TAIWAN: Temples and Mountains

Taiwan is a small island. It is about 500 kilometers from north to south and 100 — from west to east.
Practically all western coast represents a huge urbanized zone. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish, where one city comes to an end and another begins. But should we move from the coast, slightly towards the central regions, rural areas with rice fields and palm groves instantly begin to appear. And a little more further to the east — the rivers, lakes and mountain ridges.
Our travel begins in Taipei. Exactly here, in the capital of Taiwan, there is an international airport — the air gates of the country.
There are no more than one or two historical sights here. But the existing ones are treated with big respect. Temples have remained best of all. Both Buddhist and Confucian. All, small and even absolutely tiny, family temples as well as the cult complexes with pagodas, pavilions and courtyards, occupying huge territories.
The grandiose memorial Chiang Kai-shek in the center of Taipei, near the Presidential palace, the National Theater and the Concert hall reminds of the Lincoln's memorial in Washington.
The first stop is the city of Zhanghua.
In the park, on the mountain of "Eight Trigramms" or in Chinese "Baguashans", they have built a grandiose temple complex.
Lukang was a seaport since ancient times. Therefore, it is not surprising that the main temple is dedicated not to Confucius or even to Buddha, but to the Chinese goddess of the sea — Matzu. However, she is not the only one here. The temple is filled with images of numerous Chinese gods and spirits. Literally, everyone will find his/her god patron here.
The Sun Moon Lake is one of the largest tourist centers of Taiwan.
The National Nature park of Alishan, occupies the territory of about 400 square kilometers, near the Yushan Mountain — the highest mountain top of the island.
Tainan — the fourth largest city of Taiwan, and one of the oldest in the country. In the second half of the 18th century, it was the capital of the Dongning State.
The City of Kaohsiung, with a population of about three million people — is the largest port and industrial commercial center of the southern part of Taiwan. It is rightly regarded as the southern capital of the country.
On the territory of the Chengqing Lake, there are several islands connected with the coast by bridges.
The travel around the Island of Taiwan is coming to an end in Kaohsiung. And the project "World without Visas" continues. Ahead are the new travels across the countries, visa-free for Russians.
Narration was done by Frederic Moretti (fredericmorettimusic@gmail.com)

Видео TAIWAN: Temples and Mountains канала Киноклуб Валерия Шанина