Temples

For religious people in Taiwan that are not Christian, I think they pick and choose from three different beliefs: Buddhism, Taoism and Confuciusism.  I think they just pick the pieces that make sense for them. There isn't the dogmatism that Western religions insist on.

The Buddhists are everywhere on the streets of Taipei, that there are so many must be because Taipeinians are very generous. I doubt there are many Buddhist beggars in mainland China. This is the Buddhist symbol, notice that it turns in the opposite direction of the Nazi cross.

I'm not sure what Buddhist believe but it has something to do with be reincarnated after death. But the good news is that it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

There are at least two famous Taoist temples in Taipei. The Long Shan temple

and the Bao An temple.

Both temples look about the same to me but the Long Shan temple is much more busy than the Bao An temple. I think that is because the Long Shan temple is 1 block away from the MRT station and the Bao An temple is about a half mile from the nearest MRT station.

Another good thing about the Bao An temple is that it is next to the Confucius temple, similar to the Confucius temple in Tainan .

http://tainanchineseclass.blogspot.com/2009/11/confucius-temple.html

Customs

There are some customs in Taiwan that are in transition. But like any island there have been forces and immigrations pushing Taiwan in different directions. Like most Chinese cultures, the attitude towards women are protective and confining. Like this:

But at the same time there are plenty of sex shops and prostitution is legal.

http://mikeintaipei.blogspot.com/2012/03/sex-stores.html

But I liked this store, they don't just sell "sex toys" but "sex tools"! I like tools but I didn't go in and check out the tools.

Taiwanese seem so hard headed about prices, efficiency, recycling, saving, ...
it always strikes me as strange that they can be so superstitious. But fengshui,
fortune tellers, divination, ... are all big. For a mathematician, I always cringe when I see numerology stuff.

How about the medicinal value of magnets.

Sports are not big in Taiwan(not like in the US), so I was surprise with this announcement of city wide competition. (In Taiwan, I thought sports was just a distraction from the real business of education: preparing for tests.)

Some Taiwanese say that Bing Lang is part of Taiwanese culture, but that's crap.

http://tainanchineseclass.blogspot.com/2010/02/bing-lang.html

Like many cultures, women marry into other families so when the inheritance is divided up it just goes to the males in the family. But this tradition is changing in Taiwan, and women are now included in the inheritance. But there is a further twist on this old tradition in old Taiwan. Not only did the sons get an equal share but also the son of the oldest son(a grandson) also would get an equal share. (As the oldest son of the oldest son, I believe this is an excellent custom.)

Cranes

Taipei, 200 years ago was just of ferryman's shack on the Danshui river. But now it is  a city of 2.7 million people. During the Japanese Colonial period of 1985 to 1945, Taipei was built up with typical Japanese meticulous planning. After WWII, during the Chiang Kai-Shek dictatorship, there was no urban planning at all. Because Chiang's KMT thought they were all going to retake the mainland there was no need to put much effort into Taiwan. No reason to plan for Taiwan, if you think your future is on the mainland. After Chiang's death in 1975, Taiwanese could openly say that their future was here on this island and they should plan that future. But even then, martial law wasn't lifted until 1987, Taiwan suffered 38 years under martial law, only Syria has been under martial law longer.

To move stuff in this crowded city requires cranes, they are amazing to watch.

Up on the roof, (as the song goes).

And in construction.

Construction details

Mobile cranes

These cranes are actually escape devices for tall buildings, I can just seen scare people reading the user manual as the build burns.

Tiles

The climate in Taipei is hot and humid now, mold grows well. So tiles are a good decorative material that can they be cleaned easily. But using tiles can be colorful and fun. Here's the ones that caught my eye.

Updates

Library Countdown: 49 visited, 8 to go

Here are some additional files that came in after the main blog entry.

Accidents

http://mikeintaipei.blogspot.com/2012/04/accidents.html

It seems a bit ghoulish to take these pictures of motorcycle accident remains, but this recent one is at the same intersection of one of the past motorcycle accidents. I hope this guy was wearing his helmet with the chin strap secured.

English gone crazy.

http://mikeintaipei.blogspot.com/2012/01/lost-in-translation.html

This sign in Neihu of a mattress company says:

"Exceptionally Beautiful and Extravagant
Perfectly Supporting each of your movements in you sleep and easing
your  ????at cry for comfort with meticulous care."

I'm not sure is the store is unbeatable or the players are unbeatable.

We all should have time at the "Clear Mind Mental Clinic."

Fa Lun Gong

http://mikeintaipei.blogspot.com/2012/03/protests-in-taiwan.html

These are the protesters in front of the National Palace Museum, it must tweak the mainlanders no end to see the illegal(in the mainland) Fa Lun Gong outside the best museum in the world of Chinese artifacts

Fallen Soldiers

http://mikeintaipei.blogspot.com/2011/12/sidewalk-sentinels.html

Another sentinel swept away.

Motorcycles that deserve time on a blog page for their longevity.

Umbrellas

http://mikeintaipei.blogspot.com/2012/02/forgetting.html

It hadn't rained in days but this was the umbrella stand at the used bookstore. Does this mean readers are the most forgetfull?

JianGuo Flower and Jade Markets

On Saturday and Sunday, in Taipei, the JianGuo Flower and Jade Markets are held under the JianGuo Expressway near the RenAi intersection.

I think that all the small shops throughout Taipei show up with a booth at these markets. There are hundreds of each.

News flash! Orchids grow well in Taiwan!

But they have other things to like seeds, gardening equipment, cut flowers, bonzais, ...

The Jade Market has more than just jade, like artifacts, beads, fossils, tea, ....
They don't like taking photos, so you'll just have to just go yourself.

Taroko Gorge

Taroko Gorge is a tourist site in the middle of Taiwan of a highway that was cut East-West across the mountains of Taiwan. It was built by the soldiers of Chiang Kai-Shek's defeated army in the 1950s. Although some 300 soldiers died building it, more than 2000 men died, they just never recorded the name of the prisoners who died. The initial section is marble and the highway was mostly cut out without mechanized tools.

And sometimes a tunnel.

All along the Highway whether you look up or down there are scenic views.

There are hot springs, I remember this one from almost 30 years ago.

And along the way there are bridges, temples and gates.

Most of these pictures were taken by Mary and Carrie.