Partie du Champagne.,.+*

Our last  "destination" of the trip is to the main temple (主普壇) where lots of offerings are put forward and laid out on rows of tables in the open air. July 15th on the lunar calendar is the middle turning point for this ghost festival.A large offering ritual will take place on the night. At close to midnight, at the Qing'an Temple (慶安宮), there'll be a ceremony with...

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When we came down from the stairs that lead to the Ershawan Fortification, we passed by a few memorial monument. One is almost fully intact and the other was quite damaged, which was only discovered in the recent years. It was a monument erected to commenmorate the "conquest of Taiwan" by a battle led by Prince Kitashirogawa that brought Taiwan under Japanese control (regional) from 1895.  Some argued, if the Prince hadn't died, he could have become the first President of Taiwan! For such an important man, it was rather ironic to see how a monument erected on his honour has...

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Ershawan Fortification [ 海門天險]. What  makes Keelung such a strong historical defense point is its geographical landscape. The shape of the Keelung harbour is more like a U with hills and mountains all around overlooking the harbour. So when foreigners intruded, cannons and fortifications along the harbour act as "gates" to prevent intruders from reaching the inner part of the harbour. Ershawan Fortifcation was one of most important forts.



We took this photo on the long steep steps leading up to the fortifcation. Some say the steps are built steep like this because it would take longer for enemies to head upward to the fort.  & About what we're doing in this photo: our group guides kept coming up with different ways to pose. I think this one turned out pretty awesome! :p


There are also...

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One of the highlights of the Keelung Mid-Summer Ghost Festival is the water lanterns. When the parade has brought the water lantern to the harbour, it was already close to 11pm. After rituals, these water lanterns (more like large paper houses) are carried into the water and set on fire. These are the "houses" for the dead and wandering souls of the sea. One by one, the water lanterns fill...

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The origin of Keelung Midsummer Ghost Festival went a while back when there were feuds and wars among Chinese immigrants from the various towns in the Fujian province. Many were killed in one large battle. Then the people realize they must find a way to dissolve the conflicts among the immigrants. Because there's a few dominant Chinese last names so they figured it would be best for the immigrants to realize that immigrants from another town in China is really not much different from them since their ancesteral heritage was probably linked. & Because most of these Chinese immigrants have the custom of ...

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The main purpose of this tour to Keelung during the Mid-Summer Ghost Festival was to see the Water Lantern parade with lots of performances and brightly decorated cars that carry the large water lantern and goes around the city and eventually lead to the 望海巷 (Sea-Viewing Harbour) for a ceremonial ritual where the water lanterns are then released into the ocean and burned down for....

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[蕃字洞] Dutch's Cave (my own translation). 
This not-so-noticeable cave along the shore with strane rocks was known to be a place where people say there are writings by the Dutch who occupied the area during the 1600s. This tiny little cave looked rather dark and scary. The "gate" into was about half of the height of a person. We went into....

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On the Peace Island (和平島), if you walk further and closer to the shore, you'll find there seem to be an endless shoreline of rocks protruding in strange shapes and locations due to erosion. It will give you goose bumps and think you have gone to an un-earth-like place. Some of these rocks are nicknamed with interesting names (eg. "Tofu Rocks" or "Crocodile".. ) You can see more of the photos in this entry by clicking the link right after this (at the left hand corner).

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[和平島] 前身: 社寮島; Peace Island
July in Chinese Lunar Calendar is the "Ghost Month". At various parts of Taiwan (and some parts in China), people still believe the gate that separated our world and the underworld (ghosts, spirits, etc.) will open during this month and people should provide offerings to satisfy the ghosts, spirits, etc. in exchange for a peaceful and prosperous year. Each region develops its own regional way of "celebrating" this month. In Keelung (the northern city port of Taiwan), the Mid-Summer Ghost Festival is taken to its height in the middle of the "Ghost Month". But that would be something to do in evening. During day time, we went to...

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