Cishan Confucius Temple 旗山孔廟

Cishan Confucius Temple

Cishan is a small city in Kaohsiung county. We just stopped to get some coffee but we saw a sign for the temple and decided to check it out. 

Wanxing Temple, Chenggong Rd 萬興宮

Wanxing Temple on Chenggong Rd, Kaohsiung.

I'm a big fan of temples. This is a fairly typical temple, so if temples aren't your thing, it's probably not worth stopping here, but I liked it. If you go, check out the second floor. It's dedicated to Qingshui （清水祖師）, a Chinese Buddhist monk who was born in 1037 (or 1047) and saved a town from a drought. After his death he was deified as a Chinese folk god. He's very popular in Taiwan.

Temple names are usually (always?) written right to left. 

Hallway

Second floor outside area.

Small room on the second floor.

To go here:

It's on Chenggong Road between Guangfu 2nd Rd and Guangfu 3rd Rd. 

MRT Central Park, walk through the park to Zhonghua Rd. Guangfu 3rd Rd is off of Zhonghua opposite the park, walk west towards the river until you hit Chenggong Rd, take a left and the temple is on your right.

Wanxing Temple website

Zuoying Military Dependents Village - 眷村裡迷路‧左營自助新村

There's not a lot of information about this place in English, but as far as I can tell, it was built some time after 1949 for the families of the KMT soldiers who came over from China. Much of it is abandoned now and the government wants to tear it down (for both political and practical reasons), but the remaining inhabitants don't want to leave. Most of these military villages across Taiwan have already been torn down, but one in Taichung was saved by making it a tourist destination, which is what I think they are trying to do here. I don't believe it's worked, so if you want to check it out, go soon.

This section was painted by art students (I believe) and is more colorful and cute. I went early in the summer and again in September, and there were a lot of new things, so it's worth going back if you've already been.

A map of Zuoying. The village is on the very bottom left part of the map.

This little alleyway is very popular. Be prepared to wait if you want to take photos here.

I'm not sure what the blue flags are.

This is where things start getting political. The sign translates to anti-communist alley (I think).

Taiwanese and KMT flags.

I guess security is an issue in this area.

I'm not sure what this symbolizes. China?

There was something on here about One China, two governments but I couldn't get in the photograph. No else was really paying attention or taking photographs of the political stuff the day I went.

The KMT is the anchor of Taiwan? Or the KMT is dragging down Taiwan? Why is the helicopter angry? This picture creates more questions than it answers.

Taiwanese-American cooperation

Back to the cute stuff.

There are a few places selling tea and food.

Some more photos I took with my cell phone when I returned in the fall:

I'm not really sure what's happening here.

KMT wall

 Hopscotch into an inferno? Is that a sunset or Armageddon?

One thing I like about Taiwan is all the flowers.

More information:

Military Dependents Village
Taichung's Rainbow Military Dependents Village - The Daily Bubble Tea
Zuoying Military Dependents Village - If you want to see more (and much better) photos.

To get here:

It's across from Hai-ching Senior High School of Business and Commerce on Bisheng Rd in Zuoying.

I took public transportation the first time I came, but it's definitely easier to drive. Take the MRT to Kaohsiung arena and then take the Red 36 bus to 海青工商‎ (hai qing gong shang) - the English will be the name of the high school. From there, walk to Bisheng Rd (It's in sight of the bus stop), take a left, and look for the alleyway opposite the school. Many other buses stop there so if you are used to the bus system, it's worth checking if there is a more convenient one for you.

Martyr's Shrine

A few weeks ago I went to Martyr's Shrine on Shoushan. It's a good way to get out of the city, although if you really want to get away from the city, there are some hiking trails nearby that are probably better.

Just below the shrine there is a good area to take photos. It was a pretty hazy day, but you can still still Cihou lighthouse on Cijin island.

Looking at the river. I saw a photo someone else had taken from this spot and that's what made me want to visit this spot. It took me awhile to figure out where it was. I'm sure it seems obvious to anyone who can read Chinese, but my reading skills are still pretty basic.

The front door

It's a fairly simple shrine. Nobody was up here. There were a lot of people taking pictures of the view below, but no one came up here. I guess the shrine itself isn't the draw.

The main courtyard

Behind the shrine

Back of the shrine. I was hoping I'd see monkeys, but I didn't.

Front door from the inside.

To get here: I took the MRT to Sizihwan station, then went out exit 1 and walked down the main road away from the station. I took a right on Gubo St (I think) - at the end of the street, it turns into stairs. Go up the stairs. You'll have to cross another street about half way - look out for scooters. Just look for more stairs across the street. The second set of stairs are in the woods. At the end of the stairs, look for the gate in the first picture, and walk up that road. There is undoubtedly a better way to do this, but I don't know it and this will get you there. If you have a scooter, the shrine is on Xingguo Rd.