Walking into Time Machine : One of The Oldest Towns , Lukang Old Street in Changhua
My friends from Guatemala decided to travel the west coast of Taiwan. At the third night they were staying at my home in Taichung. The next day we woke up so early just to take the bus to train station. I remembered the last time I went to Lukang, was with my family. All I remembered was antique houses with red brinks, it showed the retrospective look of Taiwan. So I decided to go back to this town with the old-time delights of Taiwan.
Lukang used to be an important trading port during the Qing Dynasty, it was the second largest city after Tainan. Due to the silting of the harbor, which, in turn to led the decline of this town. However, Lukang's historical buildings had the best preserved compare to Tainan (Anping) and Taipei (Wanhua).
In order to be there as early as possible, me and my friends took the bus 9018 from Taichung Rear Station. In a short period of time, we got there within an hour. As we slowly walked inside the street, all of the sudden, we saw the transformation scene from 2015 to 1845. So this is how it looked like 200 years ago.
The small vendors were everywhere. My friends had never seen so many Taiwanese traditional houses so we strolled around and enjoyed the sunny afternoon, With amazed, we heard the sound that we seldom heard before, traditional Chinese instrument were played by two wisdom old men.
We walked into different shops, and this one was my favorite. I asked the old lady from the shop, she said this building already has 200 of history. And this was not the only one!It sells lots of traditional Taiwanese/Chinese goods from chopsticks to incense prepared from sandalwood. As you can see, every structure of this house was made by woods.
After half an hour, some vendors introduced us the temples in this town. Lukang Tianhou Temple and Lukang Longshan Temple were two must-visited spots. Tianhou Temple was right inside the street. Longshan Temple was the other side, so we walked around 15 mins to get there.
Lukang Longshan Temple
Longshan Temple owes an essential role in Taiwan history. People worship Mercy Buddha (觀世音菩薩) in Lukang Longshan Temple. Also, Lugang Longshan Temple was resereved the most completed one among all the Longshan Temple in Taiwan.
Compare to other temples with colorful features, this temple shows us that it did not need the colors to show its rich history, The delicate woodcarvings were breathtaking,
Lanterns in Lukang
The lanterns in Lukang was one of the most essential part of this town! My friend Kathy was looking for lanterns to decorate her house in Miami. We couldn't find anything she wanted in the street. But after a long walk, we found a traditional Taiwanese shop with tons of thousands of lanterns hanging in and out of the shop! We were pleasantly surprised of the scene in front of us.
The master was extremely kind, he welcomed us with Spanish "Bienvenido"!
What you want on the lantern, he will be able to finish the beautiful art pieces.
You can look for the info on the website :
1. http://linker.tw/folklanterns/
2. http://www.evj.com.tw/
How to get to Lukang?
1. from Taichung rear station : Bus 9018
2. from Taichung High Speed Railway Station : Lugang Shuttle Bus
3. Take the train to Chonghua Train Station > Take the bus in front of the train station
I really enjoyed Lukang,and not at all for the reasons I had expected. Especially when you learn your own culture and also share with foreign friends. I highly recommanded to bring your friends to enjoy the atmosphere of the traditional Taiwanese lif style. With rich history, art and stories. Imagin how it was like 200 years ago! Let's go back time...
