Changhua

Once an important commercial area, Yaolin Street and Putou Street are some of the oldest streets in Lukang. Before the Qing dynasty, Lukang was a bustling port closest to China’s coastal cities than any other ports in Taiwan. For those who traveled across the sea to immigrate to Taiwan or simply to do business, Lukang was always their best option to enter the island. This modest little port town soon became a major metropolis that facilitated the trade relationships between central Taiwan and China. Immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong settled here and started to build up all kinds of shophouses along these narrow, winding streets. In recent years, the local government has taken action to preserve this century-old street and bring it back to life. Full of nostalgia, Yaolin Street and Putou Street are paved with red bricks and flagstones, allowing visitors to travel down the time tunnel and back in time to revisit the splendid lives that our ancestors have lived in the past.

As Lukang developed around the port, in the early years a significant number of workers could be spotted loading and unloading goods, while businessmen gathered to purchase the newly arrived products. However, as time went by, the continued silting of the harbor led to the decline in the importance of Lukang as a port. Today, no ships can be seen around the port anymore, but myriads of eateries, handicraft shops and traditional workshops continue to boom. A wealth of historic sites are also to be found in this quaint little town. For example, Xinzu Temple (新祖廟) is the only official temple that is dedicated to Mazu and was built by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty. Lukang Assembly Hall (公會堂), also known as Lukang Cultural Center, is where the Japanese colonizers made policy announcements. Half-Sided Well (半邊井) tells a heartwarming story of neighbors helping other neighbors by sharing half of their own well with those who suffered from a lack of water.

While in Lukang, you should never leave without taking a nice stroll along Yaolin Street and Putou Street. It can be crowded during weekends though. But if you are thirsty during the walk, be sure to find a tea shop and have a iced cup of sour prune drink (酸梅湯) to sip the heat away.

Taiwan is renowned for a wealth of temples. Each of them is a local center of faith and living folk art museum whose collections include exquisite stone carvings and elaborate wood decorations. If you are keen for a cultural and artistic experience, Lukang Mazu Temple in Lukang is especially not to be missed. First established in 1725, Lukang Mazu Temple underwent extensive renovations and repairs during the Japanese Colonial Era and after the takeover of Taiwan. Only the rear hall remains as intact as ever, where the precious stone carvings preserved from the Qing dynasty are kept.

Upon entering the front hall, you will soon be amazed by the elaborately carved stone windows and wooden beams that greet you with their vibrant beauty, grace and rich cultural heritage. In the main hall, the intricate stone carvings depict the ancient stories of Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國演義) — the artistic significance is unarguable. Above the shrine, you will find three wooden plaques given by Qing emperors with their seals placed right in the middle of the plaques. Venerating the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝), the rear hall was constructed with pillars adopting five-clawed dragon designs. As ancient Chinese emperors were identified as the sons of dragons, the five-clawed dragon was therefore used as a symbol of imperial power.

Born as Lin Mo-niang (林默娘) in Fujian around 960 CE, Mazu is commonly worshipped by fishermen and sailors as the sea goddess who protects people's lives during their journeys at sea. The worship of Mazu began around the Ming dynasty, and now her followers are scattered all around southern China and Southeast Asia. Lukang was once a thriving port in central Taiwan, where most residents relied primarily on trading and fishing, and the Mazu Temple of course became the most incense-choked temple in town. When the very first of Taiwan's largest rebellion broke out, the Qing general Fu Kang-an (福康安) was sent to suppress the armed insurrection with a force of 20,000 soldiers. After his mission was accomplished, the general received the support from Qianlong Emperor (乾隆皇帝) and started to build up Lukang Mazu Temple to celebrate her blessings during the voyage at sea.

From the first to the third lunar month, myriads of pious worshippers flood to Lukang Mazu Temple from every corner of the island to celebrate Mazu’s birthday. Parades are often involved, and the statue of Mazu will be carried around to patrol the neighborhood. If you happen to be in Lukang during this time of the year, don’t miss out on the pilgrimage! As many night markets in Taiwan have sprung up around temples, which makes a lot of sense if you consider the temple as a community gathering spot that has always had snack vendors outside, and some of them therefore grew into full-blown snack markets or night markets. Around Lukang Mazu Temple, you will find myriads of traditional Taiwanese eateries dishing out oyster omelettes (蚵仔煎), vermicelli (麵線糊), sweet-and-sour plum juice (酸梅湯), steamed buns, mung bean cakes (綠豆糕) and many more.

A lot of tourist fishing ports could be found along coast of Taiwan. People could see how fish hauls be unloaded, purchase the freshest ingredients and taste all kinds of seafood snacks. The remote Wanggong Fishing Port attracts numerous visitors during weekends for several reasons: a beautiful lighthouse, massive windmills, safe beach and on-site oyster picking in lagoon. Fangyuan Lighthouse (芳苑燈塔) in black-and-white pattern is the youngest lighthouse in Taiwan. It was built in 1983 and opened to public since then. About 10 windmills are set by the sea here. While some people find it mismatched to the scene, many still love to take their time to the seaside and admire these windmills. As a fishing port require a solid foundation to build with, public might hardly fulfill their desire on visiting a fishing port and stepping on the beach at once. However, Wanggong has an extensive area for kids to play with water. The best part, after all, is going to lagoon by farm vehicle or, if lucky, on back of cow. You could experience the job of oyster picker. If you are clumsy or rather not to get dirty, seafood restaurants aside are waiting for your order.

