Kyla and I started our day off with a quick hotel breakfast, trying almost everything they served, and then we walked to Starbucks to get a caffeine pick-me-up drink. Our first group activity for the day was a visit to the National Taichung Theater, an opera house. One thing that I immediately noticed was that the building was built with a curved architecture, and I believe it only contained non-geometrical lines. I thought that this was super cool since the architecture of the building itself resembled an opera as it displayed a kind of “architecture that can be listened to”. I also really enjoyed the rooftop garden and wandering around the gift shop.
Our next stop was to Lukang, one of Taiwan’s oldest towns on the western coast. It was super historical and full of small shops. We were able to see some of what a typical historical house layout would look like. There would usually be an altar with some collection of deities present. Peter informed us that only men could light the altar and that was why many people preferred to have sons. In addition to altars, many of the old houses had banners or lucky charms hanging in the doorway. We were informed that these banners would have auspicious sayings written on them asking for prosperity, protection, or whatever the individual desires.
At the end of our walk through the historical district, we went to the Lukshang Tianhou Temple, which was a large Mazu temple. I was shocked at how vast the temple was. As Jenn and I were walking around we were in awe of how many different areas there were, and even more surprised by the number of figures present. I particularly liked the spider ceiling that Peter pointed out (picture shown below)!
This temple was a prime example of the connections between religion and business. One obvious example would be the gift shop that sold a lot of lucky charms and bracelets, as well as post cards and other touristy stuff. I did in fact contribute to the Taiwanese economy and the temple by purchasing a postcard. Another example is the donation boxes that were present in front of a lot of deities. One could give what offering they felt was appropriate, and in return have whatever lucky charm or talisman was set-out. For example, I got a brush pen from the god of knowledge after donating. Lastly, I noticed how rich the temple looked, not just with the large amount of space it occupied, but in how each and every deity was adorned with fancy clothing, jewels, and gold. This shows that the temple must have a plentiful amount of income that is received through donations and purchases from the gift shop.
Afterward we headed to the Fongjia Night Market. For dinner I had dumplings, Thai tea, pork-rolled scallions, and scallion pancakes. I thought this night market was really cool because it was a lot different from the previous markets we had been to in the sense that it was much larger and had a lot more variety in the food and shopping. Kyla and I ended up getting some temporary tattoos (inspired by Ayden) for fun!
