Most Chinese visit temples to pray and offer incense. Is there a difference between Taoist or Buddhist temples? What are the main differences?
For me, the main difference will be that Buddhist temples are for Buddha, Bodhisattva and the Sangha. Taoist temples will probably not have these elements.
That saying. I have seen temples that have a mixture of Buddhist and Taoist elements.
I think it could be due to Chinese culture incorporating these influences throughout its long history.
Master Sheng Yen has a discourse on this:
Chinese culture and Chinese Buddhism influenced each other and are inseparable. Ancient China, influenced by Confucianism and Taoism, was a rather humanistic and naturalistic society, so Buddhism in China has become an earthly religion, a unique quality of Ch’an Buddhism.