National Holiday

This week had been another week to bless us with a long weekend. The National Day of the Republic of China (also called Double Ten Day because it falls on the tenth of October) fell on a Thursday this year, meaning that we also took the Friday off. For the whole extended weekend, there were flags everywhere, which really makes me think that in terms of advertisement and subliminal messaging, the KMT has it much easier than any other party on the island. The holiday celebrates the Wuchang Uprising of 1911 which led to the overthrow of the Qing government and the establishment of the Republic of China.

The holiday was a perfect time to get some outstanding business done. I sent out emails I had been intending to send for months and months, I caught up with friends across the globe, and I did a heap of laundry. On Saturday, I also visited the Longshan Temple, which is probably one of the most famous temples in Taipei. It certainly is one of the busiest I’ve ever seen, but while very ornate, it is surprisingly small. In general, I have come to view Taipei as an urban embodiment of the petit bourgeois spirit. Outside of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the Taipei 101, it exudes no towering ambition, for better and for worse. Most buildings and streets do not impress – they do what they do best, which is simply being buildings and streets.  


 The Red Building, originally built by the Japanese in 1908 as a market 
 A boulevard in Taipei
 The Presidential Office Building from the back
 The building of Taiwan's High Court
 Some sort of memorial for 10/10 I think
 Longshan Temple
 A phoenix on top of the roof at Longshan
 A dragon on the top of the roof at Longshan
Note the intricately carved pillar

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