known as Chenghuang Miao of Shanghai. The City God Temple today encompasses not only the temple premises but also the traditional district of business there. This includes around one hundred shops and stores and the buildings have an age of almost a century. The Yuyuan Garden considered being a heritage of the city is connected to the City God Temple.

The City God Temple has its origin from the Jinshan God Temple. This temple was devoted to the spirit of Jinshan, which is an island off the coast of the city Shanghai. During the period of the Ming Dynasty it was changed into the City God Temple in the year 1403. In due course of time the temple gained popularity and attracted religious people who came to pray for peace and fortune. This popularity of the temple led to the establishment of busy market place in its surroundings.

The main gods of the temple are Huo Guang, Qin Yubo and Chen Huacheng. Hou Guang was Chancellor of the famous Han Dynasty. He was considered to be the original city god of Shanghai. Qin Yubo served the country in many roles which included his role as chief Imperial examiner. After his death the Hongwu Emperor declared him to be the City God of Shanghai. Chen Huacheng was in charge of the defense of Shanghai in the First Opium War during the Qing Dynasty. He took an oath to fight for Yangtze till his death and died fighting war with the British. From then he is being worshipped as a god.

The Japanese occupied the old city during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The foreign concessions were left alone by them. This led the worshippers forming a part of the concession to be cut off from the temple. The local merchants then built a new temple and in the surroundings made a market. In the Shanghai International Settlement this is Yan’an Road and Jinling Road today. They named the temple as New City God Temple. The worshippers went back to the Old City God Temple after World War II and this temple lost its popularity. The market place of the New City God Temple was also destroyed along with the temple. However the locality of this place is still being referred to New City God Temple.