TUBA Church (基國派老教堂)

Note: As of September 2019, the Tuba Church is closed and a gate has been constructed to block access to the church for both the local indigenous community and tourists alike.

The period of closure is currently unknown due to a land dispute with the land owner holding the local community hostage for the price of $10,000,00NT.

Until the church reopens to the public, I’ll leave this notice here. If you are planning on visiting the area, make sure to check local news to see if it’s reopened or now.

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How many tourist spots in Taiwan designated by the Ministry of Culture (文化部) as one of the ‘Top 100 Historical Spots’ in the country and are empty on a Sunday afternoon? How many of them are a western-style church? I'm not counting, but I think it is safe to say that this one might be the only one and despite what it lacks in size and panache, this little church in the mountains is pretty cool. 

The TUBA church (基國派老教堂) is a small church nestled in the mountains of Taoyuan county and was built by the Indigenous people living in the area as a place to worship. The church no longer holds services and a more modern and larger version has been built next to the original, yet the original church holds special meaning for the people living in the area and is a well-preserved historical building. 

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It was was constructed by the Atayal people (泰雅族) in 1963 as a place for the people of the remote TUBA tribe (基國派) to worship. The tribe built the church with their own hands using stones that were carried one-by-one from the nearby Sanmin Batcave (三民蝙蝠洞.) 

The church was used between 1963 and 1992, but ultimately became too small for the growing population of the tribe.  After moving to the newer church, the original wasn’t used or maintained and fell into a bit of disarray. The community however realized the cultural value of the old church and decided to restore it to its original state. Today the church stands in its original spot and is celebrated as a monument to the preservation and cultivation of Atayal culture and history and is now recognized by the government as a national historical monument. 

If you find yourself between Daxi and Fuxing someday, turn left off the main road when you see the sign for the Sanmin Batcave and check out this old church nestled in the mountains. Its not very large and you don’t need much time to see it, but it really is quite remote as far as things go in Taiwan and the mountainous landscape around the church is quite nice. 

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Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots) 

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Temples of Lions Head Mountain

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The Lions Head Mountain Scenic Area  (獅頭山風景區) or "Shitoushan" is one of Taiwan's designated national scenic areas covering over 24,000 hectares of land in both Hsinchu and Miaoli counties. The mountain is considered sacred to Taiwanese Buddhists and is a popular weekend tourist spot due to the amount of temples, shrines and monasteries that make their home throughout the mountain. 

The Shitoushan area is also well known for its importance to the Hakka communities which have settled in the areas around the mountain in villages like Beipu (北埔), Nanzhuang (南庄) and Sanwan (三灣) as well as being important to the Saisiyat Indigenous Tribe (賽夏族) who have traditionally inhabited the area.

There are eight well developed hiking trails all of which are several kilometres long and take you through beautiful mountain landscapes with lush forests and river streams. The trails are quite popular as they do not require much in the form of hiking skill or experience and seem more like a brisk walk than actual hiking. 

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Quan Hua Temple and Fu Tian Temple

Aside from the natural beauty of the mountain and the well developed hiking trails, one of the main reasons why this mountain is such a tourist destination is because of the amount of temples and monasteries which can be found throughout the mountain. Lion's Head Mountain has been described as being almost "zen-like" due to the amount of temples and how they interact so peacefully with nature. 

While hiking the various trails you will find Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian temples which are either built on top of a cliff or actually built in caves. The construction of the temples and shrines took the preservation of the natural scenery of the mountain and protect the environment into consideration which contributes to the zen-like quality of the temples and a very modern approach to environmentalism for temples that were constructed over a century ago. This is a stark contrast to the "Nature-Loving Wonderland" monastery which is at the base of the mountain on the Hsinchu side. 

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The gate to Fu Tian Temple

If you are following the trail you should make sure to pay attention to the markings to be sure that you don't randomly pass by something cool and not notice it. You shouldn't be surprised to find out that some of the monasteries aren't open to visitors on certain days of the week - I visited the mountain a few times while shooting these photos and both times a few of the temples weren't open to the public. If you are planning on visiting a specific temple, make sure to check before heading over that it will in fact be open on the day you are planning to visit! 

While you are hiking you are likely to overhear the sounds of Buddhist monks chanting sutras through the mountain trails. The chanting is quite peaceful and it just adds to the effect of hiking through a 'sacred' mountain. You are also likely to meet a few monks or nuns walking along the hiking trails as they need to walk back and forth between their residences, farms and temples.

