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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Yongle Street 永樂街, Changhua City

Changhua's shopping street


Yongle Street 永樂街 with the flowery translation "Forever Happy Street" is Changhua City's famous shopping street (find it on this map). Some also call it Yongle Stret Night Market, however, the street is interesting to visit during the day as well. For me, it did not impress me that much as Zhongli's Zhongping Road, because it's not purely reserved for pedestrians. There are just too many scooters whizzing by, making it inconvenient for those who want to take a slow stroll. You can find a few interesting shops and a quieter area near a beautiful old temple - these were my two highlights. But what I missed were cafés, where I could sit down and take a rest. Instead, most shops sell clothes. There are few tea shops in the area, but when it comes to food, I haven't seen anything interesting. That doesn't mean it's not there, though. If you know of some good restaurants in Yongle Street, let me know in the comments.

Check my photos of Yongle Street from January 2012:

We entered from the Zhongshan Street and saw this long scooter parking space.

When looking back: Scooters on the right, shops on the left.

Posters are covering many facades here.

A busy intersection.

Two ojisans on scooters.

Big entrance inviting customers.

Colorful snacks lured a young couple.

Looking back.

The usual browsing.

A mobile shop. I've seen one with branded watches at a bargain price.

Scooters lined up.

Fried taro balls near the temple.

The temple is located in the middle of the long street. The most quiet part of the area.

A look back again. Taiwan is Scooterland.

We've seen this gate when we exited Yongle Street.

This street is definitely not a must see spot in Changhua City, but it kinda reflects its predominant atmosphere, which is a mix of refurbished and run down, old and new, traditional and modern. I suppose if shopping for clothes is your aim, you won't regret coming here. But then again, I'm not too sure.

[MAP][My TAIWAN TRAVEL page][TAIWAN][All photos by MKL, 2012]

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Bagua Mountain, Big Buddha, Changhua

Changhua's magical mountain


Bagua Mountain 八卦山 with the famous Big Buddha 八卦山大佛 on top is probably Changhua City's most visited site. With an altitude of 97m above sea level, the mountain visibly sticks out from the rest of the city, which spreads out on the plains of Western Taiwan. The iconic 26m tall Buddha, that protects Taiwan, has become one of the nation's landmarks, attracting foreign and domestic visitors alike. As an avid Taiwan enthusiast, I had to climb up here to see it for myself - and naturally, I was very curious about the famous Buddha statue overlooking the city. Below are some of my photos from that adventure, hope they can serve you as a reference for your own trip.

Tourist map of Bagua Mountain. Please click on it to enlarge.

Walking up Bagua mountain will take you around 15 min. The trail is not too steep, so even if you're out of shape like me, you will still be able to make it. We started the tour up at the intersection of Kongmen Road and Zhongshan Road Section II. There is a paifang (or Chinese arch) above the road. Once you cross that intersection, you walk through and voila - you're right below Bagua Mountain (see a map here). Then the climb begins.

This is where my Bagua Mountain hike begun.

A winding and paved trail leads up.

The higher you reach, the better the view on Changhua City below.

View over Changhua City

View on the northern Changhua City, still not fully up there.

Beautiful view on southwestern Changhua City.

View to southern Changhua City.

Once on top, you find yourself on a half-moon shaped observatory rail. You'll be able to enjoy Changhua City on one side and the Big Buddha on the other.

Nine Dragons Fountain

The Nine Dragons Fountain caught my eyes here.

The Big Buddha 八卦山大佛

And then I finally got a glimpse of the Big Buddha.

Since it was Spring Festival, a lot of visitors made it up here, too.

A lovely young lady taking photos. You can see the observatory rail on the left.

Closer to the meditating Buddha.

Not as majestic as the Tian Tan Buddha in Hong Kong, but still magnificent in his own way. Changhua's Buddgha has closed eyes and seems to be very contented.

A side view exposes his chocolate-like color. Looks like it wasn't always that color.

The area behind the sculpture is a small courtyard to the nearby Buddhist temple.

The Buddhist Temple

The multi-storey Buddhist temple surrounding the Big Buddha.

