Kwan Tee Pagoda

Kwan Tee Pagoda, also called the Cohan Tai Biou or Guan Di pagoda, stands at Les Salines on the western edge of Port Louis. It was built by Hahime Choissane and his followers in the early Chinese community and inaugurated on 29 January 1842, which the pagoda's own association says makes it the oldest in Mauritius and in the Southern Hemisphere. It is listed as national heritage by the National Heritage Fund.

Kwan Tee, or Guan Di, is honoured as the god of war, righteousness and wealth. Inside there are smaller altars to Ma Chou, protector of sailors, and to Kwan Yin, giver of children, as well as an ancestor altar. The building is painted in red, green and yellow, the colours of happiness, prosperity and purity, and it faces the sea with the mountains behind, in keeping with its spiritual layout. Coconut palms fill the front garden and fruit trees shade the back.

Visitors can leave an offering at the altars or walk in the gardens. The pagoda's biggest day is Fête Kwan Tee, Guan Di's birthday on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, when offerings are made and fried noodles are shared with guests after the ceremony.