Located on the hill 74 meters above sea level, the 24-meter-high Great Buddha Statue of Baguashan used to be one of the biggest Buddha statues in Asia upon its completion in 1961. The interior is separated into six different floors, where visitors are allowed to climb the steps to reach the very top of the great statue. Each floor contains a series of life-size statues that tell the story of the Buddha as well as his path to supreme.

The Great Buddha Temple (大佛寺) behind the statue was built in the style of an ornate palace in 1972. The large temple is quite a rarity in Taiwan as it combines Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian beliefs into one single community. The first floor is dedicated to the greatest sage and teacher Confucius, the second floor enshrines Guan Yu (the Taoist God of War), and the third floor practices Buddhism and venerates Gautama Buddha as the primary deity. The golden-faced statue of Guan Yu and his sacred weapon that weighs 64kg are especially worth your attention. Besides, there are two 9-floor pagodas on both sides of the temple that serve as columbaria.

Never mind if you are not religious at all. At the front of Great Buddha is Changhua’s highest point and a great spot to stand — on one side you have the great statue, and on the other you have an excellent panorama of the city. On weekends, many locals come here to enjoy the golden sunset and wait for the lighted water fountains that "dance" to music each day and night.

In Taiwan, there are in total five temples named Longshan, including that one in Lukang. Lukang Longshan Temple is the largest temple in Lukang, whose founding year is unavailable, but most of the structures were completed by 1831. It is also believed to be Taiwan’s most well-preserved Fujianese style architecture from the Qing dynasty. Owing to its architectural, artistic and historical significance, Lukang Longshan Temple has been named a national historic site and one of the most beautiful temples in Taiwan.

Caissons can be commonly seen in traditional temples, but Lukang Longshan Temple is particularly noted for its intricate caisson, which fully demonstrates the skillful craftsmanship back then. It is also the oldest and largest existing caisson in Taiwan. This wood structure was precisely calculated, and craftsmen managed to sustain the whole ceiling without using a single nail. The caisson ceiling not only acts as a resonance chamber but also helps ward off evil spirits.

Lukang Longshan Temple enshrines Guanyin as the primary deity in the main hall, while Dragon King and Wind God are venerated in the rear hall. Every Dragon Boat Festival, the temple hosts a series of celebrations to pray to the Dragon King, who is said to be the dispenser of rain, for favorable weather and good harvest. In 1999, a devastating earthquake struck the center of the island, and Lukang Longshan Temple was severely damaged during the disaster. Thanks to the efforts of many experts in different fields, Lukang Longshan Temple has now been restored to its ancient glory.

In the small town of Lukang, there is a 100-meter-long fire lane with less than 70 cm at the narrowest point. It is so narrow that only a single person can pass it. A man could not pass a woman down the narrow inner passageway without her breasts brushing against him, hence the comical name Molu Lane (Breast Touching Lane). A true gentleman would always wait for a lady to pass first, so the Breast Touching Lane is also known as the Gentleman Lane (君子巷). However, in the early years, men and women should keep sufficient physical distance, so ladies alway avoided this narrowest alley in Lukang.

There is another theory about the origin of Breast Touching Lane. As cold winds blow down from Mongolia every September, people had to build houses close to each other so as to protect against the chill winds prevalent at this time of year. Besides, Lukang was a prosperous port town, where every inch of land was as expensive as an ounce of gold. There was no way to construct grand mansions, resulting in these thin alleyways running behind the long narrow houses in Lukang.

In Changhua, this is the only railway roundhouse , or also called fan-shaped train garage (扇形車庫), remained in Taiwan, and there are no more than 3 of railway roundhouses still in use in the world (the rest two are in Mexico). Changhua Rail Roundhouse was built in 1922, and its purpose was providing a space for engineers maintaining & repairing locomotives or parking space for long-distance-traveling locomotives. For this reason, it was also called “locomotive hotel”.

Today there are two old steam engines, CK101 and CK124, located in the garage, and it is also used as a maintenance depot for diesel and electric trains. As train accessing garage, the platform spins to the right direction and link the railway between inside and outside. You can witness how locomotives are stored in old fashion way.

Lukang is home to a wealth of narrow, winding lanes, and Jinsheng Lane (金盛巷) is the best preserved among all, therefore known as Nine Turns Lane.

It is believed that these thin, crooked alleyways were designed to function as a natural windbreak in September when chill winds blow down from Mongolia and to confuse pirates who were very likely to get lost in a maze of turns. Another legend has it that evil spirits can only walk straight, so these turns become their biggest nightmares.

While you take a stroll down this charming Nine Turns Lane, there are two historic sites especially worth a visit. Shiyi Hall (十宜樓), where local literati used to hang out, is now only left with an intriguing passageway for people to pay homage. Remembrance Hall (意樓) once housed the largest trading company in Lukang, and there stands a starfruit tree by the wall, which tells a sad love story. Why not have a chat with the owner of the pineapple cake shop within and find out what it is all about?