LONGSHAN TEMPLE

There is little left of the original temple built in 1638 by immigrants from Fujian in honor of Guanyin. The temple of Longshan has indeed been rebuilt three times. In 1815, he collapsed following an earthquake in 1867, a typhoon that he damaged him while he had just been restored and in 1945 he fell under allied bombs. The latter disaster severely deteriorated the whole with the exception of the Guanyin statue, which miraculously remained unscathed. The restoration undertaken by the greatest Taiwanese masters ended in 1957. The temple of Longshan or the Dragons mountain was baptized as a result of the many dragons that overcome its roof or winding around its pillars. They guarantee the protection of divinity. In any case, weather disasters have not attenuated the fervor surrounding this temple, perhaps the most famous of Taiwan, judging by the large number of visitors all year round. On the square facing the temple are old people. We play at Mah-jong, dance or pill it all and nothing, under the eye of passers-by. For the history that he embodies and the symbols he represents, the temple of Longshan is an unfailing place in Taipei, in the heart of a neighborhood that bears witness to what the city was a few decades ago, before the economic miracle, and which reborn timidly in favor of tourism and the interest shown by the Taiwanese. Wanais for things of the past.