Dadaocheng Sunset

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I've spent a bit of my free time over the past month taking part in photowalks organized by TC Lin for the lead up to the Tua-Tiu-Tiann International Festival of Arts (大稻埕國際藝術節) which is being held over the entire month of October in Taipei's historic Dadaocheng District.

The photowalks which were held on two separate occasions in August were attended by quite a few foreign and local photographers who walked through Dadaocheng chatting up a storm while taking photos at the same time. On our first walk, the light wasn't really that great for taking photos and we probably spent more time talking than actually taking photos. The second walk was almost ruined by a torrential downpour that we had to wait out for a while. 

As usual, it is always a good time whenever I can get together with other photographers but as usual I spent way too much time chatting and not enough time taking photos. 

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To make up for the lack of shooting while on the photowalks, I decided to revisit the area on my own a few times to get some more shots that I could contribute to the festival. I also figured that while I was in the area and due to the fact that the weather has been amazing as of late that I'd also stop by the Dadaocheng Wharf to get some sunset shots which would more or less be a sequel to the Sunset at Dadaocheng Wharf post that I made last year.

I originally had another blog scheduled for today but due to some personal stuff that has been going on, I don't really feel like posting a blog about some of the interesting historic stuff that I usually post about - is it even interesting to you? I don't know.  

Instead, I felt like sharing something pretty that people could enjoy. They say that sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully. 

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Dadaocheng Wharf

The Dadaocheng Wharf is a newly renovated and quite popular outdoor activity spot for the residents of Taipei. The long wharf has been integrated into the much longer bicycle path which spans almost the entire distance of the city and is a busy spot on weekends with various recreational events held throughout the year.

The wharf has played an important role in Taipei's history and helped fuel the early economic success of the city and that of the Dadaocheng area (which is now part of Datong District - 大同區).

The Dadaocheng area is well known for its specialization in the sale of textiles, tea, cotton, medicines and various other products that you're still able to find today on the popular Dihua shopping street.

The wharf became significant due to the fact that it was a more inland harbour for merchants to get their products both in and out of the city at a much quicker pace than from the original wharf near Danshui.

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Much like a lot of other economically successful towns of the past, the merchant shopping area around Dadaocheng (which is considered to be "old" Taipei) has turned into somewhat of an "old street" where you can see the same type of "baroque" architecture that is prevalent in places like Daxi and Sanxia with merchants sell traditional products that aren't very easy to find.

The completion of Taiwan's railway system however sucked the life out of a lot of these towns as they lost their monopolies that depended on the transportation of goods via shipping. Because of this, businesses which made their fortune importing and exporting products by way of the river were thus forced to either adapt to their new realities, relocate or come up with new business ventures.

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Today however, the Dihua Street Lunar New Year market has become a local tradition for the people of Taipei attracting over a million visitors a year in the weeks leading up to the holidays.

The market sells a lot of the same things you would have seen hundreds of years ago in the form of silks, textiles, traditional Chinese snacks, food and medicine and is still the best place Taipei to do your one stop shopping for traditional materials.

I've blogged in the past about the Dihua Street Lunar New Year market as well as the City God Temple (霞海城隍廟) Confucius Temple (台北孔廟), Bao-An Temple (保安宮) and Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市) which are all within Taipei's Datong District and are a short walking distance from each other.

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Back to the wharf - while it may not look the same today as it did in the past but it is still functional and on weekends there are ferries that transport people between Taipei and Danshui on a regular basis. 

Apart from being a popular spot for recreational activities, it has become a popular place to view the sunset as the wharf faces the skyline of the Sanchong District (三重區) of New Taipei City. Sanchong is developing at a lightning pace due to the price of housing in Taipei city and the skyline is one that is constantly changing.

As the wharf faces the direction where the sun sets . it is one of Taipei's best places to view the sunset and you are likely to see hundreds of people showing up every night to enjoy the view.

The wharf is actually really pretty and catching the sunset there is quite nice, so if you're in the area around that time of the day, check it out. Also, if you're free in the month of October, make sure to check out some of the great events happening at the Tua-Tiu-Tiann International Festival of Arts - You might even see me hanging out around there. 

