A Budda-eye's view of Changhua city

A Budda-eye's view of Changhua city
Originally uploaded by ymc47.

Just got back from a two day trip to south-central Taiwan, to Changhua county (彰化縣)--a two hour train ride from Taipei. Had wanted to travel to the offshore island of Kinmen, but the trip had to be temporarily put off due to a lack of tour bookings.

From Changhua we proceeded to the famous Lugang township (鹿港), which is famous for its handicrafts, snacks, and temples (doesn't this describe a lot of Taiwanese tourist areas?). We arrived just in time to miss the thongs of tourists (who come for Lunar New Year celebrations, Mazu (媽祖) deity worship and the summer Dragonboat festivals; leaving us at the mercy of the local vendors who demanded we sample several local snacks, etc.

This photo is of the Budda on Ba-gua Mountain (八掛山), about twenty minutes away from Lu-gang. The view is quite spectacular from the top of the summit. I was amazed to hear from my dad later that the urban sprawl seen in the photo was all rice paddies thirty years ago. They're all gone now thanks to industrialization. Walking into the three tierd temple, we discover that the gods here will give you a printed fortune (in exchange for a prayer, and a small NT$20 contribution). Mine wasn't too encouraging to say the least ;-)

In short, a facinating trip...