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Kata’s Chinese Temple of the God of Medicine
Po Seng Ti Te Kata (ศาลเจ้าโป๊เซ้งไต่เต่ กะตะ) is a small Chinese shrine on Patak Road at the north end of Kata Beach, a short walk from the main beach area. The shrine is dedicated to Po Seng Ti Te, also known in Chinese as Baosheng Dadi (保生大帝), the god of medicine, and it takes part in the yearly Phuket Vegetarian Festival. It was completed in 2016, making it one of the youngest shrines on the island, and it is also one of the most colourful. I stopped here one late afternoon when the light turned the red walls almost fluorescent, and it became one of my favourite small discoveries in Kata.
Location
The shrine sits on Patak Road, almost directly opposite The BluEco Hotel, at the north end of Kata. Most visitors walk straight past it because it is tucked between shophouses and set back from the road. Coming from Kata Centre, follow Patak Road north for about 300 metres and look for the tall red walls, the orange pagoda roof and the two huge painted dragons flanking a steep staircase on your left. From Karon, it is the first major landmark you see after entering Kata. There is very little parking on the road, so coming by scooter is easier.
What makes Po Seng Ti Te Kata stand out is how bright and well-kept it feels. Red is everywhere, from the outer walls to the roof tiles, with big yellow flags snapping in the wind and rows of red paper lanterns along the terrace. Two huge painted dragons wrap around the main staircase, green and gold with red manes, and they are as photogenic as anything I have seen at the larger shrines in Phuket Town. The roof is classic Hokkien design, with dragons, fish and pagoda figures lined up along the ridges.
Inside the main hall, the central altar is dominated by the statue of Po Seng Ti Te, flanked by smaller guardian figures, carved wooden panels and plenty of gold detail. The air is always thick with incense. Outside, on the terrace, there is a tall brick furnace where offerings and gold paper are burned, and a row of small altars at the back for secondary deities. Because the shrine sits slightly raised above street level, you also get a nice view of the Kata rooftops from the terrace.
Most days, the shrine is very quiet. I have been there several times and seen only a handful of Thai-Chinese locals coming up to light incense. That changes completely during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival in October, when Po Seng Ti Te Kata joins the island-wide parade of ceremonies and becomes one of the busiest spots at this end of the island.
About the Shrine
The shrine is dedicated to Po Seng Ti Te, better known in Chinese as Baosheng Dadi (保生大帝), the god of medicine. The deity was a real person, a physician named Wu Tao born in 979 AD in Fujian province, China. He was known for his medical skill and his refusal to accept rewards from the imperial court, and after his death, he was honoured as a protector of health. His worship spread with Hokkien migration across Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Southeast Asia, and you will find hundreds of temples dedicated to him along the southern Chinese coast. His birthday is celebrated on the 15th day of the 3rd lunar month.
In Phuket, Po Seng Ti Te is not a newcomer. The same deity is the main god of Tha Rua Shrine near the Heroines Monument, one of the oldest shrines on the island, and he is honoured in several other temples as well. What is new is the Kata version. Po Seng Ti Te Kata was built by the Tantipornsawad family, long-time residents of Kata, over a period of six years. The shrine was finished in 2016, and the total cost was close to 19 million baht. The family has a long personal connection with the deity, going back decades, and the shrine was built as a thank you for the blessings they felt they had received over a lifetime of business and family life in Kata.
Despite being a recent build, the shrine follows traditional Hokkien design rules very carefully. The carvings, the dragons, the altar layout and the colours are all faithful to the older shrines in Phuket Town. The information boards inside, written in Thai, Chinese and English, tell the full life story of the deity as well as instructions for how to make offerings and pray. The boards are worth reading if you want to understand what you are looking at.
During the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, Po Seng Ti Te Kata is one of the participating shrines, with its own procession, firecrackers, offerings of free vegetarian food to the community and, on some nights, fire-walking ceremonies. It is a rare chance for visitors staying in Kata to experience the festival without having to drive all the way to Phuket Town.
Insider Tips
Go at the end of the day. The shrine faces roughly west and the late afternoon light on the red walls and the dragons is beautiful, especially for photos. Mornings are fine too, but a bit flat.