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Neihu Red House (內湖紅樓)

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When tourists think of Taipei, I think its pretty safe to say that the city’s Neihu District (內湖區) isn’t really a place that attracts many of the city’s visitors. The district is most well-known for its technology park and its giant shopping centres rather than its cultural or tourist attractions.

Things are changing however and Neihu is quickly becoming one of the most attractive residential areas in the city with beautiful parks, great shopping and an excellent public transportation system that allows residents to get back and forth quite easily.

In the past a lot of these places were somewhat inaccessible to tourists visiting the country but now that Taipei’s MRT system runs through the district, the U-bike public bicycle share system is available and the public bus system has been refined, it is much easier for people wanting to visit some of the sights that are available.

Neihu has its fair share of beautiful parks for families to visit, mountains for hikers to climb, temples for the religious (and people like me who think they’re cool), historic buildings as well as great shopping, fine dining, small night markets and of course a giant Ferris wheel that gives great views of the city.

The Neihu Red House (內湖紅樓) which is conveniently located next to the Taipei MRT’s Wende Station (文德捷運站) is celebrating its one hundred year anniversary this year. Originally the home of Neihu Village’s mayor Kuo Hua-Jang, the building was designated a historical site in 1999 by the Taipei City Government.

 History

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The Kuo family came to Taiwan in 1690 from China’s Fujian province. The family was quite well off which allowed for the family of merchants to turn into a family of scholars with several members taking the Imperial Examinations and achieving the rank of “scholar” (秀才).

One of those scholars was Kuo Hua-Jung (郭華讓) who in 1920 became the first official mayor of Neihu village (內湖庄) and served two successful terms. As mayor he was well known for his successful infrastructure projects which include the construction of bridges, roads and public water service.

As the Kuo’s were a family of accomplished scholars, they naturally built their residence next to a school (Today’s Neihu Senior High School) and in 1917 construction commenced on what we now call the "Neihu Red House" (內湖紅樓) but is otherwise known as the Neihu Kuo Family Ancestral Home (內湖郭氏古宅).

Today the Red House is known as the (Guo) Kuo Ziyi Memorial Hall (郭子儀紀念堂) and is dedicated to Kuo Ziyi (郭子儀), an ancestor of the Kuo family who lived lived between 697 and 781 and was known formally as Prince Zhongwu of Fenyuan (汾陽忠武王).

Kuo was an accomplished Tang Dynasty (唐朝) general who is most well-known for ending a rebellion and participating in expeditions on behalf of the emperor against the Uyghur’s and Tibetan’s. Once regarded as the most powerful general in the empire and was regarded as the person who single-handedly saved the Tang Dynasty from destruction.

Today the Neihu Red House has changed its role as a mansion to an ancestral shrine dedicated to one of the most influential members of the Kuo family. The main hall has a shrine dedicated to Kuo Ziyi and the rest of the building acts as a memorial hall for both Kuo Ziyi and his good friend, poet Li Bai (李白) featuring displays of his poetry and his calligraphy.

Design

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Originally constructed in 1917, the two story south-facing red-brick home beautifully puts baroque architecture (巴洛克式風格) on display. As I’ve mentioned in several blogs already, especially those about the Daxi Old Street or Hukou Old Street, baroque is a style of architecture which was extremely popular with the wealthy of Taiwan over the last two centuries.

Baroque was an architectural style that originated in 16th Century Italy and spread throughout Europe and then eventually here into Asia through colonialism. The style is said to promote dynamism or a sense of motion with strong curves and beautifully sculpted decorations on the surface or the facades of buildings.

Here in Taiwan, Baroque was introduced in the early 19th century when the Japanese took control of the island and promoted modern construction techniques. The fusion-style architectural design was supposed to differentiate the buildings of the colonial era from those of the Southern-Chinese architectural style that was most common prior to their arrival.

Baroque design quickly became popular with the wealthy and higher educated members of Taiwanese society who preferred to build their homes and businesses with not only modern construction techniques but also the fusion of both Western and Eastern design which would have been considered great for their reputations around town.

