Category: Huaxi Street Night Market

My next destination after a worthy walk in Ximending was Central part of Wanhua District where more historical sites are located such as Longshan Temple, Bopiliao Historical Block, Qingshan Temple and Taipei Jen Chi Hospital. Below are the continuation of my adventures as I travel in Taipei continues.

While looking at the map, another temple caught my interest to see, and that is Longshan Temple. To reach the temple I have two options, one is to walk from Ximending or take a train to Longshan Temple Station if I take Bannan Line (or Blue Line in Taipei Metro) and its next station after Ximen Station. Because I had limited time and still wanted to reserve my energy for other walks that I plan to do, I decided to take train. When I get off the station, I found myself in Mengxia (Mengjia) Park or Bangka Park where quite number of people having laid back time and enjoying the weekend. While looking around the park and checking where Longshan Temple is, I found a group of old Taiwanese playing a chess like board game. I am not really sure if it’s really a traditional chinese chess, so I leave that item as it is.

Longshan Station Entrance/Exit

Senior Citizen playing chess like board game.

Chess like board game

Bangka Park (Mengxia [Mengjia] Park)

I continued walking and looking around a bit hoping to see interesting stuff along the way to the temple. Before I found the temple, I saw Longshan fountain that people are enjoying in the park. Based on history, the park was a large pool before it converted to a park in 1924.

Longshan Fountain

Vicinity of Bangka Park

[Bangka] Mengxia (Mengjia) Longshan (Lungshan) Temple

The temple has so many names, here I will use the common one which is Longshan Temple. The temple is the most well-known temple in Taiwan which built in 1738, though tested by natural disaster for a long time, it was damaged heavily during World War II and since then, it was restored and keeps on renovating. The temple is one of the largest and oldest in the country.

Main Entrance

Outer Courtyard

Main Hall

Longshan Temple is a 2nd grade municipal heritage site which important gods from Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism are enshrined. The temple has at least 100 gods which one of the reason why there are lots of visitors come to see the temple.

Bopiliao Historical Block

After wandering inside the Longshan Temple, I found a nearby historical block which is Bopiliao. It is block located in the corner of Kanding Road and Guangzhou Street with some portion of it are still on bricks and some looks been restored as it’s already concreted with cement. The block is great place to see what is it like on streets and shops during Qing Period, Japanese occupation and early post wars. The building is a combination of Fujian and Baroque style which quite unique as it has fusion of two different architectural concepts, that exist in the block.

[Bangka] Qingshan Temple (Qingshangong)

Another temple that I had a chance to see though I wasn’t able to go inside of it was Qingshangong or Qingshan Temple. The temple is categorized a 3rd grade municipal heritage site and a home of god King Qingshan. One of the festival held in Wanhua called “Great Bangka Sacrificial Ceremony” is to celebrate the birth of deity King Qingshan and the festival itself is one of the “Taipei’s Big Three Temple Fairs.”

Road photos on my way looking for Qingshan Temple

Qingshan Temple

Huaxi Street Night Market

My walk continues in the nearby area of the temple then I passed a night market called Huaxi Street Night Market. Historically, it is the first tourist night market in Taiwan. It has uniqueness on its own as it sells local delicacies that cannot be found in other night markets. The market is also one of the 3 famous street markets that surrounds the area that everyone can enjoy while visiting the place.

Huaxi Street Night Market

Taipei Jen-Chi Hospital

A historical hospital building has been declared a municipal heritage site and considered as Taiwan’s Earliest Psychiatric Hospital.

Taipei Jen-Chi Hospital

Guangzhou Street near  Longshan Temple just after crossing Xiyuan Road

So far, I am enjoying my walks in Wanhua district. As I am checking the map that I am holding at that time I decided to leave the district and visit another, Xinyi District, which is both government and financial district of Taipei, then a bit of Daan District. Until then.