In the afternoon of December 7th, our principal and director took us to the Shun Tian Temple of Wurih district, Taichung City to see the Matzu Pilgrimage Parade. In the beginning we stood by the street to welcome the goddess. After a while the holy palanquins were carried into the temple one by one. I saw lots of different kinds of holy statues and palanquins. The thing which gave me the great impression was a live impersonation of Tudi Gong holding a gold yuanbao giving out cookies to the public. The scene was spectacular. We followed the palanquins into the temple. After lunch, our principal took us to the temple to feel the excitement of the temple festival, the godly atmosphere of the parade and to worship and pray for blessings. Through this trip I had seen many interesting things, such as the glass boat, the live impersonation of Tudi Gong, and etc… Although the trip was a short three hours, but it had opened my eyes and astonished me in many ways.

       On the Friday afternoon of December 7th, our school principal and director took us to the Shun Tian Temple of Wurih district, Taichung City to see the Matzu Pilgrimage Parade. Once we arrived in Taichung, I was startled by the sharp bangs of firecrackers. I also saw the devious looking yet kind hearted Qianliyan and Shunfenger. Although they look scary, they’re actually gods who protect us from harm. Later we came across the unexpected, a life impersonation of the Tudi Gong!  At first I thought he was just passing by, but to our surprise he walked toward our direction. In fact, he came over to give us cookies. Later we followed the Tudi Gong, but again to our surprisethere was another Tudi Gong rushing in from behind us.

        There were too many interesting things that happenedon this day and I just couldn’t sum it up in so few words. All I can say is that I felt really lucky to have taken part in this Taichung trip and that the excitements just can’t be put into words.Then we realize that hewas the elder Tudi Gong.

         Today I went to Shun Tian Temple of Wurih district, Taichung City with our school principal, director, and classmates to see the Pilgrimage Parade, and the process of the parade was a lot more complicated than I had imagined. Although I’ve seen pilgrimage parades in the past, but it was only a tiny part of it. I never truly participated throughout the entire event. However, through this trip I’ve gained more knowledge about pilgrimage parades, such as the things and people needed to run such an event. In the past I would see pilgrimage parades simply as a common folk custom, but after this trip I started to think. Each and every palanquin and holy statue is the soul artistic creation of the carving masters, and they each have different meanings and purposes. It was here that I realized that the once common pilgrimage parade carried important meanings with each step of the process. After seeing the pilgrimage parade, I’ve learned a lot of interesting things and I’ve truly gained a lot from it!

       Today we arrived at Shun Tain Temple in Wurih District, Taichung City to see the temple festival. As the Matzu palanquin of the Nan Yao Temple was about to arrive, numerous firecrackers were set off, and we also saw Qianliyan, Shunfenger, and Tudi Gong. None the less the main reason for this trip was to see the holy palanquins. While we were looking at the holy statues we also saw various types of palanquins. Some palanquins were carried, some were pushed on wheels, and some were really small. So small that they looked easy to carry. On top of that there was a kind of palanquin that had to be carried on vehicles. The sight was spectacular. It was a feast for the eyes.

       After this close encounter with the holy palanquins I had gained more understanding of  the decorations and components of a palanquin and also I can now be able to differentiate between different types of palanquins