Buddha's back.

The temple features classical Chinese architecture.

The altar inside.

A pagoda nearby.

Yours truly MKL - just a shadow, though.

ROC fighter jet on display nearby.

When you go down, you'll pass by this wonderful pavilion.

After we came back to Zhongshan Road, we decided to explore more of the central Changhua and wrap it up with a visit to one of the poplar night markets. In ,y next post you can read about Yongle Street, Changha's popular shopping street. There is of course much more to see on Bagua Mountain, but we haven't had time to explore the other parts of the mountain. All in all, you can spend a whole afternoon here, in case you just want to see the Buddha and head back, 1-2 hours should suffice.

[My TAIWAN TRAVEL page][TAIWAN][All photos by MKL, 2012]

Friday, February 24, 2012

Changhua City: First impressions

Taiwan's Buddha City


Changhua City 彰化市, the capital of Changhua County, is one of the biggest cities in Central Taiwan and something like a little sister to the much larger neighboring Taichung. Although commonly in its shadow, it does have some interesting spots, that Taichung city generally lacks. For one, there is the Bagua mountain with a famous 26m tall Buddha statue, that is know all over Taiwan and attracts a lot of visitors to the city throughout the year. In addition, one of the most impressive Confucius temples are found in the city, as well as some remaining buildings from the Qing dynasty and Japanese rule. Changhua is far from being a gem, but not as bad to be completely disregarded by avid city travelers.

I was always curious about this city and never had the chance to visit before. Usually I would just pass through on the train and see a few roof tops in the distance. When I first came out of the Changhua's main railway station, I was quite disappointed. My first thought was: Like Zhongli, just messier. But that's because the main station area is one of Changhau's worst parts. Once you walk inside the city center, the atmosphere becomes much more pleasant and the best part is below and on Bagua mountain, which features one of the best views in this part of Taiwan.

In this series of posts about Changhua City, I will introduce to you its most beautiful spots. Let's start with a walk from the main railway station to the Confucius temple and right below Bagua mountain. Please click on the links at the very bottom to read the next post.

Changhua Main Station 彰化車站

Skinny palm trees cover the old facade. Not an architectural masterpiece.

The symbol of Changhua City. Is it a hand? A rooster? A fallen angel?

The sky is very blue above Changhua.

This high-rise near the main station has seen its glory days a long while ago.

Central Changhua

Central part is rather small, with narrower lanes and lots of posters and banners.

An intersection in Changhua's center.

Yuanqing temple 元清觀

This lovely temple from the Qing dynasty dates back to 1763 (source).

The temple looks like new.

Confucius temple 彰化孔廟

This magnificent temple dates back to 1726.

There's no admission fee, just enter and soak in the atmosphere.

The main hall of the temple is probably the most beautiful historic site in the city.

This was truly the most impressive site in Changhua for me. Read more here>>

Walking further around the area, I found this small temple.

Food in Changhua 彰化美食

And then it was lunch time! My wife brought me to two of the most famous restaurants in the city. Changhua is famous for their unique bawan, as well as a noodle with a very curious name... have a look:

Ah Zhang's Bawan restaurant is one of the most famous restaurants in the city.

The whole area is full of hungry people, most are visitors from other parts of Taiwan.

And here it is: The famous Changhua bawan. It's very rich and unique in taste, most likely not to appealing to Western taste buds. My wife was not too impressed either.

Right next to it is the famous Cat and Mouse Noodle shop.

Although it's not cat and mouse meat balls, it's still a delicious bowl of noodles.

Butokuden 武德殿

This is a butokuden, a training hall for newly drafted Japanese soldiers.

The building is very well preserved.

Side view.

Piety temple 節孝祠

The piety temple is located right next to the butokuden.

It was behind a fence. I took this photo through the grills.

And then we finally headed to the Bagua mountain.

It was interesting to explore Changhua's central part. The temples were very impressive and the small tour, which we started at the main station, was worth the effort. More in my next post, where I will introduce Bagua mountain and the Great Buddha.

[My TAIWAN TRAVEL page][TAIWAN][All photos by MKL, 2012]