he Tainan Bureau of Civil Affairs is holding an online vote for the best English introduction to the city’s temple culture, with 10 institutions participating in the event.

Videos and bilingual transcripts of “The God’s Ambassadors Speak English” have been uploaded to the event’s Web site for people to view.

The event aims to promote local temples’ ability to answer in English questions about the city’s religious culture to boost their global presence and attract more foreign visitors, the bureau said.

There are more than 1,600 registered temples in the city, it added.

The online voting started on Friday last week and is to run until the end of the month.

Voters’ names are to be entered into a raffle draw, with 50 winners each receiving a “God of Matchmaking Lipstick Set” (with four lipsticks and a compact) and a wenchang bookbag, the bureau said.

The wenchang bag is a bookbag with the characters wenchang written on its, denoting one or all five of the deities that test-takers pray to for luck.

The bureau on Aug. 2 will announce the name of the temple that received the highest number of votes.

The winner will receive a crystal award and NT$3,000 in Carrefour vouchers.

Prior to the vote, the bureau held a promotion activity on July 5, with the 10 temples sending either an individual or group representatives.

Each individual or group was given three minutes to present their introduction to Tainan’s temple culture in English, the bureau said.

Whether temple staff train themselves to speak English or work with local communities and schools to foster individuals’ English-speaking capabilities, the bureau said it hoped they would be able to impart to foreigners knowledge about the city’s religious culture.