After the retrocession of Taiwan, Guandu Temple was taken over by Beitou Township Office under the management of an administrator just like that during the period of Japanese Colonial Rule. At the beginning of the retrocession of Taiwan, Guandu Street in front of Guandu Temple was the main access to Beitou Township through Tamsui River, the only access to Kuantu Railway Station. After years of wars, the Street had been worn out. Mr. Chen Hung-Ying, a resident at Guandu Street, and Mr. Chen Shui-Teng, the administrator of Guandu Temple, began raising funds for renovating the street. With the residents’ supports, the renovation was completed smoothly.
Renovations were also needed for Guandu Temple at that time. Beitou Township Office, the administration of Guandu Temple, did not, however, have sufficient budget for it. In 1953, to show their gratitude for Mazu’s blessing, Chen Hung-Ying and numerous fishermen in Guandu proposed to establish Renovation Committee under the support of Beitou Town Mayor, Mr. Liao Shu, Deputy Mayor, Mr. Guo Yuan-Li, Kuantu Kong Administrator, Mr. Chen Shui-Teng, and Chief of Guandu Village, Mr. Huang Yuan-Shou. Fishermen from Guandu and an architect, Mr. Huang Ding-Deng, were invited to participate in the event.
New buildings are under a traditional structure, with the front hall for Mazu and the rear hall for Guanyin, and both wings for the Three Great Emperor Officials, Wen Chang Wang, and Goddess of Birth. The donors for the renovation funds were not signified in a monument, but the four-gold-pillars were engraved with four people’s names while Huang Ding donated the flora-and-fauna-pillars in Praying Hall. Therefore, we can know the renovation was directed by Beitou Township Office. Accordingly, Guandu Temple was operated under the cooperation between the officials and the general public. While the official administrator was assigned by Beitou Township Office, the general public was in charge of the renovation. Succeeding Chen Hung-Ying, Huang Ding served as a chairman in 1957.
Taipei was stricken by a typhoon in 1963. Water Resources Unit discovered that Lionhead Pass naturally formed by the elephant trunk formation from Guandu Hill to Tamsui River, the mountain of Tamsui River extended from Guanyin Mountain across from Guandu Temple was originally a natural fishery, but when stricken by a typhoon, it obstructs the drainage of lower stream of Tamsui River in Taipei Plain, causing accumulation of water in Tamsui River.
The government destroyed the Lionhead, flattened Elephant Trunk Mountain, and moved away Cihang Temple and houses in the mountain to expand Tamsui River in 1964. The terrain of Guandu was thus dramatically transformed. To cope with the change, Huang Ding invited Chen You-Fu and other locals to prepare for the establishment of an administrative organization for the planning of the renovation of Guandu Temple. Names of administrative organizations for temples were usually ‘(temple name) Administration Commission’ at that time. Guandu Temple’s plan for the establishment of a “board of directors” was thus rejected by the Government, still in preparation period. Huang Ding was then elected as the first chairman.
Huang Ding drew up a construction plan: ‘Sanchuan Hall’ was expanded and Main Hall elevated. Guangdu Temple was also renovated and the main hall of Bhaisajyaguru was added above. At the sides of Sanchuan Hall, two pavilions, ‘Bell Tower’ and ‘Drum Tower’ were built and ‘Heavenly Stage’ added in front to entertain both deities and people. In the 1970s, ‘Ancient Buddha Pit’ was constructed. Converted from a bomb shelter, it resembled a tunnel-shaped shrine housed in a rock grotto. In the 1980s, Elephant Trunk Mountain was opened up and transformed into ‘God of Prosperity Pit’. Located at the entrance of the pit was ‘Main Hall of Fude God’. During the late 1980s, ‘Lingxiao Treasure Hall’ was established. Important works including wood carving works inside the hall and stone carving of ‘Wall of Mazu’s Miracles’ were carried out in the 2000s, creating another milestone in contemporary times. Other than Sanchuan Hall constructed in the 2000s, Hua-zang Building was renovated in 2011. With chairmen of the temple’s board of directors, Guandu Temple became a place where historic sites of cultural heritage were based.