Temples, tea and Taiwan’s rich history – exploring Lukang’s old town
- Once the island’s second city, today it acts as a living museum, offering insight into its mercantile and maritime heritage
- Discover Qing-era mansions, spiritual sites, artisans at work and examples of residents’ Fujian origins
The Taroko Express from Taipei Main Station circumvents the mountainous midrib of the elliptic leaf Taiwan resembles, following the contours of the western blade until it reaches Changhua Railway Station, a palm-tree-flanked building of Japanese-era vintage.
Beyond a sea of yellow taxis, it’s a short hike across downtown to Bagua Hill, which bursts out of Changhua like a verdant stone geyser, testament to the island’s volcanic inception. Following the slope to the summit requires serious effort in the dank heat that descends on central Taiwan when the spring rains cycle into summer.
The path levels at the foot of a rather cartoonish Great Buddha, a 22-metre-high statue of little aesthetic merit or historical interest, dating back only to 1962. But the Lord of Light stands vigil over a significant panorama; a plain once roamed by wild deer, Changhua became a land of sugar cane and rice after merchants from mainland China undertook irrigation projects in 1719.
Changhua is also one of the island’s oldest counties, at least in administrative terms, as the Confucius Temple, in the heart of town, demonstrates. Dating back to 1726, its symmetry and landscaped gardens invoke a sense of feng shui, and a pair of Quanzhou stone dragon columns were erected here to instil positive values in a restive population. Peking sought to inculcate classical learning in Changhua and the reason is best understood 14km to the west, in Lukang, once Taiwan’s second city.