Taichung

As other Light fellows have been leaving China, some more frantically than others, several have chosen Taiwan as their safe haven where they can keep on studying Chinese while evading the novel coronavirus. Among them is my friend Zach, who was vacationing in Hong Kong when it became evident that the situation was worsening and his programme would have to be cancelled. I welcomed him in Taipei the evening he arrived, and we went out to get hot pot together. I know some other Yalies in my programme have been hesitating about seeing Zach, seeing as he has just returned from across the strait, but as an avid reader of Outlaws of the Marsh, I did not think it right to leave a friend hanging.

Anyway, at some point during the following week, Zach asked to borrow one of my textbooks so that he might review before taking the entrance exam for my programme – having left Hong Kong while on holiday, he had taken practically nothing to Taiwan. As we were trying to figure out when he could come get it from me, we both revealed that we were vaguely contemplating travelling to Taichung that weekend for the long-advertised lantern festival of 2020. In a matter of minutes, plans became reality and we were looking for transportation to Taichung and accommodation there.

We left on Saturday morning and headed straight to the Airbnb Zach found southeast of the centre.

Once we jettisoned our unnecessary accoutrements, we set off into the city along a rough route I sketched out in my guidebook. The first item on the itinerary was the Taichung Prefectural Hall, originally built by the Japanese in 1913 as the “Taichu Prefectural Hall.” From there, we wound our way through various streets, passing by ornate temples and various shops to Taichung Park. We saw crowds of people coursing in and out of the temples, which were all adorned with various flowers and fruits – we figured that the lantern festival and the date on the lunisolar calendar had to have something to do with it.

The Hotel Le Meridien standing behind an old building fusing neo-classical and Chinese features

 Two more views of the juxtaposition of old and new

 Taichu Prefectural Hall

 Taichung Shiyakusho

Guanyin statue at a local temple

After taking a couple of pictures at Taichung Park – both with facemasks and without, of course – we scouted for food on our way to Taichung’s most iconic place of worship, Nantian Temple. That was, coincidentally, my first time accidentally getting stinky tofu with dried mackerel at a buffet, an unexpected curveball for a vegetarian.

Nantian Temple was truly a sight to behold, and well worth the dull twenty minutes we spent following the dry and dusty main road to get there. Intricately decorated and exuberantly ornate on every floor, the temple shocked us with a giant statue of Guanyu (familiar as the valiant warrior from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms), perched atop its roof.

 Taichung Park

 Another view of Taichung Park

Taking pictures wearing our facemasks

 A rather aspirational epithet

 The interior of Nantian Temple

 The second floor of Nantian Temple

 An idol at Nantian Temple

 Another idol at Nantian Temple

 Another idol at Nantian Temple

 Another idol at Nantian Temple

 Tablet and candle stands at Nantian Temple

 A dragon pillar at Nantian Temple

 A rabbit clearly stirring up trouble

 The view of Taichung from Nantian Temple

 A golden bull inside Nantian Temple

 The exterior of Nantian Temple

 A close-up of Guanyu atop Nantian Temple

 Two views of Nantian Temple amidst its surroundings

The two of us in front of Nantian Temple

The two of us on the roof of Nantian Temple

From Nantian, it was again a bit of a walk to our next destination, the Taichung Martyrs’ Shrine and the directly adjoining Confucius Temple. We happened upon a couple taking wedding photographs at the latter; this might have been my first time seeing both bride and groom in traditional red, rather than the western white gown and wedding suit. We finished our tour of the central part of the city by dropping by the Buddhist Paochueh Temple, which was apparently just being visited by a group of Japanese monks. They had presumably come to see the small Japanese-built shrine to fallen soldiers, but the main attraction of Paochueh is its giant golden Budai. We were surprised to find that circular windows with swastikas covered the Budai’s back without any apparent pattern whatsoever.

 Was the restaurant themed after the dog or the dog after the restaurant? We may never know.

 The Taichung Martyrs' Shrine

 The main temple of the Taichung Martyrs' Shrine

 The interior of the Taichung Martyrs' Shrine

 A couple taking wedding photos at the Confucius Temple

 The pillars of the Taichung Confucius Temple

 The bride taking pictures showing off her veil

 A Buddha idol riding atop a parked car

 An interesting local house

 An elephant at the Paochueh Temple

 The old shrine at Paochueh protected by a new edifice built over its roof

 A small reclining Budai at Paochueh Temple

 The great golden Budai statue at Paochueh Temple

The back of the Budai

When we exited the temple, finding transportation to our next destination suddenly posed an unexpected difficulty. By public transport, it would have taken two hours to get to the western part of the city, and all taxis near the temple compound were apparently waiting for the people they had brought to return. Zach eventually waved down a taxi at a nearby junction, powering through several unsuccessful attempts without the least sign of disappointment.

In the Western part of the city, we stopped by Wanhe Temple, built in 1726 and dedicated to the Goddess Mazu. Right next door, we saw Wenchang Temple, which is in turn dedicated to the god of learning. Judging by the number of visitors, no exams are coming up anytime soon. The Mazu Temple, on the other hand, was so packed one could hardly stay in one place without getting in another person’s way.

 The interior of Wanhe Temple

 The goddess Mazu at Wanhe Temple

 The back wall of Wanhe Temple

 Golden Buddha statue at Wenchang Temple

The roof of Wanhe Temple

This time, it was my turn to hail a cab, and I found one by directing us towards the main road. We headed further westward to the Rainbow Village, a group of houses once inhabited by KMT veterans. A soldier saved the compound from demolition by covering its walls in bright colours and psychedelic figments of his imagination. On our way out, we did not even need to look for a taxi, as one taxi driver spotted us and did not have to persuade us long to ride his cab. He was a very friendly man, and gave us plenty of tips on places to visit in Taiwan. He drove us to Luce Memorial Chapel, an impressive modernist homage to a Presbyterian missionary, and later to Houli, a northern district of Taichung.

 A wall at Rainbow Village

 Detail of one of the walls at Rainbow Village

 Another wall at Rainbow Village

The two of us at Rainbow Village

 A road by Luce Memorial Chapel

 The side view of Luce Memorial Chapel

The back view of Luce Memorial Chapel

Houli was in fact the centrepiece of our tour, for it was in Houli that the lantern festival was to take place. When we arrived, the sky had not yet gone dark, but crowds were filing out of busses and into the exhibition area. My descriptions can’t quite do the exhibition justice, but hopefully these pictures will: