The News Lens
Date: 2016/04/25
Translated by Olivia Yang
Photo Credit: y . l yeh CC BY SA 2.0
Changhua is probably not an unfamiliar place for most people. Even if you have never been there, you have surely heard of the place, which is known for its agriculture industry. But did you know that Changhua is actually one of the first cities to have been developed in Taiwan?
The first attraction most people visit when arriving in Changhua is the Lukang (鹿港) in the traditional saying, “First Tainan, second Lukang, third Bangka” (「一府二鹿三艋舺」). The most unique architecture landscape of Lukang is the temples. Are you curious why such a small town like Lugang houses so many temples with historic value? Let’s hop on a pedicab and discover the culture of Lukang in the old streets of the town.
Take a historical look into Lugang on a pedicab
We can’t actually look at Lukang from a modern perspective. During the Qing Dynasty, the town was the trading location in southern Taiwan due to its geographic location and natural coastal terrain. It was where goods from both the north and south were gathered and distributed. No one would have called Lukang a “small town” (otherwise all the other places in Taiwan would be called, “nano towns”). Lukang traded frequently with other coastal towns and temples like Lukang Mazu Temple (鹿港天后宮) and Longshan Temple (龍山寺) were built for the fishermen and merchants to pray for safety on the waters. Even to this day, people still visit the Mazu Temple frequently, and paying a visit to the temple is like seeing the fishermen gathering in the space and praying to Mazu (媽祖) piously. [FULL STORY]
