The following day we reached the port of Keelung in Taiwan.
Taiwan is a large island in the Pacific Ocean 100 miles off the east coast of the Chinese mainland. Known also as a Formosa (the Beautiful) from the days of the Portuguese explorers, Taiwan is now, at least in theory, a province of China. Altogether the province of Taiwan comprises 79 islands, most of which are volcanic in origin.
Forty-five minutes away from Keelung lies Taipei – the heart of all the action in Taiwan. It is an energetic, eclectic, crowded, and bustling centre of Taiwan’s commerce, government and culture. Here we visited two temples: The Baoan Temple – devoted to the God of Medicine and representing Taiwan’s folk religion and artistic culture,
Taiwan is a large island in the Pacific Ocean 100 miles off the east coast of the Chinese mainland. Known also as a Formosa (the Beautiful) from the days of the Portuguese explorers, Taiwan is now, at least in theory, a province of China. Altogether the province of Taiwan comprises 79 islands, most of which are volcanic in origin.
and later (across the street), a Confucius Temple. It was completed in 1955. Interestingly, Confucius’ birthday falls on September 28 and the government designates this day as the Teacher’s Day. On one of the walls of the Temple I saw many wooden tablets with writings on them. The guide explained that students come to this temple and leave prayers/notes for Confucius – most of them ask for passing tests and excelling in their studies.
Later we went to Chiang Kai Chek’s Memorial Hall showcasing artifacts from the late presidents’s life. We saw the “giant” sculpture of the late president and the change of guards in front of the sculpture.
Our next stop was Taipei 101 – completed in 2004, the building is one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers and apparently resembles a stalk of bamboo tied with elegant ribbon at each fret... not sure about that.
Ridiculously expensive brands such as Armani, Chanel, Prada and more inhabit this shopping mall. We passed on the visit to the Observatory deck and instead had a feast (for our mouths and eyes) at a Tapaniaki place.
Refreshed, we headed for the Martyr’s Shrine. The shire is dedicated to the heroes of the Republic of China and the War of Resistance against Japan.
Lastly we went to National palace Museum – crowded and noisy the place is recognized worldwide as the centre of Chinese culture and tradition, the museum houses the world’s largest collection of Chinese art treasures spanning China’s 5,000-year history. No pics were taken.
Our guide was an entertaining man with an acquired sense of humour. On many occasions during the tour he pointed out to us the superiority of Taiwan over the mainland China and Taiwan's separateness from China. Also, in front of Taipei 101, a group of Taiwanese were carrying big posters targeting the international community bound to frequent the mall to express their sentiments regarding the Taiwan – China issue.
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