Friday 1 November, 2024

Last night the host of this guest house (Air BnB), texted Ralf and asked if he could bring us anything because of the Typhoon. Noodles, roast chicken, tea, coffee etc. We said we were o.k. as we had bought supplies to last us through the Typhoon.

In his text he told us there was a couple of things we could see in Beidou. A large temple called Dian’an, it represented the deity Mazu the goddess of the sea.

We didn’t really need another rest day, but we had no idea how the Typhoon would affect our planned route. As it happens we could have left this morning, although it is a little overcast and windy.

After breakfast this morning we went to find the temple.  Google maps told us we had arrived at the temple, 450 metres from our guest house. It was a little underwhelming. Oh well, we carried on walking around the neighbourhood and discovered another small temple. Then we found the Dian’an Temple, not underwhelming at all.

This can’t possible be the Dian An Temple. We carried on walking down the street.

No, this isn’t Dian An Temple either, but I liked the look of this happy lion.

We carried on walking down the street and found the Dian An temple. It was not underwhelming at all.

The temple is a Taoist temple dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu. The history of Dian’an Temple traces back to another temple in Dongluo known as Tianhou Temple. Sources disagree on when Tianhou Temple was founded (1684 or 1718), but the small temple was one of the first Mazu temples in southern Changhua and had a devout following. In 1806, Tianhou Temple was moved from Dongluo north to current-day Beidou, which had a higher elevation, and was renamed as Dian’an Temple. The current Dian’an Temple in Beidou is unique in that it contains a market in the rear hall. During the building’s construction, the temple lacked the funds to complete the building, so they allocated a space for market vendors for extra income to the temple. After damage in the 1999 Jiji earthquake, the market was refurbished and completed in 2016.

As I approached one of the tables of flowers, the smell of the lilies was very powerful. The flower offerings were beautiful and are representative of this area.

We try to be respectful of the worshippers as they go about their prayers. The caretakers encourage us to take photos and we are very grateful for that.

At the back of the temple is the food market and this fountain. The fountain is supposed to have special properties. If you poured it over money it may multiply, it can also purify body, car and house and remove bad luck and evil spirits.

On our way back to the apartment, we passed this massive Banyan Tree. It was really difficult to get the size and majesty of this tree. It was planted 300 years ago.

Beidou Giant Banyan – Big Pine Foot. 14 metres tall, the circumference of 7.8 to 10.7 meters. Covers an area of 380 m². Many years ago, businessmen traveling by bamboo rafts arrived on the shore at Beidou, they would walk to the Giant Banyan Tree and rest. It became a small gathering place, children to play and adults to take a break and chat.

We were going to go to the night market tonight, but it is only open on Thursday evenings. Tonight we will eat from one of the street vendors in the neighbourhood.

Tomorrow, we head to Chiayi about 55 kms.