Longshan Timple (Dragon Mountain Temple)

Today was another fun day. I got a new classmate. A girl named Jenny from Delaware. Her parents live in Hong Kong. Also, I decided to take a trip to a nearby temple, Longshan temple. It is a place of worship for  Buddhists, Taoists, and believers of a local deities.

The temple has an eye catching architectural design. It was built in the early 1700's by settlers from Southern China. It has been rebuilt multiple times due to earthquakes and a bombing during WWII. It still has a very ancient feel about it. .

Half of the fun was getting to the temple. The surrounding area is very Taiwanese. The people there do not speak Mandarin as much as they do the local dialect. It was very cool to see the little shops and street vendors with vegetables and fish. One man asked me if I wanted him to read my fortune. Not sure that I would want to know. Anyway, the outside of the temple is beautiful. My photography really doesn't do it justice.

The temple gate

A majestic waterfall outside the temple

The original entrance to the temple

Another waterfall

A bonsai tree out front

A side entrance to the temple

Another view of the waterfall

More views of the temple

I didn't take any pictures of the inside because I didn't think it would be appropriate. It was much more interesting than the outside though. There were lots of people praying and lighting incense. Around the different altars of the different deities people left packaged foods. I also noticed lots of people sitting around the sides reading sutras and  reciting mantras. There were people of all ages. It was really wonderful to experience the religion of the local people. I also liked learning more about the religious history, building upon my East Asian Buddhism history class. 

Other pictures

Like I promised last time, here is a picture of the inside of a subway car.

They are not to crowded and very clean. I even went to the main station today and was able to find my way around the different lines very easily.

Here is a picture of my neighborhood

This is one of the nicer buildings. You can also see at the end of the road the tall building, which is the side of my university. I live very close. I really lucked out at getting a convenient location close to everything I need.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Please post any comments,  suggestions, or questions. Until next time.