Journey.ca

Marc Edwards takes you to Taipei City to see the National Palace Museum, Shilin Night Market, Longshan Temple, Taipei 101, Danshui and a lot more fun places that Taipei offers.

Zhi Nan Temple is a Taoist temple on the slopes of Houshan (Monkey Mountain) in Muzha, a suburb of Taipei, Taiwan. It was founded in 1882. The temple’s main deity is Lv Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals.

Popular folklore holds that unmarried couples who visit the temple together will break up. One explanation is that Lv Dongbin, famous for his Taoist sexual prowess, can be counted upon to seduce any unmarried woman (older versions specify that she must be a virgin). Another is that since Lv Dongbin’s love for Immortal Woman He was unanswered, he is jealous of lovers.

Zhi Nan Temple is famous for its stairway of “1000″ steps. (This is to the Yuanzhen Pond and the Tudigong shrine; the gate of the Chunyang Chapel requires a further 300 steps.)

I only walked down the 1300 steps after my visit to the temple because I took a bus route No. 530 all the way up to Zhi Nan Temple parking lot.

After I got off the bus, there’s still some steps to walk. On the way to the temple, I felt hungry and got some smelly tofu at this open-air food stall in a pavilion.

The oldest part of the temple is the Chunyang Chapel, constructed in 1890. Funding came from gold miners working in Jinshan. This shrine houses a statue of Lv Dongbin, founder of the Chunyang sect of Quanzhen (“Complete Perfection”) Taoism. The present statue was a 2002 gift from Zhi Nan’s “home temple,” Yongle Temple in Shanxi province.

Facing the Chunyang Chapel, to the left is the Lingxiao Chapel (built 1963-1966). The main deities are the Jade Emperor (on the top floor) and the Three Pure Ones (on the ground floor). Below these may be found the classrooms and offices of the China Taoism Institute, a Quanzhen seminary granting 2-year BA and MA degrees in Taoism.

Taoist nuns chanting on the ground floor in front of the Three Pure Ones.

Taoist priests chanting on the second floor. Above them is the Jade Emperor.

To the right of the Chunyang Chapel is the Buddhist-themed Daxiong Chapel (built 1973). A black statue of Sakyamuni Buddha was the gift of a Thai military officer who, while exiled to Taiwan, vowed to donate such a statue in the event that he returned to power.

Failed to find the Dacheng Chapel, dedicated to Confucius, I walked down along the stairway.

Fude shrine is the first building came into my view. It looks very ancient.

Zhi Nan Bridge is right in front of the shrine.

You can easily spot some fresh water turtles, fish and birds at the pond.

Along the stairway, you can also see many stone statues donated by temple followers.

Sanxia is an urban township in the southwestern part of Taipei County(New Taipei City).

I took a bus 706 to Sanxia from Wanhua, Taipei City. You can wait for the bus near Longshan Temple MRT station. Bus routes 702,703,705,910,916 also connect Sanxia with Taipei City or Taipei MRT.

Here’s a map of Sanxia Township:

Click thumbnail to enlarge.

The first site I saw was Sanxia River and Sanxia Bridge.

Sanxia Bridge was built during the Japanese Colonial Era. It has become a symbol of Sanxia.

Most people come to Sanxia to see Zushi Temple which is the most important religious site in Sanxia. Originally built in 1769 by Fujianese immigrants to Taiwan, it has been rebuilt three times, of which the last effort (beginning 1947) is the masterpiece of renown Taiwanese artist Li Meishu. It is considered by many to be the most intricately sculpted temple in Taiwan.

There are many shops in front of Zushi Temple. One shop that sells winter melon tea is particular popular.

The one that intrigued me was a pickle shop. You can try many different kinds of pickles and fermented tofu for free and they are delicious. If you don’t know what fermented tofu is, just think of cheese. But it’s better to just try it.

Sanxia Historical Relic Hall is on a street nearby which preserves artistic and cultural artifacts from Sanxia’s past. Many of the artifacts are related to Mr. Li Meishu.

Minquan Old Street is also just a stone’s throw away from Zushi Temple. A business street built during the Japanese rule, it is a very well-preserved example of Japanese colonial architecture of the time. The street features stores selling art, ceramics, and local specialty foods (most notably Bull Horn Croissants).

The whole Mingquan street area was burnt down by the Japanese at the beginning of Japanese occupation in 1895. Xinglong Temple, which was the secret headquarters of anti-Japanese movement, didn’t survive. Local Chinese started to rebuild the temple in 1905.

Just outside Xinglong Temple, I saw some local people playing a game called Tuo Luo which seemed very hard to play. One needs to throw the small object called tuoluo with a thread to the top of a upside down beer bottle and let it swirl. One bottle was set up much high above others and made it even more difficult to conquer.