A Ci shrine, (祠), is a semi-religious facility that originated in China and was widely used in the East Asian cultural sphere for traditional folk beliefs, mainly for the worship, sacrifice, deity, ancestor, or sage or martyr, in the form of a temple-style building. They are a kind of Chinese temple architecture and contrast with Miao Shrines which enshrine deities instead of ancestors. They are sometimes called Cimiao (祠庙) which is a combination of the name of it, and the Miao shrine. The Ancestral shrine dedicated to ancestors contains this character.