Travel Taipei

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.

If this is the first temple you ever visit in Taiwan (or any of surrounding countries) I strongly suggest to get a guide, if there is nobody available ask the locals to introduce the place for you. Taiwanese people is warm and happy to help strangers, specially if they are young because they can speak fluent English.

We were fortunate to visit at the tail end of the Lunar New Years holiday season. The exterior of the temple grounds were decorated with hundreds of yellow lanterns and the interior also contained extra decorations. This was our favorite of all the temples we visited in Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Okinawa. It was filled with many worshipers, flower arrangements, offerings of candy, fruit, flowers etc. Religious services were being conducted by monks. There were many worshipers praying and seeking guidance in their lives and many asking fortune tellers to predict their future. The grounds were beautiful including a waterfall at the entry. DO NOT MISS THIS TEMPLE

Beautiful structure temple for devotee and also tourist who appreciate and praying. Quite interesting temple.

This is an active temple in Taipei and it was very interesting to see people bring offerings and praying. The temple is fairly well cared for and offers some interesting photo opportunities. Need about 1 + hour to visit.