The monks in Taiwan wear simple grey robes and have shaved heads. They will smile and greet you as they walk by. Don't be afraid to say hello or stop for a quick chat. They don't lead a very exciting life and they appreciate a bit of interaction with the outside world. You don't have to worry about them proselytizing to you or hitting you up for donations. 

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A Buddhist nun walking up the long set of stairs to her monastery.

I'm going to split this blog up into two sections, the first section will cover two of the largest temples on the mountain and the following blog will cover the rest. I'll endeavour to explain as much as I can about the temples on the mountain as there isn't very much English information about them online. The second post will come later in the week and will have a lot more content and photos.  

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Quan-Hua Temple (勸化堂)

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Quan-Hua Temple (勸化堂)

Quan-Hua Temple, the only Taoist temple on Lion’s Head Mountain, was built in 1897 and is the oldest temple on the mountain. The temple is primarily dedicated to the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝) but there are also shrines set up within the temple to other Taoist deities as well.

The temple is built directly into the side of a mountain cliff and the mountain rises up directly behind the temple, which would actually scare me a bit considering the amount of earthquakes Taiwan has. It would be terrible if the temple was lost to a random landslide. 

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The abbot of Quan-Hua Tang

The inside of the temple boasts an impressive display of antique traditional stone and wood carvings and the view of Fu Tian Temple, the pagoda and the mountain from the courtyard in front of the temple is awesome.

On all my trips to Lion’s Head Mountain the majority of the shots I have taken were from the look off in front of Quan-Hua Temple. I love the view of the mountain below with the roof of Fu Tian Temple in the foreground. 

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Praying at Quan-Hua Temple

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Praying at Quan-Hua Temple

The majority of the temples on the mountain are simple Buddhist monasteries or shrines. Taoist temples in Taiwan on the other hand are extremely ornate. It seems like Quan-Hua Temple has tried to make an effort to tone down a bit of the bling bling to keep the simple and peaceful feeling on the mountain somewhat uniform - That however could be due to the age of the temple and its remoteness.

No matter how you look at it though, both Fu Tian Temple and Quan Hua Temple are quite well off and they have been able to expand to offer more services (including somewhat of a hotel and restaurant) than you usually get with a Buddhist or Taoist temple.  

Quan-Hua Temple Pagoda (勸化堂寶塔)

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Quan Hua Temple Pagoda (勸化堂寶塔)

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Quan-Hua Temple Pagoda (勸化堂寶塔)

The Quan-Hua Temple Pagoda is always easily visible from atop the mountain, but getting to it actually isn't that easy. The reason for this is that the pagoda is used to house burial remains of temple elders and followers. Truthfully the pagoda looks much better from far away and getting up close and personal with it is kind of disappointing as it looks much cooler rising up out of the mountain from far away. 

If you visit the temple, make sure to spend some time checking out the beautiful stone and wood carvings that line the walls at the entrance and around the shrines. Also, if you'd like to spend the night on the mountain, Quan-Hua temple (In conjunction with its neighbour) offer simple guest rooms to visitors with vegetarian meals provided. 

Website (Chinese Only)

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Fu Tian Temple (輔天宮)

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Fu Tian Temple (輔天宮)

Fu Tian Temple is a Buddhist temple built during the Japanese Colonial Period in Taiwan. The temple was completed in 1915 and despite having all the traditional Taiwanese design aspects of a temple adhering to Feng Shui (including the direction the temple faces, the courtyard style building, a main hall, bell tower, etc.) it is still a living testament to the Japanese influence on the people at the time.

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The main shrine of the temple is dedicated to Ksitigarbha Buddha (地藏菩薩) a popular Japanese Bodhisattva commonly referred to as “Jizo” in Japanese - It is common to see Ksitigarbha in Taiwanese Buddhist temples, but not as common in China. 

If you are entering the Lion’s Head Mountain hiking trails from the Miaoli side, Fu Tian Temple will be the first temple to greet you on your hike. The temple (in conjunction with Quan Hua Temple) has a large parking lot for visitors and there are lots of vendors who set up shop on weekends selling (mostly vegetarian) snacks and drinks to the people who are hiking the mountain or visiting the temple.

The temple is a short walk up a steep set of steps and is probably the most arduous part of hiking Lion’s Head Mountain for people who aren't avid hikers. 

