Category: Taiwan

Taiwan3 Comments

Happy Chinese New Year’s Eve 2018!

Catherine Lee

What a beautiful dawn and sunrise this morning, viewed from the 8th floor of St. James’ Church, Taichung!  The start of a day of gorgeous weather! One of the great traditions of Chinese New Year is catching up with old friends, often those not seen for a whole year or even longer.  I’ve been riding around Taichung on a u-bike all week doing this – and today was special, because I visited Fr. Toon Maes, CICM, at St. Paul’s RC Church, Taichung, where he is enjoying the sun after all those cold, wet and windy years up near us on … Continue reading Happy Chinese New Year’s Eve 2018!

Taiwan11 Comments

Hualien Earthquake, Taiwan’s East Coast, February 2018

Catherine Lee

Please pray for Hualien on the Taiwan’s east coast, battered by a legion of earthquakes, starting with a magnitude 5.8 earthquake on Sunday February 4 that peaked with the main quake, magnitude 6.4 (registered as 7 in downtown Hualien) at 11:50 pm, last night, Tuesday February 6. Between those 2 major earthquakes, 94 shocks were recorded, with five of them reaching magnitude 5.0 or higher. Since last night, there have been seemingly non-stop aftershocks. Many of these have been felt throughout Taiwan. So although last night’s earthquake was not totally unexpected, the fact that 4 major high-rise buildings in Hualien … Continue reading Hualien Earthquake, Taiwan’s East Coast, February 2018

Taiwan1 Comment

YIPPEE, SNOW!

Catherine Lee

Yes, finally, at long last, after 10 days of non-stop rain and more rain, and getting colder by the hour, today the rain has finally stopped, people’s moods have lifted, the skies have sort of cleared and in the far distance on Yang-Ming Shan Mountains 陽明山, just above Taipei City, there is SNOW!  YIPPEE!  The grey snow-laden sky is kinda merged with the white snow, but hey, check it out.  Ha ha, it’s there, honest. And just in case you’re still not sure what you’re supposed to be looking at – check out the arrows below! There’s no snow down … Continue reading YIPPEE, SNOW!

Taiwan1 Comment

Sanzhi 三芝 Matzu Temple Centenary Celebrations, 1917-2017

Catherine Lee

Today is THE day, the climax of 5 days of celebrations, and as I write this, events are ongoing, with firecrackers and drums and trumpets and singing and offerings and all sorts of activity, and being attended by nearly everyone in the whole town. And all in the rain and cold!  It’s been like this all weekend, but hey, when there’s a festival in town, a bit of rain and cold won’t stop anyone. But this was the scene on Thursday, the last time that the sun appeared in Sanzhi! Two weeks ago, I wrote here about the preparations for the … Continue reading Sanzhi 三芝 Matzu Temple Centenary Celebrations, 1917-2017

Taiwan2 Comments

Pop idols @ Taiwan-Style!

Catherine Lee

Been doing a bit of research among some of our students in the 15-17 year age group to find out who their pop idols are ~ part of my English conversation classes, so bringing you up to speed, here goes! Top of the list by far for everyone are the boy bands from S. Korea – all brought together on TV talent shows and promoted by the mega-entertainment industry that is so big in S. Korea.  And currently top of the list of all of them is BTS.  Super Junior is long over, now it is BTS.  Our girls say … Continue reading Pop idols @ Taiwan-Style!

Taiwan1 Comment

Street Art @ 淡水老街 Tamsui Old Street ~ love it!

Catherine Lee

Discovered some wonderful new (to me, that is) street art on the walls of Tamsui Old Street area 淡水老街 today ~ including this one of Dr. George Mackay, first Presbyterian missionary to northern Taiwan (1844-1901), who arrived in Tamsui in 1872 and stayed here more or less until he died.  Early photos show him going off on trips armed with dentist equipment for pulling out teeth, and Bibles to share the Gospel… wonder what he’s think of this painting done in his honour? Then up behind the famous Matzu Temple are some steps and walls painted with famous local scenes….. … Continue reading Street Art @ 淡水老街 Tamsui Old Street ~ love it!

Taiwan1 Comment

Sanzhi 三芝 Matzu Temple Centenary Celebrations ~ Coming Up Soon!

Catherine Lee

Two weeks ago the plot of wasteland opposite where I live suddenly sprang into life.  Trucks full of bamboo poles arrived.  People came.  Cranes and trucks and people and – well, action!  One week later, and this was the view from my front gate last Sunday…. Happening now right outside my house is the ongoing construction of a huge 4-storey structure, the site of a forthcoming 醮 (pronounced ‘jiaò) and loosely translated as meaning a Taoist Ritual.  Copy this character ‘醮’ into Google images and you’ll see plenty of examples of what it might look like in a few weeks … Continue reading Sanzhi 三芝 Matzu Temple Centenary Celebrations ~ Coming Up Soon!