Today there are still quite a few well-preserved buildings of baroque-origin throughout Taiwan - If historical design is one of your things you are certainly in luck when you visit as there are tourist streets full of this type of architecture in addition to buildings like the Presidential Palace which are all great examples of this style of design.

The 100 year old house is a 130-ping (426m²) two-story building with a courtyard area that is over 360-ping (1178m²). The exterior of the building is constructed entirely of red-brick with washed terrazzo and coloured tiles which were imported from Japan while the interior is made of beautiful Taiwanese cypress (檜木) that shines when the sun when the sun comes in through the windows.

The front facade of the building is where the baroque style is most prevalent. The windows on the front of the building are irregularly shaped with a curved balcony on the second floor, twelve beautifully designed tiles on the sides and two plaques on each side of the doorway.

The top gable of the building is where the design is the most beautiful with an ornamental western-style flower wreath wrapped around the Chinese characters “汾陽” (fenyang) and the date for which the building was constructed.

The gable is one of the most common characteristics of baroque design in Taiwan and the restoration project that restored the building did an excellent job paying homage to the original design of the gable which after a century is still protected by stone lions on the top.

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Renovation

Despite receiving recognition from the Taipei City Government as Historic Property in 1999, the Red House remained abandoned and was in a dilapidated state until 2010 when the Kuo family got together and raised funds to restore the building. The family raised over $30 million NT to contribute to the project (1 million USD) and the Taipei City Government shelled out $10 million NT (300,000 USD) of its own to help restore the building.

With the funds in place to start the project the building underwent a year-long facelift under the watchful eye of a master craftsman who specialized in the restoration of historic properties - and who also happened to be a member of the Kuo family.

Before the restorations started the Red House was probably one of the coolest historic properties within Taipei city limits for Urban Explorers searching out abandoned buildings. Photos I’ve seen of the house before the restorations started make me really wish I knew about the house when I first arrived.

I would have loved to have seen it in its dilapidated state as the house was completely taken over by nature and almost faded into the mountain behind it as it had trees and brush growing all over it.

A year after the project started the building reopened to the public and was renamed the Guo Ziyi Memorial Hall as the family wanted to memorialize an influential ancestor. From the photos I’ve seen of the building before the project started, I’m actually quite surprised that it only took a year to complete. There was a lot of work to do and restoration projects of this size usually take a considerable amount of time here in Taiwan.

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 Getting There

 

Visiting the historic Neihu Red House is extremely easy now that the Taipei MRT services the Neihu District of the city. Simply take the MRT to Wende Station (文德捷運站) on the Brown Wenhu Line (文湖線) and leave via Exit 1. Once you are outside the stairway to the house is almost next door. You can’t miss it.

The house is open to the public from 10am to 5pm everyday except for Mondays and entrance is free of charge.

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As the Neihu Red House is currently celebrating its centennial, it is a great time to visit to enjoy a bit of Taiwanese history. If you’re into architecture, design or history you’ll really enjoy a visit to the building as the craftsmanship that went into its construction is quite amazing. You don’t need a whole lot of time to visit the building and it won’t take you very long to get there as it is an extremely convenient place to visit. If you’re in Neihu visiting the Moon Bridge or hiking one of the many mountains, you’ll probably want to stop by and check out this beautiful old building.

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Gallery / Flickr (High Res Photos)

Huguo Rinzai Temple (臨濟護國禪寺)

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The Great Hall

People often ask me how I'm able to find so many 'interesting' places to take photos of and write about. When I think about it, its a bit of a strange question. Sure, some of the places I visit are a bit ‘different’ than most other expats but I've never really considered them all that obscure.

After over a decade of living in Taiwan I feel like I’ve pretty much exhausted all of the ‘typical’ well-known tourist attractions meaning that as a long-term traveller, I have to be a bit more adventurous and try harder than the average tourist.

To that effect, I suppose that there are quite a few places that I visit and blog about aren't likely to be introduced in Lonely Planet or any other English guide books. In truth, everyone knows about places like the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall or Longshan Temple. There’s not much new to discover or to talk about when it comes to tourist spots like these while the lesser known spots keep me on my toes and means that I get to learn more and more about Taiwan and its history.

