This past week I went with the Asian Mormons from church on a day trip to see a few different locations. When I was initially invited I thought we were just going on a mini-hike...but I was mistaken. It turned out that they had a whole event planned, with bus schedules and selected sights to see! It was great. First we went to see the Beipu Township, which is a famous Hakka Village. Then we hiked up the steep Lion's Head Mountain (next post).
The bus trip to the Beipu Township was only 45 minutes so it wasn't too far, but it was tucked away in the mountains (lots of pictures ahead).
"Beipu was the location of the 1907 Uprising against the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, when the Hakka people attacked Japanese officials. In retaliation, Japanese military and police killed more than 100 Hakka people, most of them young men." - Internet
It was a tiny town but a big tourist attraction, especially with it being Chinese New Year.
We just walked around and looked at things. Abish, the sister from church who knows fluent English, was our designated tour guide and she explained things to us. Thank goodness for her!
This is a well hid but giant home that people still live in.
Group photo.
Abish is the one in yellow.
We/They were looking everywhere for signs saying which way to go through the town to see things and then they finally looked down and realized the signs were on the ground! It was funny.
There were tons of alleys to walk through.
Red tablets of fortune.
Abish translating.
There was a temple right in the middle of the town.
Lots of incense inside.
There were a lot of people inside praying and taking photos and worshipping. I noticed their prayers are very short and they usually bow once or twice during it.
Group photo outside the temple.
Right outside the temple there was a musical performance from a street performer.
Pretty neat!
Female monks.
The largest house, considered a mansion, in the town.
There was a water pump on the property.
The little boy is Abish's son.
After walking around for a while we went to a tiny, hole-in-the-wall restaurant for lunch.
Literally, the walls were made out of dry mud.
Being taught how to properly use chopsticks...again.
Lunch was great. It was traditional Hakka food and it was fun being with all the other people from church that I've never hung out with before, even though we couldn't really have a conversation.
Next post: Lion's Head Mountain
