Sunday, January 15, 2012

Taipei City Tour - Part 2

Our tour guide took us to one of the oldest Taoist temples in the city.


The ornate and colorful icons on the roof are very intriguing.
Similar looking temples are seen all over the island.


An elaborate altar includes flowers, fruits, and burning incense.
I can't tell if the decorations are made of real gold or are gold-plated.


If they are made of real gold, perhaps that is why they are in need of donations.
Your name will be added to one of these figures for a small monetary gift.


Our last stop of the tour was the National Palace Museum.
I only have a picture of its exterior since no photography was allowed inside.
Our guide spent over an hour walking through the various exhibits and explaining their significance. Unfortunately, this was when my jet lag took over and my concentration level was waning fast.
The "100" symbol you see on the museum's exterior signifies the showing of 100 national treasure masterpieces to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of China aka Taiwan.


- Karen

11 comments:

Ruby's Raiser said...

I love seeing things I might otherwise never see, through your expert eyes! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. :)

lina said...

The roof icons are really nice. And colourful!

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

The colors, the craftsmanship, these temple roofs are just spectacular.

eileeninmd said...

What a fantastic place to visit. The temple is beautiful and I just love the dragon. Great pic's!

caite said...

love that third one, the dragon!

FilipBlog said...

I love the details on the roof of the buidling and also the last photo. Curious to see what's next.

Greetings,
Filip

rainfield61 said...

Old and new both meet and cross each other.

LifeRamblings said...

very ornate and colourful indeed. the dragon is so beautifully captured.

betchai said...

contrast of old and new, meshing together that development goes on. beautiful pictures, Karen.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

This is all very exotic and beautiful to me.

Emm said...

What gorgeous photographs!! Taiwan is definitely on my top 10 list of places to visit and your photos make me even more keen to go visit. I will ask my friend from Taipei if the figures are gold. What a pity you were allowed photographs in the National Palace Museum.