Bring a sarong or a light shirt. Shoulders and knees should be covered if you plan to go inside the main hall, and shoes must be removed at the entrance. There is a small mat where everyone leaves their footwear.
The information boards inside are in three languages and very detailed. Take your time to read the story of Po Seng Ti Te and the instructions for making offerings. I have visited many shrines in Phuket and this is one of the few where the full life story of the deity is explained step by step in English.
If you want to make an offering, the correct sequence is laid out on the wall: light candles first, then incense sticks, place them in the burner, sit and bow three times, ring the bell three times, and burn gold paper at the furnace outside on the left. Donations go into a box next to the altar and, according to the boards, are used for local charity and student scholarships.
If you are visiting during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival in October, wear white. It is expected at every shrine during the nine-day festival, not just the main ones in Phuket Town.
Combine it with Kata Beach. The shrine is five minutes on foot from the beach and can easily be folded into a half-day in Kata, along with Kampong Kata Hill for lunch and a swim before sunset.
Po Seng Ti Te Kata Through the Years
The story of Po Seng Ti Te Kata is really the story of one family. Long before the shrine existed, the deity was already being worshipped in Kata at a small medium house, where the golden statue of the god had been brought from Xiamen in China many years earlier. The Tantipornsawad family, known locally as Chen Chang Hai, consulted the deity regularly for family and business decisions, and their hotel and furniture businesses in Kata grew steadily as Kata Beach itself transformed from a sleepy fishing bay into a major resort area.
The promise to build a proper shrine was made on the opening day of the family’s second hotel. The deity, through the medium, expressed a wish to reside on the vacant plot next to the hotel. The family agreed, and when the business continued to prosper, construction began. It took six years of careful work, with craftsmen brought in to match the traditional Hokkien style of the older shrines in Phuket Town, and the shrine was completed in 2016.
Since then, Po Seng Ti Te Kata has become part of the island-wide Vegetarian Festival rotation, joining nearly 40 other Chinese shrines across Phuket for the annual ceremonies. Every year during the festival, free vegetarian food is served to the community, a tradition the family has kept up since the shrine opened. For Kata, which had never had a significant Chinese shrine of its own, it has quietly become a small but important cultural landmark.
Po Seng Ti Te Kata Shrine Info
Location: Kata Beach
Address: Patak Road, opposite The BluEco Hotel, Tambon Karon, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83100
Entrance: Free
Dress code: Shoulders and knees covered inside the main hall
Po Seng Ti Te Kata Shrine Map
See all Phuket Maps!
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Po Seng Ti Te Kata Shrine Info
Location: Kata Beach
Address: Patak Road, opposite The BluEco Hotel, Tambon Karon, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83100
Entrance: Free
Po Seng Ti Te Kata Shrine Map
See all Phuket Maps!
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival runs during the ninth lunar month, marking one of Thailand's most spectacular cultural celebrations. This nine-day Taoist festival transforms Phuket into a spiritual sanctuary where thousands of devotees in white clothing honour the Nine Emperor Gods through dramatic processions, firewalking ceremonies, and extreme body piercing rituals
Read More
The Shrine of the Serene Light is a beautifully decorated Chinese Temple on Phang Nga Road, one of the most famous streets of Phuket Town. It used to be 'the little hidden Chinese temple' tucked away at the end of
Read More
Jui Tui Shrine (Kew Ong) is one of the oldest and most important on Phuket Island. It plays a significant role during the famous Phuket Vegetarian Festival, usually held in October and November. The festival dates use the Lunar Calendar,
Read More
Bang Neow Shrine in Phuket Town is one of Phuket's oldest and most revered Chinese shrines. It’s one of the main shrines taking part in the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival It is a place of worship and merit-making activity for
Read More
Lim Hu Tai Su is a Chinese Taoist shrine on the north side of Phuket Town, also known as Sam Kong Shrine, for the neighbourhood in which it’s found. Though not as well known by visitors as larger Chinese shrines
Read More
Hok Nguan Kong Shrine is a Chinese temple near the Surin Clock Circle in Phuket Town, founded more than 80 years ago by the Chinese-Thai community in Phuket. Hok Nguan Kong Shrine’s design features many traditional Chinese motifs, including columns
Read More
Kio Thian Keng Shrine is a colourful Chinese shrine that is set on the seashore inside Saphan Hin public park in Phuket Town. It’s a place of worship for the local Chinese-Thai community, and it plays an important role as
Read More
Tha Rua Shrine is one of the oldest Chinese shrines in Phuket, found in Thalang District on Thepkasattri Road about 800m south of the Heroines’ Monument. It’s an important site during the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival, when thousands of devotees
Read More
Po Seng Ti Te Kata (ศาลเจ้าโป๊เซ้งไต่เต่) is a colourful Chinese shrine above Kata Beach, dedicated to the god of medicine. Opened 2016.