As the nation opens up more and more to global tourism and becomes an important destination for the worlds travellers, its probably more important than ever that there are English resources available for travellers - especially those who come looking for something off the beaten path. One of the problems with this however is that travel resources and information regarding tourist spots outside of Taipei are rarely very helpful.

I guess that is why I try hard to introduce Taiwan as best as I can through the photos that I take and the research and translations that I do about the places I visit. I hope that I’m able to help make this beautiful country a little more accessible to the outside world.

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Sun shining on the beautifully restored roof

Surprisingly, the spot I'm writing about today is one that I've passed by probably over a thousand times while riding Taipei's MRT and yet had always avoided. While I have a bit of a reputation for always wandering around Taiwan’s temples, from time to time there are some that even I try to avoid - and often for good reason!

Most of Taiwan's temples are easily accessible to the public and when you visit, no one will bother you with religious stuff or push anything on you. There are however quite a few temples belonging to certain organizations that would prefer visitors spend more time converting or donating than exploring. (See: Nature Loving Wonderland) I had always mistakenly thought that this was one of those places and I avoided going in to save myself the hassle.

I finally found a reason to visit however as I found out that there was a Japanese Colonial Era Buddhist Temple sitting right in the middle of this odd-looking temple complex. A Japanese temple of this size that is still left standing is something almost unheard of these days in Taiwan and is not the kind of thing I’m going to pass up, so I visited as soon as I could.

That being said, I did get harassed for a few minutes while inside, but it was more of an effort by someone to learn English rather than push any religious ideology!

The Linji Huguo Zen Buddhist Temple (臨濟護國禪寺) is one of the oldest and most well-preserved buildings of its kind remaining in Taipei from the Japanese Colonial Era and is a beautiful place to visit - So much so that I regret not having visited much sooner!

Yet another example of learning not to judge!

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History

The Japanese Colonial Era began on April 17th 1895 when representatives from the Qing Dynasty signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki (下関条約) which signaled the end of the first Sino-Japanese War and forced China to cede both territory and copious amounts of cash to the Japanese Empire.

The colonial period which ended up lasting for a half century had its fair share of resistance from the local people and the colonial powers were certainly guilty of a great many atrocities, however the general feeling today is that people of this country share a strong bond with the Japanese and enjoy a friendship that is based off of mutual understanding and respect for each other.

When the Colonial Era started, the Japanese wasted no time starting to develop the island with modern infrastructure and also the means to create a thriving economy. As Taiwan was part of the Japanese empire, the Japanese made sure to construct buildings of Japanese cultural influence while at the same time building schools, banks, roads, etc.

Some of the buildings that were constructed included the various Martial Arts Halls, Shinto Shrines and Buddhist temples which were meant to help endear and convert the people of Taiwan into loyal citizens of the Japanese empire.

In 1900, then Japanese Governor of Taiwan Kodama Gentaro (兒玉源太郎) requested monks from the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism to come to Taiwan, build a temple and promote Zen Buddhism in Taiwan on land nearby the newly constructed Taiwan Grand Shrine (台灣神社).

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Rinzai (臨濟宗) is a sect of Zen Buddhism which is descended from the Chinese Lingji school founded during the Tang Dynasty by Linji Yixuan (臨濟義玄). Rinzai Buddhism simply put emphasizes the usage of kōans (公案) which are best described as paradoxical anecdotes or riddles that have no solutions and are meant to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and promote enlightenment. Practitioners of Rinzai believe that through the usage of these riddles that the path to enlightenment (the ultimate goal for Buddhists) could be accelerated.

As one of Japan's various sects of Buddhism, Rinzai had flourished since its introduction in 1199 but came close to extinction when the Meiji Restoration (明治維新) started in 1868. The reforms brought on by the government focused their attention on several aspects of Japanese society that were deemed to be ‘feudalistic’ or ‘foreign’ as well as bringing an end to the Tokugawa Shogunate, the daimyo and the samurai class which were considered a burden on the state despite their cultural importance.

