36-Meter Buddha Statue

Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum is situated north east of Kaohsiung City. The buildings there are very Tang-Dynasty-ish. There is a Buddha statue 36 meters high. It's the largest I've ever seen.

Longyin Temple, Ali Shan

Longyin Temple is stunningly beautiful. When we got there in the late morning, they were celebrating with fire crackers. There is a long hanging bridge high up in the mountain. The locals claims that if a couple walk on the bridge together, their love will last forever. So of course we had to hike up there too.

Sun Moon Lake

Sun Moon Lake is probably the most famous lake in Taiwan. As a Chinese growing up in China, I read about it when I was in first grade. Over thirty years after I read about it, I finally get to see it. It didn't disappoint at all. The water are clearer than I expected. It was storming season, so there were clouds and mists among the mountains. That gave it a mystical feeling. 

The mountain view in early morning from my hotel balcony.

There is an island in the center of the lake. It's a sacred place for the aboriginal people here.

The pagoda was built by Chiang Kai-Shek to commemorate his mother. 

I was following a tour group, so there were not much activities other than going on tour yacht. Next time I go to Taiwan, I'll just go here without tour group. I heard there are foot trails around the lake. That will be something I would like to do.

Yeliu Geopark

Yeliu Geopark is about 40 km drive from central Taipei. As its name implies, it's a geological wonder. Being so close to the city makes it very popular travel destination, even for the locals.

The coast is very rocky. I can imagine the violent waves during a storm here.

A very odd rock formation. This place has a lot of these kiss chocolate shape rocks.

A giant rock shoe.

A giant right hand.

Taipei 101

With a height of 508 meters, it was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2009. One more thing to cross off my bucket list.

Liberty Square and National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

We arrived Taipei in the afternoon. I couldn't sleep in the airplane, as always. With a transfer in Beijing, that made it 24 hours without sleep. Despite my desire to just crash on a bed, I knew better. I needed to fight the jet lag, that meant not going to sleep until night time. So we went to Liberty Square to see the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.

This is the arch that marks the Liberty Square. The text says Liberty Square now, but it used

to say something else. Something about great China. It was changed around 2007.

The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in at the opposite end of Liberty Square. There is a

big sitting statue of him in the middle of the hall. A museum dedicated tohim is at the lower levels.

Roof of the memorial hall.

Chiang Kai-Shek was the leader of Republic of China during World War Two. After the world war, China was plunged into a civil war between Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Party and the Communist Party. Eventually, the communist won the war on mainland China and Nationalist Party along with all the remaining army had to retreat to Taiwan. They vowed to return and retake the whole China. They never did.

This is Chiang Kai-Shek.

His car.

His guards.

Beijing Capital International Airport

My wife and I traveled to Taiwan at the end of October. A direct flight from New York to Taipei will cost above $1000; but with a four hour stop at Beijing, the cost drops to around $400. A good deal for us. The saving allowed us to join a six day guided tour around Taiwan.

We expected the airport in Beijing to be very crowded, just like everywhere else in China, but it was actually quite empty when we were there.

Since we were transferring to another international flight, we didn't have to past the customs. We still had to get inspected though. There was only on line for inspection and the worker there were so freaking slow. I think they should add another line to speed things up.

There was a Chinese style pavilion in the middle of the Airport terminal. It looks good, although rather out of place among all the luxury shops nearby.

The thing I like in the airport was the free USB charging stations. There were plenty of them, and they're free. The thing I don't like is the free wifi. It requires you to do some sort of signing up. Why can't they just give it out free like in Taipei airport? 

A very Chinese looking pavilion.

My wife told me these were real duck. I didn't think so.
Who would put live duck in an airport terminal?