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| The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas on Lotus Pond |
The Taiwan High Speed Rail stops at the foot of
Mount Panping in Zuoying District, southern part of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan’s
second largest city locate in the southwestern part.
Zuoying is a quiet, leafy suburban district,
surrounded by mountains and facing the Taiwan Strait. It is known as a home to
military personnel and their families, and their villages as well as a military
veterans museum have become tourist attractions. But there are many other sites
of interest such as heritage and archaeological sites, food stops, temples and
shrines, and natural parks. The Zuoying Cultural Bus Tour, which starts at the
train station, affords visitors a survey of the district’s cultural heritage.
Near the
train station is the man-made Lotus Pond or Lake, between Mount Guei or Turtle
Mountain and Mount Panping or Half-Screen Mountain. We made a stop to visit the
large pagodas.
Lotus Pond, which often blooms with
lotuses, thus the name, was completed in 1951. It became one of the sites of
some World Games 2009 events such canoe polo, water skiing and dragon boat
racing. Until now, many people enjoy water sports on the sprawling pond. But it
is mostly a place for relaxation and contemplation. Parks and walkways fringed
the pond. One side, especially along Liantan Road, is dotted with temples and
restaurants.
One is the elaborate Ciji Temple,
dedicated to Bao Sheng Da Di, or the Emperor of Well-Being, a god of medicine
in Chinese folk religion and Taoism popularly in Fujian in China and Taiwan. The
temple is said to be originally built in 1719 at Feng Shan and then moved to
Zuoying, renovating it in 1960. Another temple is the impressive Qiming Temple,
built in 1909 and rebuilt in 1970s, dedicated to Guang Di.
More popular to tourists are the
pagodas and pavilions, rising from almost in the middle of the lake. Across
Ciji Temple are the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. They are actually extensions of
the temple, built in 1976 under the orders of Bao Sheng himself, some believe.
The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas are two towers,
one for the Tiger and the other Dragon. Built with traditional Chinese
architectural elements, the seven-storey towers can be garish, with bright
colors and folksy decorations. Zigzagging walkways lead you to them from the
shore. Large statues of a tiger and a dragon stand at each tower. One is
advised to enter the dragon’s mouth and exit at the lion’s mouth. This way, one
turns bad luck into good luck.
Inside the bodies of the mythical
animals, the walls are painted with Buddhist and Taoist characters and scenes,
such as China’s 24 most obedient sons, the twelve Magi, the Jade Emperor’s
thirty palaces, Confucius, and scenes of heaven and hell. After passing through
the dragon, one can go up the towers for a panoramic view of the lake and the
mountains, and feel the breeze.
About 700 meters north of the Dragon
and Tiger Pagodas, the Spring and Autumn Pavilions, built in 1953, stand across
Qiming Temple. The gaudy pavilions, dedicated to Guandi, the god of war, are
two octagonal, four-storey pagodas with a giant dragon, with teal-colored
scales and yellow fins, slithering at their feet. Atop the dragon is a statue
of Guanyin, commonly known as the goddess of mercy. If local lore is to be
believed, the dragon and the statue of Guanyin were later added. According to legend,
Guanyin appeared among the clouds riding on a dragon, and believers
commemorated the event by installing depictions of it between the pagodas.
One can also enter the dragon’s
hollow body, its walls painted with scenes from Buddhist and Taoist stories and
beliefs.
They can be interesting small
journeys, entering the bodies of mythical animals and then climbing the towers
with the landscape of water and mountains revealing itself to you as if you’re
being formed or reformed and then birthed, near the clouds.
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| The high-speed rail station |
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| Inside one of the coaches of the Taiwan High Speed Rail |
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| Arriving at Taiwan High Speed Rail's Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung City |
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| The man-made Lotus Pond in Zuoying |
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| The view from the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas |
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| The Spring and Autumn Pavilion |
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| Inside the dragon of the Spring and Autumn Pavilion |
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| The Qiming Court Temple facing the Lotus Pond |
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| The Ciji Temple |
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