After spending our first day in Taipei getting acquainted with the city, we were ready for day two. This day was intended to be a day looking at some of the historical elements of the city. Unfortunately the first part of the day didn't turn out as well as we had hoped. We were up at a decent time, and perhaps that was part of the problem. The first place we had on our list was the Red House, which we thought was a craft center, but there was only one store open and not much to see. Other places were closed. It didn't seem like we were going to find much to experience.
Taiwan Starbucks Card
We ended up passing a Starbucks and decided to just have a relaxing coffee. One thing to know about Taiwan Starbucks is they have some interesting gift cards you can collect as souvenirs. I collect Starbucks cards so I was very happy to see the unique variety of cards they had. However, even if you don't collect them, they can make a fun remembrance of your time in Taiwan. Just know they do charge for the card itself, unlike in the US, and you can't use them in the US.
We finally moved on our way and found Bopiliao Street. This is a narrow street with mostly old brick buildings on both sides. In Taipei many of the old buildings have been torn down, but the government saved this street and its historical appearance. At the end of the street is the Heritage and Culture Education Center of Taipei. This is a free museum and gives some of the history of the area. It is very hands on and kid oriented. We learned a number of things while wandering around the exhibits. The street itself is not very active. There are a few shops, but not many, and they were mostly high end stores. We had expected more.
From Bopiliao we went to probably the most famous site in this area of Taipei, the Longshan Temple. Unlike the temple sites we visited in Kaohsiung, this temple was very active with people praying and offering gifts to the deities represented there. Officially the temple is a Buddhist temple to the god Guanyin, but in Taiwan the folk religions come in to play as well so there are other gods in the temple area being honored and petitioned. The building is very ornate with a lot of carvings in what we think of as typical Chinese architecture. Anyone can go in and see all the different elements of religious life that are taking place there.
Longshan Temple Entrance
Longshan Temple
Prayer Book
Offering incense to the gods
Across the street from the temple is a subway station. We had walked all the way from our hotel so we were ready to take the subway back to the hotel. However, on entering the station we discovered a number of shops so we explored further. Under the main station was a quiet hallway of shops with various arts and crafts. We found a lamp we really liked. The base is bamboo, and a paper globe surrounds the light. There were a number of different color variations to choose from so it took a while. The young man who was operating the shop spoke very little English so eventually he went down the hall to find someone to help translate. It was a fun experience and different than the hustle and bustle of most of the street markets. It also gave us an unexpected souvenir of Taipei.
After some lunch and a bit of rest at our hotel, my daughter and I set out to visit the National Palace Museum. To get there we took the subway back to where the Shilin Market is located. From there we had to catch a bus out to the museum, but the stop is very obvious and not easily missed. The museum is set up above the road with a large garden area in front so it is easy to see.
The museum holds a large collection of ancient Chinese art. The history of it coming to Taiwan takes many twists and turns. The collection was originally in the Palace Museum in Beijing. It was a display of many of the treasures of the imperial family. However, when Japan began to invade China, there was great concern about the safety of these artifacts. Crates were packed with the treasures and moved to different locations. While some went back to Beijing after the surrender of the Japanese, others never made it there as the struggle with the communist Chinese developed. Eventually those made their way to Taiwan and are now housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
My daughter and I probably spent two hours in the museum, and there was so much more to see. The pieces are generally grouped by category so there are rooms with calligraphy and art, rooms with porcelain, others with brass objects, and a large area of jade objects. The items have English information provided so you are able to see what you are looking at including how old they are thought to be. There are some very old objects. I was particularly interested in the brass objects as in my 7th grade class we had read about a Chinese boy who learned to create brass objects. I wanted to see how intricate the designs really were.
We were there until closing trying to see as much as we could. When we left, a number of people were waiting for the bus, but we finally made it back to the subway station. We decided we were hungry and spotted a restaurant near the station that looked like we could enjoy. The staff was mostly very young people and did not speak much English so it turned out to be an interesting experience. Our first wait person got frustrated and went to get someone else, a young man. He had better English but seemed shy and reluctant to engage with us. We tried to be patient knowing we were the foreigners there. It was a challenging experience, but we did enjoy the food.
After we made it back to the hotel, I grabbed my tripod and headed back to the Chiang Kei-shek Memorial to get some night pictures. As I suspected only a few people were around as everything was closed. Since I had my tripod with me, I was able to get some nice clear pictures. Shooting at night can be rewarding and provides a different perspective and beauty.
Performing Auditoriums at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial
With a day of history and culture behind us, we were ready for new experiences. The next day we would see the Taiwanese fascination with cats. Stayed tuned for more adventures.
If you would like to see more of the photos, click over to the original post found on Batteredsuitcase.net