Northern Taipei

Good morning, Taiwan! Getting to Taipei was relatively simple. It was the first time I flew from the US to Asia without having to make any connections. Nonstop, SFO to TPE. I took the subway from the airport into the city. Most of the ride was above ground. I was struck by how green and lush Taiwan is. You don’t hear that about Taiwan. You don’t hear much about Taiwan

Before my trip, I was surprised to learn that the southern half of Taiwan is in the tropics. The Tropic of Cancer slices right through Taiwan, making the northern part of Taiwan (where I spent my time there) subtropical. If you’ve been to Florida, you know that you don’t have to be technically in the tropics for the air to feel tropical. I did a lot of sweating on my Taiwanese hikes. (Not that I did any hiking on Day 1.) But the air-conditioned subway stations sure felt nice!

When I got into Taipei, I did something I’d never done before. I checked into a hostel. I had decided to try hosteling to keep my spending down, especially when I learned that hostels often offered private rooms. (I had thought of it before my trip to India, but India hotels were so cheap for the most part, it made sense to hold off of the hostel experiment till my next trip.)

The hostel was a cute little place, and the young woman who checked me in was very friendly. I arrived early in the morning (before normal opening hours), so my room wasn’t ready. The friendly woman said I could crash for a while in the dorm room filled with bunk beds. It was completely empty at the time so I had to myself. One thing I asked for help on before crashing was getting a day ticket for the Taroko Gorge bus. I had read that it was best to get it in advance in Taipei at a convenience store. That sounded like it could intimidating, and my friendly staff person said she could definitely help me out with that. But first I would crash for a couple hours. Well, I never saw her again my whole time in Taipei. There wasn’t even anyone at the desk when I set out for my day of sightseeing. I quickly learned that you don’t get hotel-style service at a hostel. But the price was right. And I’d figure out the bus ticket thing. For now, it was time for my East Asian adventure to really begin! (And despite having arrived that morning on a transpacific flight, I had a full day of sightseeing ahead.)

National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine of R.O.C.

Go through this gate to enter not just the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine of the R.O.C., but my entire East Asian adventure!

Taiwan has a bit of a militaristic heritage. (I actually went to 3 different changing-of-the-guard ceremonies during my stay.) For starters, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek ruled over Taiwan for 30 years–from the end of World War II, when China won the island back from Japan, until 1975, when he died.

On guard at the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine.

But there’s more. As we know, the Qing Dynasty first colonized Taiwan in the 17th century. By the 20th century, the ethnic Chinese in Taiwan considered themselves Taiwanese, apart from the mainland Chinese. Back under Chinese control after World War II, the locals resented the heavy-handed control the mainlanders imposed. In 1947, a rebellion broke out. This situation wasn’t all that different from what was going on in the British colonies in America in the 1770s. But the outcome was vastly different.

The Drum Tower at the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine. Or wait, is it the Bell Tower? Well it’s one or the other.

The rebellion was brutally surpressed. In 1949–amid ongoing suspicions of the locals, on top of the chaos of the Nationalists’ retreat to Taiwan, accompanied by other refugees from the Communist takeover of China–the KMT imposed a brutal martial law. Martial law lasted for 38 miserable years until it ended in 1987. Not all that long ago. During that period of military control, a number of monuments were built to glorify the legacy of the KMT. The National Revolutionary Martyr’s Shrine of R.O.C. is one of them.

One of the guardian lions at the National Revolutionary Martyr’s Shrine.

The National Revolutionary Martyrs Shrine honors the memory of about 390,000 of the Republic of China’s war dead, starting with the Xinhai Revolution, whereby the Nationalists ended 2 millennia of dynastic rule. Nationalists who died in the Chinese Civil War make up the large share of the honored dead. Perhaps ironically, most of the dead honored here were mainlanders. Taiwanese were forced to fight for the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.

A bronze mural depicting the Battle of Shanghai, the 1st major battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. After over 3 months of battle, the Japanese captured Shanghai.

Directly opposite the Battle of Shanghai bronze mural, the Guangzhou Uprising bronze mural. The Guangzhou Uprising was one of the events that led to the revolution by which the Nationalists overthrew the Qing Dynasty and ended 2 millennia of dynastic rule over China.

The main hall at the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine holds spirit tablets for the almost 400,000 war dead being honored.

A bright miniature tree at the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine.

The Grand Hotel

In the early ’50s, Chiang Kai-shek decided that Taipei needed a grand hotel to lure foreign dignitaries. The Grand Hotel would incorporate traditional Chinese architecture to showcase Chinese heritage. Begun in 1952, it went through several expansions until it was finally completed in 1973. For me, it was just a short walk from the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine.

View of Taipei 101 from the Grand Hotel.

View of the pretty Dazhi Bridge from the Grand Hotel.

Taipei Confucius Temple

After lunch at the Grand Hotel, I took a ride on the hotel’s free shuttle bus to the nearest subway station. From the station, is was an easy walk to Taipei Confucius Temple.

I wish I could tell you the significance of these inscribed stones. But I thought they were worth a picture.

Whether it’s Mainland China or Taiwan, I still can’t get enough of these fantastic traditional Chinese architectural details.

A lovely ficus tree at Taipei Confucius Temple.

Dacheng Hall at Taipei Confucius Temple. I noticed right away that the temples in Taiwan seemed to incorporate more blue than I remembered seeing in China.

I wondered if the blue decoration was supposed to represent the sea, which might make sense for an island’s culture.

Taipei Confucius Temple’s remarkable octagonal caisson ceiling. The bats in the corners signify good fortune.

Dalongdong Baoan Temple

I didn’t have to go far to get from Taipei Confucius Temple to Dalongdong Baoan Temple. They’re directly across the street from each other. Dalongdong Baoan Temple is a Taoist Chinese folk religion temple.

I definitely did not see figures like this on the roofs of temples in China!

Painted figure on a door at Dalongdong Baoan Temple.

The main shrine of Baosheng Dadi, the Chinese deity that is worshipped at Dalongdong Baoan Temple.

A slightly different view of the shrine to Baosheng Dadi.

Shilin Night Market

After I got done admiring two of Taipei’s most spectacular temples, I walked back to the subway station. This time, I actually went into the station and got on board. I was headed to Taipei’s most famous night market (out of many), where I took more pictures and had dinner.

Everything’s for sale at Shilin Night Market!

This isn’t what I had for dinner, but it makes for quite the display.

I was surprised to come across a temple in the middle of Shilin Night Market. It’s the Shilin Cixian Temple, dedicated to the goddess Mazu.

I guess being in the middle of a major market, Cixian Temple is a little more commercial-looking than your typical temple.

More Taiwan-style detail at the gate outside Shilin Cixian Temple.

No, this isn’t what I had for dinner! It’s quite a sight though, isn’t it?

Well, that was quite a day of sightseeing considering I had just flown in that morning from San Francisco, far across the Pacific. I took the subway back to the little hostel. My room was ready now. It was a pretty basic room, which was just fine for me. I shared a bath with one other room. There was a couple in the room the 1st couple nights. I had the bath and the little corner of the hostel to myself the rest of my stay there. You can be sure I was ready to crawl into bed that 1st night. A whole new adventure was waiting for me the next morning.

[Factual information is primarily gathered from Wikipedia, so you know it must be true.]