Taiwan's Forbidden City

There are times when the mass metal box buildings of Taiwanese cities wear on me. Block after block, the design seems to have been more reactionary to the quick industrial overhaul of the country, and I long to get further out into the countryside to get a better feel of what the country used to be like before it became such an industrial powerhouse . . . back when times were more simple and slow.

The town of Lugang is a great place to immerse one's self in such instances. At the height of its glory during the Qing Dynasty, Lugang was one of the most powerful cities on the island as it served as an important port directly across from the mainland. Over time forces of nature contributed to its harbor silting up, and the golden days soon ended, leaving behind a beautiful vestige of China's imperial heritage. 

When Taiwanese gathered their post-industrial bearings and sought for a greater preservation of their heritage, Lugang became a sought-for location for artists, historians, and others who wanted to hold onto a piece of such an interesting past. Today one can walk through it's gorgeous miao (temple), meandering streets, and museums to gain a flavor of what life looked like 400 years ago here. This is one reason why it is used so often as a movie set for Chinese historical films. For someone like me who loves history, this is priceless. 

The logistics of getting from Yuanlin to Lugang was indeed tricky, and involved some quintessential Taiwanese experiences, such as a bus. I think this was a first for my kids. Fortunately for them, these buses were much nicer than the ones I rode during my mission. (I think those had truly been 1960's vintage).

Before exploring, we also decided to get some vittles. Apparently because of its coastal location, specialities such as oyster pancakes (sounds gross, but is actually quite good) and shrimp monkeys (see below) are synonymous with the location. The shrimp monkeys (i.e. mud shrimp) before they are fried are pictured below:

Nasty, right? Honestly, though, when they're breaded and fried it wasn't all that bad, although Jamin might say differently:

As always, the baby enjoyed his noodles. You should seem him eat these things. He smacks his lips and sucks them up faster than I can. It's hilarious to watch and whoever tries to control his consumption is in for a real battle:

After our refreshment :) we headed over to the famous Tianhou temple, by far one of the most spectacular miaos on the island. Roughly 400 years old, the workmanship was gloriously beautiful, and frankly these pictures cannot possibly do it justice, as every detail held graceful meaning. As with any Taiwanese temple, the smell of burning incense is ubiquitous with the scene. Then, when you step inside you look up and see this: 

And then look downward to see this:

As always, the kids got lots of attention from the locals, and even Buggas got to make new friends:

Though the ornate nature of the architecture might seem overkill, I can assure you that it actually felt remarkably balanced and graceful. The proportions, colors, and symmetry were remarkable, and I noticed that no matter what direction you looked, every view maintained great refinement in its design. To me it was an example of how older artists have so much to teach us. Many of the Chinese miaos I have seen before and since feel gaudy and kitsch in comparison with this one. Note the multiple courtyards that keep reaching back into the complex:

Every view is lovely:

I'd love to see the lanterns all lit up at night.

When the kids saw these doorways, they all cried out, it's MuLan's door!

Following our temple visit, we moved on to the pedestrian remnants of the town, replete with artisans and other edible delights. Note: at this point, I was unable to take practically any photographs since the baby was going berserk since he hadn't napped at all and was beyond exhausted. Had it not been for the fact I was one of the only white people there, I'm sure the locals would have believed I was kidnapping him. Sigh . . . Thankfully, Jamin came to the rescue:

After making it through the crowded Saturday masses, we wanted to visit the famous Nine-Turns Lane, which is often referred to the Breast Rubbing Lane, (when literally translated from the Chinese). It got its crazy name from the fact that it is so thin, that it often led to embarrassing encounters when more than one person tried to pass that way. Roads like this one functioned as a fire lane in what was a crowded, overbuilt city at the time. It also acted as a natural barrier against the coastal winds, (which I can testify personally can be very cold), as well as adding to the air circulation and bringing in more light. At its thinnest point it is less than 70 cm across. 

But, to get there we decided upon an easier form of transportation since the children's legs were tired:

Coco laughed the whole way, shouting out "Ni hao!" to anyone who would listen. 

Here is the infamous lane:

By the end, we were all cold, exhausted, and ready to go home. The baby in particular was beyond spent, but rather than sleeping because he was overtired, he screamed that much worse. It made for a very. long. ride. home. 

Once home and everyone was tucked into bed, however, I couldn't help but happily ruminate on the lovely things we saw that afternoon. My only regret is that were weren't able to make the visit work out for a longer stay.