Day 38 (Aug 15): Tainan Photoreel

I am nearing the end of my trip in Taiwan, with my final full day in Tainan. Though sick for much of my time in the Southern city, the patience and care from my relatives have been more than enough to keep memories of Tainan enjoyable, and I still had plenty of opportunities to explore the culture in Tainan. Today was no exception.

Hopping onto my second aunt's motorcycle, we headed to my mom's former elementary school. And also the school of my other aunts, and a majority of my cousins. Camera in hand, plenty of pictures were taken today as we toured the city almost Amazing Race-like, guided in spirit by my third aunt who had given me several English printouts detailing the story behind Tainan's historic buildings. There are plenty of images so I've kept most of them small, but you can see a larger image if you click on them.

Photos by my mom's elementary school. Left: courtyard area; 

Right: recently renovated building, remnants of Japanese architecture more than 100 years old 

Left: to be translated; Right: Bridge connecting school to Confucius Temple

Another one of the school's older buildings.

We then headed to Maxwell Memorial Church, named after James D. Maxwell, Taiwan's first Presbyterian missionary. There was still some time before service was to start, so we toured around the building first.

Left: Front side of the church; Right: Entrance sign

Left: Impressingly large pipe organ on the small second floor balcony;
Right: Inside table with pamphlets, and the image of a burning bush. 

One of the church members kindly opened up the doors to their museum, tucked in the back of the building, offering a brief history of missionary work in Taiwan, and the story behind Maxwell Memorial Church.

Left: James D. Maxwell; Right: Thomas Barclay, another missionary to Taiwan, who founded Taiwan's first printed newspaper, and used a printing press Maxwell donated to the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan

Canadian Connections

Left: pictures of Maxwell (left) and George Leslie Mackay (right), the first Canadian missionary to Taiwan.
Right: Minister who served at the Maxwell Memorial Church and in the Taiwanese community in Toronto.

Left: Guestbook sitting on a historic table advising Christians to listen
Right: An old, but still functioning, pump organ from the church's earlier days, 

demonstrated by our impromptu tour guide. 

I managed to play a snippet of a hymn (Jehovah's Blessings Abound - #2) and he sang along =). 

The museum has kept a lot of symbols and relics from the original building, before several renovations that make up today's church. Can you spot the connection between the pictures above?

We thanked the church member as we returned to the sanctuary and took our seats. After singing a few hymns and listening to some Scripture readings, we left around halfway through the service, since my Taiwanese is not good enough to fully understand a sermon, and we still had plenty of places to visit.

First, we headed down the street to a vendor famous for their almond milk, but unfortunately, they were already sold out by 11 am. Must be good, I'll try to get some next time I go back.

Meanwhile, our next stop was just across the street - Tainan's old meteorology bureau, now converted to an interactive museum. Granted, my Mandarin reading skills were largely unimproved despite 38 days in Taiwan, but my high-school interest in geography and general love for maps allowed me to understand and appreciate the exhibits, perhaps even to a greater extent than the short blurbs could offer. 

Left: Front entrance; Right: Globe on the first floor, by the lobby

Left: Weather balloon! Right: Earthquake map of Taiwan

Outside the weather bureau building was the meterology centre (website found here), an octadecagon shaped structure with a nickname that translates to "pepper shaker", a reference to the top of the building shown below.

Left: A museum model of the building; Right: the actual building!

As I've said many times before, Tainan is a very historical city, and is well equipped for tourists. There were several signs and pathways to lead us to various sites and temples, all in close proximity to each other.

Signs and tiles pointed the way to site to site.

Cultural symbols line the streets and alleys.

Temple entrances had plaques that introduced visitors to its histories.

Left: Tiantan Temple's famous entrance panel reading "One". 

Right: a tiger! found by the walls of another one of Tainan's temples.

Thirsty from walking around in the hot weather, we stopped at a tea shop, where I had a very refreshing grapefruit green tea (or something like that). Our next stop stop was a cultural centre, where many displays were set up showcasing the Chihsi festival. Falling on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, the celebration represents the coming of age as one became 16.

"Seven" is most definitely a theme of this festival.

Left: Seven pairs of red chopsticks. Right: Cultural displays.

We then walked around to the back of the cultural building, where there was a peaceful park amidst the city life. Below is a picture of me with my second aunt =). 

Our next stop was lunch, which turned out to be as much of an attraction as many of our stops this morning. The restaurant's name is Du Xiao Yue, famous for its Tan-zai noodles. It's menu included a brief history of its restaurant, and even instructions on how to eat their signature dish.

Guidelines not only in English, but in Japanese and Mandarin. "Eat them! But never hurry."

Left: History lesson on the menu; Right: The restaurant still has pictures and displays from its early days.

The noodle makers hard at work.

Preparing a bowl of noodles.

Tan-zai noodles! Cost per bowl: 50NT, ~ 1.65 CAD

Later, we made our way back to my aunt's house, where she prepared guava shakes! I was soon back in my room, packing my stuff as I would be heading back to Taipei the following day.

Guava shake!

Later that day, I was brought back to my grandma's house where I would stay the night, before taking the High Speed Rail back to Taipei the next morning - as the shuttle bus stopped steps from my grandma's house. As my eldest aunt was back in town, we had a big family dinner at a restaurant just across the street. I won't throw another album at you as you've seen plenty of photos for today, but just two highlights:

Left: Pig's feet; Right: mmm... fish

We wrapped up the night, talking at my grandma's house. Below is a picture of my grandma's antique clock alongside a picture of our last major family get together - my cousin Tim's wedding in 2007. We won't have to wait too long until the next reunion, this time in Baltimore, Maryland in just a couple of months, as we celebrate my cousin Judy's wedding.