Read More
San Chao Sam Ong Hu is one of the oldest Chinese shrines in Phuket, founded in 1901 by the local Hokkien community in Cherngtalay, about 15 minutes from Bang Tao Beach.
Read More
Pho Ta Toh Sae Shrine is a small, old Chinese shrine renowned for its unusual display of tiger statues, located on Monkey Hill in Phuket Town. You will discover dozens of tigers in varying sizes and ages guarding the entrance
Read More
San Chao Mae Yanang Shrine, stands on Krabi Road in Phuket Town. A Chinese migrant founded the temple in 1853 during Phuket’s tin-mining boom, when many Chinese families settled on the island and brought their beliefs and rituals with them.
Read More
Sam Pai Kong Shrine, often called Bangku Shrine, stands on Thepkasattri Road in Koh Kaew, a few minutes east of the British International School. They believe Chinese tin mine workers built the first modest hall more than 100 years ago.
Read More
Tucked behind Vachira Phuket Hospital on Yaowarat Road, San Chao Jeng Ong Shrine is easy to miss. A banyan tree guards the entrance, filtering afternoon light onto a red facade trimmed with jade-green tiles and twisting dragons.
Read More
One of Phuket Town’s lesser-known Hokkien shrines San Chao Cho Ong, or Tai Yuan Tang, is a small but very old Chinese shrine on the corner of Patiphat Road and Krabi Road in Phuket Town. It doesn’t draw big crowds
Read More
Pun Tuao Kong Shrine (San Chao Phra Pun Tao Kong) is a small Chinese shrine sitting quietly on the edge of the road at the top of Patong Hill. Many people drive past it without noticing, but locals know it
Read More
Sui Boon Tong Shrine is a lesser-known Chinese shrine, but despite its discreet location and modest entrance, it remains an active spiritual site and plays a meaningful role during the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival.
Read More
Long Hun Keng Shrine (肜雲宮) is a small and lesser-known Chinese shrine located along Thepkasattri Road in Phuket Town. Despite its modest size and low profile, it holds cultural significance for the local Chinese-Thai community, especially during the Vegetarian Festival.
Read More
Put Jaw Shrine is one of the oldest Chinese shrines in Phuket, located in Phuket Town. It was originally built more than 200 years ago and is dedicated to the Chinese goddess Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy. The shrine
Read More
Located on the popular Thalang Road in the heart of Phuket Old Town, the Hainan Shrine is more than just a place of worship. Built in 1910, this beautiful shrine has been a cultural and spiritual centre for over a
Read More
Adorned with intricate artwork depicting sins and punishments, Sheng Tek Beo in Phuket Town is a shrine that plays a key role in the Por Tor festival, or Hungry Ghost Festival, which occurs every year around September. The central celebrations
Read More
Sam Sae Chu Hut Chinese Shrine is a modest and discreet Chinese shrine located near the intersection of Khaw Sim Bee Road and Mae Luan Road, on the way up to Khao Rang Hill in Phuket Town; opened in May
Read More
Lai Thu Tao Bo Keng is one of the oldest Chinese shrines in Phuket, and many believe it was the birthplace of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival nearly two centuries ago, 1825 to be precise. The shrine is located in the
Read More 