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Orchids overlooking the century year old temple. 

Buddhism, which was the most widely practiced religion at the time was also targeted and replaced by Shintoism as the state religion in an attempt to cultivate Japanese nationalism, the notion of Japanese cultural superiority and the idea that the emperor was divine.

Buddhism was perceived by the Meiji as a religion of foreign origin and therefore inferior to the culturally superior state Shinto religion. Making matters worse was the fact that Rinzai was once closely linked with the former feudalistic social system and for centuries enjoyed the perks of being under the patronage of the Samurai class. This meant that in order to survive, Zen Buddhism had to quickly change and adapt to the new social order or face destruction.

The changes that were made by the various schools of Buddhism altered the core approaches and interpretations of the Buddha’s teachings to coincide with an unquestioning support for the Japanese government, its policies and the divinity of the Emperor. The new uneasy alignment with the Japanese government allowed for Japanese Buddhism to survive, but also forced it to abandon some of its key principles and practices and help promote militarism.

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Buddhism’s conformation to state ideology however was not something so easily accepted by the government and during the period of the Meiji Restoration over 4,500 Buddhist temples were either closed or destroyed and monks were either drafted into the Imperial army or forced to return to ordinary life depending on their age.

While Buddhism faced difficulties during the Meiji Restoration in Japan, Taiwan was a bit of a different story where monks were sent with military regiments in order to provide spiritual service to the army which in the early days of the colonial era had to quell several rebellions.

Coincidentally the monks who came to Taiwan in the early days of the colonial era made similar attempts to convert the population that Christian missionaries did. The Japanese government supported these efforts for a while but ultimately stopped funding the monks as there was a larger push to promote Shintoism in Taiwan.

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Governor General Kodama Gentaro who was himself affiliated with the Rinzai sect invited his university classmate Iori Genshu (梅山玄秀), a well-known Rinzai monk from Osaka to come to Taiwan and become the abbot of the temple which was to be constructed.

Construction on the temple took over a decade and was completed in 1911 (明治44年) with the original name Chin'nanzan Gokoku-ji Temple (鎮南護山國禪寺) which ultimately means that the temple was meant to help Protect the Southern Lands of the Japanese Empire.

Design

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Beautiful Japanese architecture constructed with Taiwanese cypress. 

In the decades since the end of the Japanese Colonial Era the temple complex has been expanded upon and buildings have been built up that surround it and block it from the outside. Part of the reason why I never really knew that this temple existed in such a popular and busy tourist location is that it was pretty much hidden from plain sight by a temple design that seriously looks like it was crafted in the 80s.

The original complex consisted of a Main Hall, a Gate and some administrative buildings but today it has expanded considerably with two large halls, an administrative office, a large dormitory for the monks or guests of the temple and an area on the small mountain behind it where there are graves and statues of the Buddha.

I’m not going to touch on all of the new additions but the Main Hall, the Gate and the grave site of former temple abbot Iori Genshu are all important to mention.

Main Building (大雄寶殿)

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The Great Hall 

The Main Building of the temple complex is the main attraction for visitors coming to the temple. It is the oldest remaining wooden structure built in Taiwan during the Japanese Colonial Era and also one of the largest. Built entirely of Taiwanese Cypress, a kind of wood that the Japanese lovingly refer to as hinoki (檜木), the temple is not only beautifully constructed with this wood but also extremely aromatic, especially if the past few days had some rain. 

The building known as the Hall of Great Strength (大雄寶殿) houses the main shrine which is dedicated to Shakyamuni Buddha (釋迦) and is a common name for a main hall of the Buddhist temple which contains an image of the Buddha.

The temple is designed with architecture that was typical of the Edo Period (江戶時代) which was the period of rule where the Tokugawa Shogunate (德川幕府) controlled Japan between 1603 and 1868 ending with the restoration of the Meiji Emperor.

