Taipei Travel

One of the busiest temple in Taipei. Lots of tourist come here either for praying or just visiting. This temple is one of oldest temple in Taiwan. Build around 1738 by chinese folks from Fujian- China. This temple architecture is gorgeous with detailed craving throughout. The metro station that stop nearby has the same name as this temple ( Lung Shan Station).

Longshan Temple is one of Taipei's oldest temples. "Longshan" means "dragon mountain." You can take your pick who you wish to worship -- all three main Chinese religious traditions are worshipped here: Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The area around the temple is a bit seedy., but a lot less so than it once was. Confucius was a sage, not a god, so that he is venerated rather than worshipped. "Folk religion" is something most Taiwanese adhere to.

This is the most famous Temple in Taipei. Dating back to 1738, this temple was originally a Buddhist temple. It was dedicated to Guanyin (觀世音, Avalokiteśvara, one of the Buddhist bodhisattva), which is a branch spirit from Guanyin of the Lungshan Temple at Jin-Jiang county, Fujian province (福建省晉江縣). Then it was named after its root temple. Destroyed and rebuilt for several times, the temple now worships gods of three religions: Buddhist, Taoist and Ruism (Confucianism). To improve air quality and to better protect the environment, Taiwan started a movement to encourage temples to ban incense burning since 2014. There is no incense in this temple. Great!!.

People who are new to the Orient are often confused by temples. Not only is there smoking incene and banging of gongs, there doesn't appear to be much devotion. First, there are three main traditions -- Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Second, as in Langshan Temple, they are all mixed up. Taoism may predominate, but it is not alone. In all, just wander around and if the worshippers don't go to a certain area of the temple there is probably a reason why.

The architecture of this temple from over 300 years ago is very ornate and very Chinese. Around the temple are many, many stores selling religious sculpture carvings, artifacts. Longshan Temple is a Chinese folk temple built in 1738. Entering the temple there is a wall of waterfalls to the right. Although man made, it is made to look very natural. Many were having their pictures taken in front of it. Into the first temple you come to an area of food offerings, incense burning and prayers. Many were burning incense sticks and saying prayers for the new year. Flowers, mostly pots of beautiful orchids were everywhere as gifted to the temple. The metro station is by the same name as the temple. Despite earthquakes and fires over the years, the Taiwanese have always repaired this temple out of respect and love for it. Old retired men love to congregate in the park square directly across from the temple, socializing with one another. There is also a large empty ground area which I wondered about and later saw it was actually a dancing waters fountain to Chinese instrumental music. It was really lovely to watch. This temple and area are worth a visit for its history and to see the locals, visit the street market, walk around to see stores of arts & crafts. There is even a nice bakery in this area which is quite popular.