# Across Western Taiwan



## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Wonderful, very nice updates from Taiwan :cheers:


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Thanks!

Tainan. Taiwans oldest city and its cultural heart. Full of monuments, temples and living folk traditions. Originally established by the Dutch as a trading post and a base to attack the Spanish who were established in the north of Taiwan. It grew and developed into a thriwing trading centre where Europeans, Chinese, Japanese and Aboriginals mingled...not to say that relations between different groups were always friendly - at one point a Japanese merchant took the governor Pieter Nuyts hostage! The tensions boiled over in 1661 when Koxinga, a Ming commander, attacked the city. After 9 months of siege 38 years of Dutch Rule in Taiwan came to an end. Today the city is a vibrant and busy metropolis that hasn't forgotten its past and holds onto the centuries old Taoist customs which have largely disappeared elswhere.

1. An old and still occupied house in the East District where we were staying. There's quite a few such structures still surviving in the city. 










2. Fort Provintia or Chihkan Tower, built by the Dutch in 1653. A fascinating little place. Originally there were three towers but one was destroyed by a typhoon in 18th century (if I remember correctly).










3. A shower...










4. I found many pink walls in Tainan.










5. This guy makes fantastic beef rice. I had two full bowls. I love street food in Taiwan. There's no shortage of places to eat. And the food's great. Love the pigs ear!










6. This guy was making glaze for cakes.










7. Tainan Confucius Temple built in 1665 and sometimes also called Scholarly Temple. It is a massive sprawling compound. Full of halls, towers, stelae, shrines and gardens. 










8. One of the halls housing some of Confucius' quotes.










9. A detail...










10. Temple aesthetics. 










11.










12. A Quilin!










13. Random girl dressed in traditional costume, she spent a good part of an hour dressing up, then she walked the temple grounds while her friend took pictures. Naturally I joined in as well. kay:


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Now off to Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second city. Located in the south of the country it is home to over 2 million people and country's largest port. The warm climate, sunshine, mountains, seaside and food all combined to make this city one of my favourites in Taiwan. Sadly we only had a couple of days here, after which we headed into the
mountains of Taiwan's interior. Anyhow this is what I managed to see!

1. Dragon and Tiger Pagodas in Zuoying, once a town in it's own right, today part of Kaohsiung metro area.










2. The Pagodas were built in 1976. You can climb all the way to the top of them for a spectacular view over the Lotus Pond.










3. View from up top.










4. Spring and Autumn Pavilions. The Lotus Pond has a number of Pagodas and Pavilions on grand scale.










5. Zuoying also boasts a great number of old traditional dwelling, here's one of them - a grand mansion and still in use.










6. A tiny temple.










7. Later on we drove to the cliffs on the coast in search of views and somewhere to eat. Along the way we found a bunch of Formosan rock macaques. Here's one relaxing. 










8. 28 degree sunset from a restaurant we found on a cliffside. The weather was absolutely gorgeous during our stay in Tainan and Kaohsiung.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Beautiful and colorful! kay: And what a sunset!


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Thanks!

9. An old building, I'm not sure what it was, but it does have a British Coat of Arms above the doorway. So something to do with the British presence in the city in the 19th century (former consulate is just behind on the top of the mountain).










10. The skyline of Kaohsiung with the famous Tuntex Sky Tower. 347.5m designed by C. Y. Lee (same architect that designed Taipei 101) and built in 1997. Today it is mostly offices, department store and flats.










11. Cijin Island as seen from Cihou Lighthouse. Most of the island's population works in the shipping industry, however Cijin is also famous for its many seafood restaurants!










12. Tianhou Temple - the oldest temple in Kaohsiung (also in Cijin Island), built in 1673 by local fishermen and dedicated to the godess Matzu. All temples have their own unique atmosphere. This one was rather gloomy and very atmospheric and probably one of my favourite temples I visited.










13. Sublime? I think so!










14. A Buddhist Hall in downtown Kaohsiung. I liked the lanterns. In the background is an absolutely massive, luxurious apartment complex.


