Asia

[Visited: February 2024]

Even though I had been to Taipei already several times before, for some reason I had never paid a visit to Longshan Temple. It is time to correct that mistake, so we take a subway straight to the Longshan Temple station. I say mistake, because out of the multitude of temples across the city, Longshan is one of the most important. On the square in front of the religious building, we see a temporary and brightly coloured inflated work of art with what look like four men with dragon heads, standing on top of a dragon surrounded by fish. Celebrations of the Chinese New Year are still going on. We cross a street, and enter the Longshan Temple complex through an iron gate. Inside, we see another inflated dragon with a curved back on the side of a small roofed space in which we see a big lantern hanging, with a line of people patiently waiting to go in. It is not clear what they do once inside.
On the side, we see water coming down over rocks, giving it a natural appearance in the middle of the city. There is an inflated elephant, with a Buddha sitting on its back, and several roosters. All bright colours, all mysterious to us. After all, Longshan Temple was constructed in 1738 bu Fujian immigrants, and although it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times and for several reasons, we had expected a solemn and religious atmosphere. The abundance of colours and cheerful elements gives the temple a vibrant, modern feel. It is time to enter through one of the doors. As soon as we enter the courtyard, the vibe changes. Here, we see enormous bronze incense burners on the floor. We see a long table with offerings for the gods: flowers, fruits, biscuits, oil, and more items. We enter the hallway and study the meticulously painted wooden beams with gold touches.
The main temple building of the Longshan Temple complex is right in front of our eyes. The roof is richly decorated, with roosters and dragons with claws sticking out of top and eaves. The columns carrying the roof are grey stone and sculpted all around. We see enormous lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and those ceilings are intricately carved wooden works of art. Originally, Longshan Temple was built here because someone left an amulet of the goddess Guanyin on a tree at this site. People noticed how it would shine even in darkness, and decided a temple had to be built. Over time, Longshan Temple turned into serving other deities as well, and although Guanyin (goddess of mercy) is still the main goddess, today no less than 165 other deities are also worshipped here, mixing Buddhist and Chinese deities. Just walking around, and watching people pray, plant incense in one of the burners, throwing moon or oracle blocks, called jiaobei, or just sitting on the side for reflection or rest is a great way to enjoy a visit to Longshan Temple. We feel an interesting energy of piety and joy.

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Longshan Temple > Taiwan > Asia

[Visited: February 2024]

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