Lugang 鹿港

On Saturday, Erin, Kristi, Katy and I decided to go to the historical town of Lugang (literally Deer Harbor).

The smooth taxi ride there was a comfortable change from our usual bus.  We were dropped off next to the Tianhou (Empress of Heaven) Temple.  The image of Mazu, enshrined there, is thought to have been brought to Lugang in 1684 after Qing dynasty forces took the island from Ming dynasty loyalists.  Mazu is the goddess of the sea, said to protect fisherman and sailors.

(There is a Family Mart right next to the temple.  Weird.)

Me, Kristi, Erin

Me and Kristi

We next visited Old Street Market.  There were lots of little shops selling food, toys, fans, handicrafts, etc.

Kristi, Me, Erin, Katy

After a little wandering, we found Nine Turns Lane (Jinsheng Lane).  It is a brick paved lane that is often called Breast-Rubbing Lane because of its narrowness.  It was built to prevent the entry of bandits and protect against strong winds.

It's not that narrow.

Getting Narrower.

Cool Doorway

A little thirsty

Erin, Kristi and Me

This was the narrowest spot.

Kristi, Me, Katy and Erin

Next we went to the Lugang Folk Arts Museum, a European-style villa.  It was built in 1919 by a Japanese architect and used to belong to a wealthy local landholder named Chen-Fu Koo.  The grounds were beautiful with walking paths, gazebos, flowers and ponds.  Inside were displays of old furniture, jewelry, photos, handicrafts, books, clothing, and Chinese curios. 

View of front yard from 2nd level balcony

Playing with old toys.

In front of the Lugang Folk Museum

Me, Erin, Katy, Kristi

We continued on our way to Longshan (Dragon Mountain) Temple, devoted to Guanyin, the goddess of mercy.  It was first built in the 17th century.  It is regarded as one of Taiwan's most architectually significant and best preserved Qing dynasty temples.  It is considered to be one of the more tranquil Taoist temples, which earned it the nickname "Taiwan's Forbidden City."  We went to a few other temple, but I don't know what they were called.  Lugang has over 200 temples. 

Longshan Temple

Unknown Temple

Amazing stone cravings

The entire day, I navigated us without the use of a personal map.  It wasn't too hard, because everything was close to the main road Jhongshan.  However, we became severely lost when looking for the Wenkai Academy.  We must have taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up on the edge of town by rural rice fields and wild grass.  We were getting tired and decided to try and make home.  There was a problem.  We took the taxi to Lugang, so we had no idea where the bus station was.  We cut back into town, and looked for anything familiar.  (We had been walking for a very very long time.)  With prayers in our heart, a Canadian man pulled over and attempted to give us directions in English.  We continued onward, but didn't really have a clearer idea of where to go.  I thank our Heavenly Father that a Taiwanese man with broken English offered to walk with us to the station.  I feel so grateful for him.  The first bus station he led us to, wasn't going to Chang-hua (that's where we were going to catch a train to Fengyuan).  So, the nice man led us to another bus station, and insured that we were where we needed to be to make it home safely. 

All in all, the day was really fun!

[Info taken from The National Geographic Traveler: Taiwan]