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## capricorn2000 (Nov 30, 2006)

wow! I never knew Tainan and its past history not until now.
Again, I'm so impressed with those grossly decorated and colorful old temples and pagodas.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

Fascinating, I had no idea Taiwan would be so interesting I'm also very surprised by the large amount of old brick houses.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

And then we hit the road again. We stopped over in Chiayi - the gateway to the mountains, where we had lunch (we ordered what was described as small portions of noodles, but the bowls that arrived were absolutely massive, which made us question what the large portion looked like....I went to check....it was more than massive...). Here we have a small open air museum full of Japanese Era houses. You can hire a Kimono and have a walk around if you want too. 

1. Beautiful.










2. The aesthetic quality is simply amazing...


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## Romashka01 (Mar 4, 2011)

Amazing photos! :applause:


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Wonderful updates again! kay:
I particularly like #42 / 10 - 13.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

capricorn2000 said:


> wow! I never knew Tainan and its past history not until now.
> Again, I'm so impressed with those grossly decorated and colorful old temples and pagodas.


Ha, I'm not surprised, not many know about the Dutch involvement, since it was so short. 

Thank you! 



Hardcore Terrorist said:


> Fascinating, I had no idea Taiwan would be so interesting I'm also very surprised by the large amount of old brick houses.


Why not? Taiwan is fascinating. You've got pretty much everything here - big cities, beaches, culture, food, mountains etc!

Thanks!



Romashka01 said:


> Amazing photos! :applause:


Thank you!



yansa said:


> Wonderful updates again! kay:
> I particularly like #42 / 10 - 13.


Thank you very much. Much appreciated indeed!

:cheers1:


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

After lunch and the quick visit to the museum, we finally made the move for the mountains. The drive was long but full of incredible views. By the time we arrived at the Alishan township and our hotel it was already dark and the temperature has plummeted to just 7C! Which was a bit of a shock coming from the city where it was 28C! 

1. On way. The mountainsides in this part were full of betel nut palm trees!










2. Amazing views, though.










3. It was selfie time stops all the way up the mountain! 










4. The air up top was filled with all consuming stillness, no other sounds just bird songs. Amazing.


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## HaRkY1 (Mar 17, 2005)

Great series of photos from Taiwan!! I love Tainan especially for it's delicious food! did you eat the beef soup there? last time being there for me was in January this year experience the record cold temperatures in Taiwan.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

HaRkY1 said:


> Great series of photos from Taiwan!! I love Tainan especially for it's delicious food! did you eat the beef soup there? last time being there for me was in January this year experience the record cold temperatures in Taiwan.


Thank you!

Yeah I loved Tainan as well! I didn't have the beef soup there (I suppose you mean Taiwanese beef noodle?), but I tried it in Taipei and Singapore. It's great. The curious thing about southern Taiwan cuisine is that they always use sweet sauces, with pretty much everything - omelette, noodles, rice etc. I like it, but my wife (she's Taiwanese) isn't a fan. 

The weather was great. It was raining heavily on the night we arrived but after that it was hot again. Taipei, on the other hand was chilly.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

5. The famous Alishan Forest Railway. In the early 20th century Japanese colonists discovered a dense, primeval mountain forest in what was then a very remote area. To open the forest to the logging they built a railway network which still operates and is just one of three mountain railways still in existence in the World. Today it takes tourists up the mountains.










6. The day was overcast and raining, plus there was a good deal of mist, which, while obscuring the views, made the forest look magical as if from a fairy tale.










7. These trees are thousands of years old, the oldest one is 3000 years old - just imagine it was already old when Roman Empire was conquering her neighbours and is alive still!










8. A mountain temple.










9. Japanese built Buddhist Temple.










10. The burner for the Joss Paper otherwise known as Ghost Money.










With the visit to the Alishan our trip to the south of the country was concluded. From there we turned back and headed for Taipei again. We still made plenty of day trips though!

To be continued...


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

I love that forest!
Excellent pics!


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Wow!


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Thank you. :bow: The mountains were indeed spectacular. I want to return on a clear day now. Maybe next year.


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## Gratteciel (May 4, 2008)

Fascinating! :applause:


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Thanks!


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

1. 18th century Zushi Temple in Sanxia - in New Taipei City.










