On our third day in Taipei, we visited two temples, Lungshan Temple and Xingtian Temple, as well as the palace museum.
Breakfast ft. Kyla and the view of the city skyline.
Our first stop of the day was to Lungshan Temple. This temple was the older of the two and was an interesting integration of both buddhism and daoism. I thought that the intricate architecture of the temple was super cool, and I noticed that the main colors present were grey, red, and gold which was similar to that of the second temple we visited. The physical deities, all in a separate space unavailable to the general public, appeared to be made of gold (or something that resembled gold) which enhanced the divinity of the Gods and added a sense of material value and importance in the form of wealth to the temple. This relates to the business side of the temple that we noticed as well. Things to be used as offerings were sold, as well as bracelets and lucky charms that could be blessed in an incense burner. This is an example of an intersection between commerce and religious traditions that I found interesting as well. On a different note, I also enjoyed hearing about the history of Lungshan Temple. It was mentioned that this temple was built by immigrants that formed a community to practice religion within and built this temple as a space for that. I think it is significant that this community was not only able to build this space, but maintain it for all of the years after, especially in a location as expensive as the Wanhua District of Taipei.
The second stop of the day was to Xingtian Temple, which was much more modern and less of a tourist attraction than Longshan Temple. It is strictly Daoist and contains just one main deity, the god of war and protection. Similar to the previous temple, it was located in the middle of the city, a location easily accessible to a large number of people. However, despite some similarities in the architecture and presence of 40 year old Koi fish, there was a significant difference between the structure and overall vibe of the two temples. The largest difference to me was the atmosphere. Longshan in a lot of ways felt like a tourist attraction as well as a temple, however Xingtian felt more like a local community and very active space for prayer. Anything business or commerce was done in a separate room, and there was a classroom with live speakers. I noticed a lot more seating and space for prayer, and no designated space for food offerings, which I am assuming is a characteristic of buddhist temples as opposed to daoist temples.
After visiting the two temples we had lunch at an all-you-can-eat mongolian BBQ buffet that was one of the best meals I have had so far in Taipei. We then headed to watch the changing of the guards at the Martyr shrine, which was such a unique experience that I was glad to have the opportunity to see.
Our last group stop of the day was to the Palace Museum. I particularly enjoyed this opportunity because I am a huge fan of art galleries/museums. Some photos shown below.
From top to bottom:
- Our selfie with Professor Chen in front of a statue of Buddha and two accompanying Bodhisattvas.
- A super cool carving from an ivory tusk.
- A depiction of the ideal woman/beauty standards at its time.