Guguan
Sarah back in the Space Gear

We leave Guguan (谷關) early in the morning to insure that we will get a good rest in Taipei before our early morning departure for China the next morning. Arriving early in Taipei on a Saturday, The women go to the weekend craft market as Jim and Philip pick up left bags at Pristine and return the Space Gear before rejoining at a coffee shop near the weekend jade market under the Jianguo expressway. After walking through the jade market we take the subway to Longshan temple.

Lunch at the Italian Job in Yong Kang
Da-an Forest Park
Shopper team

Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園), opened in 1994, covers twenty-six hectares (65 acres) in central Taipei. The park has grasslands, trees and flowers as well as a bamboo forest an open-air theatre for performance arts and recreational areas. There are two underground parking lots for hundreds of cars under the park.

Weekend Jade Market 建國假日玉市

The Weekend Jade Market, under the Jianguo elevated expressway (建國南路高架橋) in east Taipei, is one of the largest jade, gem, and semi-precious stone markets in the world. On Saturdays and Sundays over 900 vendors are at their tables selling jade and stone wares in every form of jewelry and acoutrement, as well as Taoist, Buddhist (primarily Tibetan), and even Christian inspired crafts and art, products of artists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China, Nepal, and from across Asia. It is an intensly active market with a din of voices making deals coming from every table in the open air market.

Taipei subway

The Taipei subway offers a convenient, reliable, clean and efficient way to get around Taipei.

Longshan Temple

roof detail

Longshan Temple (龍山寺) was built in 1738 by settlers from Fujian, China. It served as a place of worship and a gathering place for the Chinese settlers. The temple was damaged over the years by numerous earthquakes and fires and even bombed by US warplanes in the spring of 1945. Like most temples in Taiwan, the Temple honors a mixture of Buddhist (Guanshiyin - 觀世音菩薩), Taoist, and folk deities such as Matsu (媽祖). The temple is richly decorated with bronze dragon poles and intricate wood sculptures and caligraphy verse. Lungshan is seen as emblematic of Taiwanese classical architecture.

Longshan Temple Night Market

bargaining
Allison
Sarah
back at the subway station

There are several lively night markets streets in the neighborhood of Longshan temple.