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The main hall is elevated off of the ground and has the easily identified four sided ‘hip and gable roof’ (懸魚) that resembles a mountain and has “owl’s tails” (鴟尾). The special thing to notice about the temple though is that on each of the owls tails you will find something known as an Onigawara (鬼瓦) as well as the word “Town” or “Guard” (鎮) on each of the end tiles (瓦片).

An Onigawara, otherwise known as an ogre tile is a type of roof ornament that depicts a Japanese ogre or what we might refer to as a “demon” in English. The tricky thing about referring to these “oni” (鬼) as demons is that they aren’t specifically evil in the English sense of the world although they are meant to be fearsome and have the ability to scare away evil spirits which might attempt to visit the temple. Practically speaking, the Onigawara tiles were meant to assist in protecting the roof from weathering and also the weather.

For more about Onigawara, Japanese imagery and another Japanese-Era building in Taiwan, check out my friend Alexander’s blog about the Fenyuan Town Hall in central Taiwan.

Link: Fenyuan Town Hall (芬園庄役場) (Synapticism)

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The end tiles on the roof each end with a circle and have the Chinese character “鎮” on them which refers both protection and the original name of the temple.

When it comes to the roof, you have to pay a bit of attention to the details that went into its construction and make sure not to miss the wonderful designs that are distinctly Japanese and are not something that you’ll commonly see in Taiwan these days.

The inside of the main hall is currently off-limits to visitors as the hall is going through an on-going renovation project. You are able to view the inside from the main entrance but they have blocked it off for outside guests. The interior of the temple is made completely of wood which shines in the afternoon sun.

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The main shrine room of the Great Hall - Off limits to visitors at this point. 

As mentioned above, the temple is dedicated to Shakyamuni Buddha (釋迦牟尼) but there are also shrines dedicated to Guanyin (觀世音菩薩) and Ksitigarbha (地藏菩薩). Above each of the Buddha’s are plaques that read “Compassionate and Kind” (慈悲為懷), “Transcending Time” (現壽者相) and “Commandments and Longevity” (戒壽並尊) respectively. 

The temple has been going through a long period of renovation over the past few years and while the outside has ultimately been completed, the interior still has quite a bit of work to do before its completed. The original renovation commenced in 2007 and ended in 2010 with the temple raising over $85 million NT (3 million US) for the project. Fresh cypress was shipped in from the forests of Yilan on Taiwan’s east coast while the roofing tiles were specially ordered from Japan to help with the temple’s authenticity.

Old Gate / Bell Tower (舊鐘樓山門)

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The Old Gate / Bell Tower

The old gate to the temple seems as if it is still under renovation and although it is for the most part completed it is mostly just for decoration. Today it is the resting place for hundreds of pigeons who hang out all day. The door to the gate is closed and people are unable to pass through it anymore but its fine because there is an alternate entrance to the temple beside it. The gate is designed in the same way as the Main Hall with the same roof and the same wood.

Historic Japanese-era photo of the bell tower.

The sad thing about the gate though is that there is a giant stone slab next to it that had the original name of the temple as well as the date it was opened. The problem is that while most of the characters are still there to help identify the temple, the time period has been vandalized which is something I complained about in my blog about the former Taichung Shinto Shrine. The gate would have said something like “明治44年” on the side, but considering political sensitivities after the end of the Second World War, it was likely demolished like quite a few other buildings of Japanese cultural significance.

Getting there

Getting to the temple is extremely easy - All you have to do is hop on Taipei's MRT system's Red Line and take the train to Yuanshan MRT station (圓山捷運站). In addition to this beautiful historic temple the Yuanshan MRT station is an area of the city where travellers could easily spend an entire day checking out the beautiful Flora Expo Park (花博公園), the historic Lin An-Tai Mansion, Taipei's Confucius Temple (台北孔廟) and of course Bao-An Temple (保安宮) all of which are in walking distance from the station.

 

It isn't likely that you'll find this temple in English guide books, but as it has recently been recognized as one of the top religious tourist destinations in Taiwan, I suspect that will eventually change. This beautiful century-old Zen temple doesn't require a lot of time to visit but is a great place to visit to experience a living piece of Taiwan's history.

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Gallery / Flickr (High Res Photos)