2. Sanxia is best known for its Old Street - a beautiful thoroughfare full of Japanese era houses.










3. Beautiful facade.










4. The weather was somewhat rainy...










5.


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## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

Nice pics again. The streetscape in the last two pics feels like an exotic Asian version of English townhouses, very interesting.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

It does indeed. I really enjoyed Sanxia, even though it's tiny and it was raining but it is a pretty little town, with some interesting shops.

The nearby Daxi is another town known for its Old Street.

1. The architecture here is a bit different.










2. Still raining...










3. An old temple. It was closed, however, that made it possible to admire its paintings of Door Gods.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Jiufen in the north of Taiwan is a small, former gold-mining town with steep-streets and amazing views over the surrounding mountains. During the 16th century as the Europeans were beginning to make inroads in the Far East, there was a rumour flying around of an island somewhere in the Pacific rich in gold. The Spaniards and the Dutch, suffering from what Cortes described as "a disease of the heart that can be cured only with gold", quickly narrowed down their search to Taiwan. However despite numerous expeditions none of the imperial powers ever managed to find sufficient gold desposits. The large scale exploitation only began in late Qing era (about 1890) and reached its peak during Japanese era. 

1. You can't see it in this photo but the ocean is right in the background!










2. The ruins of The Ogon Shrine - a Shinto shrine built in 1933.










3. It is located on the slopes of a mountain and is reachable by a winding set of steps carved into the mountainside. Eerie.










4. Flanked by Toro (Japanese lantern) is what once was the main hall of the shrine.










5. The view from the shrine.


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Fascinating and beautiful!


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

6. The weather was detoriating pretty fast. When we arrived it was about 22 degrees, an hour later it dropped to 14 and the thickest ever fog rolled in from the ocean.










7. The streets are narrow and steep, and of course full of tourists (for some weird reason Jiufen was full of Korean girls in short skirts, indeed nowhere else in Taiwan have I seen such a large concentration of Korean tourists!).










8. Jiufen Old Street.










9. Same Old Street but from the top. It was absolutely full of people! 










10. The girl on the left taking a photo is Korean. 










11. The street is amazing.










12. Lanterns, endless movement, fog, the tea houses.










13. The fog was insane, you could actually see it rolling down the streets as you walked. Never seen anything like it!










14. Jiufen has some amazing (and very expensive) tea houses, here's one of the oldest. The tea is made in a traditional way and is served in small cups. 










15. The same tea shop.










And that's it!  Thanks for sticking around and commenting and liking. That is always much appreciated. Ta ta.


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Interesting tea house, a narrow street full of life, and I particularly
love the fog impressions (1 and 13)!


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## Noodles7 (Jan 18, 2008)

I love Jiufen, it's so relaxing to find a tea house balcony to sit on and enjoy the views. I can't be bothered walking around that much because it's always thronged with people. still it's a fantastic place to visit.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Thanks guys!


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Excellent tour. I feel I have seen quite a bit of Taiwan now. Will be waiting for more. 

Wonder what books about Xi that guy was selling? Some HK booksellers selling books about Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders got themselves into some trouble lately: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-35898646


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Noodles7 said:


> I love Jiufen, it's so relaxing to find a tea house balcony to sit on and enjoy the views. I can't be bothered walking around that much because it's always thronged with people. still it's a fantastic place to visit.


Thanks!

I love walking. Want to go back there on a clear day do I can see the mountains!



Pansori said:


> Excellent tour. I feel I have seen quite a bit of Taiwan now. Will be waiting for more.  Wonder what books about Xi that guy was selling? Some HK booksellers selling books about Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders got themselves into some trouble lately: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-35898646


No idea. But he didn't seem to be getting much interest. 

Anyway, yeah Taiwan is fantastic - it's got everything you want - mountains, food, big cities, fantastic infrastructure, sea, warm climate etc etc. You should visit it. kay:


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## Llinass (Oct 26, 2005)

Stunning quality photos here, especially low light ones!


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Wow! Love the last series of pictures. The crowds and the fog!


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Did you take those photos with your new camera?


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Yeah, all of them.


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## General Electric (Sep 12, 2010)

Amazing, rarely seen traditional Taiwan city! The pictures are beautiful, nice senery.


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