Today we retuned to my favorite city in Taiwan, Taipei. We finally got to travel on the high speed rail at full speed! I think we got up to a little over 260 mph which is super cool! Kyla and I spent a large amount of the ride talking to my sister on the phone until we were kindly asked to be quiet which was a reminder to me that it is important to pay attention to the people around you. We felt bad! But other than that small experience, we had a pretty fun, very hot, and busy day.
Our first stop of the day was to Dalongdong Baoan Temple, the first Confucius temple we have traveled to during our trip. It was really neat to be able to see this temple and compare it to the Buddhist and Taoist temples we had already seen. One huge difference that I immediately noticed was that there were no human-like deities to worship, instead it was mostly rock tablets with words on them. This was because Confucianism values worshiping the spirit and lessons of Confucius rather than his physical persona. I also noticed that no spider ceilings were present and the temple much much less adorned and detailed as the other temples. This fits into the Confucianism ideal that the spirit and lessons taught by Confucius are much more significant than material possessions.
The next place we went to was the 228 Peace Memorial Park and Museum. 228 Peace Memorial Day is celebrated every year on February 28th and commemorates the victims of the tragic event that occurred in 1947. The 228 incident was a violent crackdown by the Kuomintang (KMT) government on Taiwanese citizens after a ransacking of the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau as revenge from Taiwanese citizens. This event led to the loss of thousands of lives and the imposition of a martial law that lasted for decades. While I found the whole museum to be interactive and interesting, I found it even more significant that this event was rarely discussed. I remember both Professor Chen and Peter saying that when they were children no one talked about this at school and if something was said at home they were told not to repeat it. I think that this is reflective of how the event was suppressed under the martial law and how that suppression led to it being seen as a taboo subject. After leaving the museum, we walked through the park to the Presidents Office and were able to see the outside of the building. The main thing that struck me was the guards with huge guns which showed how important the building was. This, of course, makes sense because it is the Presidential office after all!
After our excursions, Peter bought us all boba from his favorite boba place. I see why he liked it as the tea was super good! We then changed really quick at the hotel and ventured off to do some more shopping and exploring. Our first stop was Dihua street! We had been there before but decided we wanted some more time to explore and shop. Kyla and I got cool tapestries and postcards to bring home as souvenirs! We had a quick intermission to walk around near the river at Yanping Riverside Park which had a really pretty view of a city. We then headed back to Ximen for dinner and ended up trying a famous beef noodle soup place. Also SO delish! The night ended with all of us hanging out at the hotel which was super fun! I have really enjoyed getting to know each and every person on this trip and am grateful for the new friendships I have made!
SPECIAL EDITION: Peters edited (NOT AI) Photos that he sent us!!
