Sun Moon Lake (Ci En Pagoda)

Ci En Pagoda was a monument Chiang Kai Shek erected to commemorate his mother. (Chiang Kai Shek was the first leader of Taiwan. He and his troops fled Chairman Mao's communist movement to Taiwan. Although he planned to stay only temporarily and win back mainland China, he spent the rest of his life living here in Taiwan.)


There was a fairly easy and beautiful short hike to the pagoda.


Ta Da! Here it is!!! There's a huge bell at the top that you can ring, and the 360 degree view of the lake is beyond compare. (Just wish there was an elevator. JK!)


Yup, we climbed those stairs.



I rang the bell! It's super loud!



What do you think? Is it a nice view or what?


Yay! I was here!


Opposite the pagoda was this building. It was structurally damaged during an infamous earthquake (on 9/28 I believe) years ago. Last time Albert was here he said he was able to get in and see an even better view than from the pagoda. It's blocked off now and no one seems interested (or financially able) to fix it. However, we snuck down the stairs to see the grounds below. It was worth it because we saw my very first stick bug!!! Hence, the obnoxiously embarrassing video below. I talk to living creatures okay????



So another nice site to see in Sun Moon Lake is the Ci En Pagoda. If you have the chance, don't miss it!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

月下老人, the Taiwanese god of romance

Image
A few months ago in Chinese class we learned a little bit about 月下老人, or "the old man of the moonlight." He is worshipped in many temples in Taiwan and I first got to meet him in Tainan I believe. His legend is as follows: In the Tang Dynasty a man named Wei Gu found an old man sitting under a tree during a full moon. This man was holding a thick book and a bag full of red strings. Wei Gu asked this man who he was and why he had those objects. Yue Lao (月下老人) said that in his book is the list of all the marriages that have been/are/will be, and the red strings are used to bind soulmates together. Wei Gu didn't believe in Yue Lao's power so Yue Lao pointed out a nanny caring a baby. He said that the baby will be Wei Gu's future wife. Wei Gu didn't like that idea so he ordered his servant to stab the baby to death. Years later Wei Gu ends up marrying the baby, because she wasn't fatally wounded in the attack. Now people pay respects to 月下老人 in order to
Read more

Hess Banquet, Training, Lindy Hop, and Medical Check!

Image
Things have been really busy since I've gone back to work. We had a year-end banquet for my school. We went to the Hyatt hotel and had some kind of assembly where different branches gave cheers. After that there were some performances- dancing fish and dragons on a stick... I went to TGIF for the first time in Taiwan and they had a great drink- it's like an oreo milkshake with liqueur inside. It was very yummy! Then there was a banquet where we sat at different round tables and people went on stage to perform songs. There were free drinks and a lot of people took advantage of that. It was most interesting to see where conversations kept going to. But it was a fun experience- you gotta try everything once, right? My Pony class TA- she is awesome!!! Pony Class HRT- She's been with me since I started working in Taiwan! :) My great coworkers! Everyday at work is always interesting! ;) With my manager and director- NICEST bosses I've ever had With my Bear cla
Read more

Week 1: What did I get myself into?

Image
So Albert and I are going to open a bubble tea franchise in Mid-Michigan and I just finished my first week of training. Surprise! Going into it I felt pretty confident because I got through graduate school with my highest gpa yet. So I felt like I could do anything. That being said, I was a little nervous because of how hard Albert said it would be. Turns out he was right! But before that let me share some photos: My in-laws taught me how to peel and cut dragon fruit. This is what it looks like after you start peeling it. It reminded me of the eggs in Alien so I had to take a picture with it- face huggers creep me out. Here's what it looks like after you peel and cut it- It's beet red and the color is really strong. I bet it would stain, but it's incredibly yummy. I always want to have one when I'm back in Taiwan. Here's a couple of interesting signs. McDonald's here is promoting two new kinds of sandwiches with different colored buns. The black
Read more