Southern Taipei

Day 3 was my 2nd day touring around central Taipei. And considering that I flew into Taipei in the morning on Day 1, this was my 1st full day in central Taipei. And really, it was my only full day in central Taipei. When you think about all the ground I covered on Day 1, you can bet that Day 3 was a very full day.

Elephant Mountain

The 1st destination of the day was Elephant Mountain. The trail up Elephant Mountain, reached by a brief walk from the subway, is short (about 15 minutes) but very steep. So I got drenched in sweat much earlier than I did on Day 2. Fortunately, it was my only strenuous exercise for the day.

As I think you can see, the short but difficult hike up Elephant Mountain was worth it to get this spectacular view of Taipei 101 and central Taipei.

I don’t really think you can blame me for snapping another shot of Taipei 101 when I came back down from my hike, can you?

After my morning mountain workout, on my way to my next destination, I was very grateful for Taipei’s air-conditioned subway stations.

National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall was built on the order of Chiang Kai-shek to honor Sun Yat-sen, the Father of the Republic of China. Chiang ensured that the memorial incorporated traditional Chinese design elements.

*Root* depicts an old soldier who used to tell the children at Sun Yat-sen’s elementary school about historical resistance to the Chinese dynastic system. This history inspired Sun Yat-sen to overthrow 2 millennia of imperial rule over China. This sculpture is a replica of the original, which is Sun Yat-sen’s village of birth in mainland China,

Sun Yat-sen is relaxing out by the garden.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen sits here in a more formal setting.

On guard in the main hall. It’s almost time for another changing of the guard.

This is unexpected! Stamps attempting to indicate that Sun Yat-sen and Abraham Lincoln were kindred spirits in democracy. I’ll leave it up to you as to whether that’s a bit of a stretch.

Time for the 2nd changing-of-the-guard of my trip.

Maokong Gondola

After watching the changing of the guard at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, I was off on the subway, heading out to Taipei Zoo. But I wasn’t going to the zoo. I was going to board the nearby Maokong Gondola. I was really excited about doing some sightseeing by gondola. My 1st stop was supposed to be the Chih Nan Temple, a mountainside Taoist temple with great views. From there, it was on to the tea-growing area of Maokong, where I’d experience Taipei’s tea culture.

But the weather gods had other plans. There would be no Maokong Gondola adventure for me on this trip.

Sadly for me, inclement weather forced the Maokong Gondola to stop running. Heavy winds and the possibility of lightning were serious concerns. I waited a while to see if the weather would change, but no luck. It was back to the center of town for me.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

If there’s a grand Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, you know there’s got to be a grander Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, right? But no, Chiang didn’t built it himself. It was built after his death in 1975.

A view through the gate to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

Adjacent to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is the National Theater. Directly opposite is its twin the National Concert Hall. They were built in the ’80s when the Kuomintang decided to create a cultural area along with the Memorial Hall.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is one of the symbols of Taipei and Taiwan.

Chiang sits in the marble hall on the upper level of the Memorial Hall.

It’s that time again! The 3rd and final changing of the guard of my trip, and the 2nd one on Day 3.

Decorating Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall’s inner dome, the white sun in a blue sky, which is the emblem of the Republic of China, also seen on the flag of Taiwan.

Wedding portrait of Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang Kai-shek.

Chiang’s 1972 Cadillac. He was a loyal Caddy man.

A lovely portrait of Chiang and Madame Chiang. Does anyone remember seeing Madame Chiang Kai-shek on the cover of *Time* at the Chinese Historical Society of America in San Francisco? It’s pretty amazing that she died in New York at 105 in 2003.

Looking back from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to the grand gate and on the left, the National Theater, and on the right, the National Concert Hall.

Lungshan Temple

I visited 2 of Taipei’s most fantastic temples on Day 1. It was 1 more on Day 3. Lungshan Temple is a temple for Chinese folk religion, with Buddhist elements.

Does your temple have waterfalls? Lungshan Temple does.

I mean, seriously, how cool is Lungshan Temple?

Spectacular caisson ceiling at Lungshan Temple.

I saw absolutely nothing like this on my trip to China. (Granted, I went to East and North China. This is possibly a style imported from South China.)

The main hall of worship at Lungshan Temple.

Why wouldn’t I take another picture of the roof dragons at Lungshan Temple.

The Fool Holding Up The Sky. In this case, he and his partners are holding up the cover of the incense receptacle.

While I was inside Lungshan Temple, something caught my eye. I noticed people–primarily women, if I remember correctly–tossing things to the floor, examining them closely, and then doing it again. It’s something I could find very little about online. Anyone can request a set of 2 of these items. They were wooden blocks shaped like crescent moons. One side is flat, one side is rounded. The person asks the gods for guidance on a personal issue. Then the moon blocks are tossed. I watched while people checked to see which side the blocks landed on. They could be showing 2 flat sides up, 2 rounded sides up, or 1 of each. The outcome would give you a response to your issue. I guess it’s like a Taiwanese version of the Magic 8-Ball. I noticed that the people using them were very focused on what they were doing. This was serious business. No fun and games.

Taipei 101

From Lungshan Temple, I traveled by subway across town to Taipei 101. Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world from 2004 until 2009, when it was overtaken by Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Appropriately, Taipei 101 has 101 floors.

View across Taipei from the observation deck on the 88th and 89th floors.

Taipei 101 has the world’s largest tuned mass damper. A tuned mass damper is a pendulum that stabilizes the building in high winds and earthquakes. This pendulum hangs from the 92nd floor to the 87th floor. It weights 728 tons!

Well, despite the fact that I had to skip riding the Maokong Gondola up to the tea plantation area, it was still quite the full day. Don’t you think so? Coming up, the 1st day trip of my trip.

[Factual information is primarily gathered from Wikipedia, so you know it must be true.]