Website (Chinese Only)

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A fortune teller taking a break at Fu Tian Temple

That will be it for the first post about Lion's Head Mountain. I will post the second and final part later in the week. The second part will probably be a bit longer than this one with a lot more photos so be sure to watch for it!

If you have any questions, corrections or comments don't be shy and contact me through the comment section below or through my contact page. 

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Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots) 

Neidong Forest Park (內洞森林遊樂區)

The Neidong National Forest Recreation Park (內洞國家森林遊樂區) is somewhat of a hidden gem - overshadowed by its neighbour Wulai with its hot spring resorts, giant waterfall and "old street." 

The forest park is about a ten minute drive past the village of Wulai further into the mountains and the reason why its stayed 'somewhat' of a hidden gem is because without your own method of transportation in and out of the park, its not easy to reach as there are no public transportation options available. 

The forest park has a short and easy hike that would be ideal for those who aren't looking for an extreme challenge. The area is beautiful and you can easily enjoy an afternoon getting lost inside. 

The hike takes about half an hour (at my pace) from start to finish and the main attraction is clearly the waterfalls and for me, walking along the beautiful emerald Nanshi river (南勢溪) that supplies hot spring water to the village below. 

The Forest Recreation park is very popular with bug chasers and those interested in the ecological aspects of the local environment. Unfortunately during my visit I didn't come across any - I would have liked to have an expert point out some cool looking insects as I’ve heard that there are lots of butterflies, scarab beetles and wild monkeys living throughout the park. 

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Wusha Creek Waterfall

As soon as you pass the gates to enter the park you almost automatically come up to the Wusha Creek Waterfall (烏紗溪瀑布) which is on the opposite side of the river - but there is an excellent view from an observation deck.

Its a nice waterfall, but as you had to pass the massive Wulai Waterfall to get to the park, its not that impressive in comparison. I noticed most people didn't spend a lot of time looking at it.  

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Luohao Dam

Further along the path you come across the Luohao Dam (羅好水壩) which seems somewhat out of place in such a natural surrounding, but I’m guessing its purpose is to keep the village below from being constantly flooded. The dam itself ruins a bit of the “Forest Park” atmosphere, but in the right light you can get its reflection off of the beautiful emerald coloured water which make its nuisance a little easier to handle. 

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The emerald green water of the Nanshi River

After passing the dam you need to walk about five more minutes until you come up to the main attraction which is a three-tiered waterfall commonly known in English as the “Neidong” waterfall but actually named the Xinxian Waterfall (信賢瀑布). The path to the waterfall is well developed and there is a viewing platform at each tier of the waterfall. 

Something strange that I noticed in the park was its accessibility for the disabled. You won't find many areas in Taiwan, especially ones in the mountains that are accessible for the disabled. They seemed to take great care to allow for those in wheelchairs to be able to have access to this park to enjoy the environment. 

For logistical purposes however if you're in a wheelchair you can only go as far as the bottom tier of the waterfall, the other two tiers aren't accessible as you have to climb a hill. Nevertheless I saw quite a few people in wheelchairs enjoying the bottom tier of the waterfall and in my opinion, that's great. 

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The lowest tier of the Xinxian waterfall

The bottom tier and the top tier of the waterfall have wooden observatory platforms and they are extremely difficult to take long-exposure shots on as the platform constantly shakes.

I had my camera set up on a tripod attempting to take thirty-second exposures, but it was more or less impossible as there were a few families there with their children who were running around, stomping their feet and having a good time. 

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The second tier of the Xinxian Waterfall

The second tier of the waterfall can only be viewed from a distance, but at least at this tier you are on the side of the mountain with stable ground. (No shaking) 

The Xinxian Waterfall may not be as big as some of the other waterfalls around northern Taiwan, but its setting is what makes it special. The three tiers are beautiful and the volcanic hot spring water that flows from it is amazing. 

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The top tier of the Xinxian Waterfall

The Neidong National Forest Recreation Park is well worth a visit and if you are visiting the Wulai area, I highly recommend taking a short drive past the resort area and taking the hour or so long hike to see the waterfalls and enjoy the more natural aspects to the area. 

Its very easy to get to Neidong Forest Park. If you are driving a car, before entering the Wulai area make a right turn and cross the bridge. There is adequate signage in both English and Chinese that will follow a route behind the Wulai waterfall and further into the mountains. You reach a small village and turn left. From there cross another small bridge and make a right turn which will bring you to the main gate. 

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Map / Location

 

Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots)