Salt Sea Air - Keelung City
- May 5, 2018
- 6 min read
It was the Chinese New Year of February 2018, when me and my wife stepped off the train at Keelung Station, I wasn't sure what to expect of the city. What lured me to Keelung was that it was located in an obscure place on the island, a short distance from the neighbouring city of Taipei, the country's capital, Keelung is nestled on the edges of the mountains that enclose the city as if it was cripping tightly on to the edge of the islands coast.
The first thing that I noticed was that unlike Taipei, the city didn't have excessively high buildings, everything was kept low key and simple, a white sign was high up on a hill behind the train staion that spelt out 'KEELUNG', it reminded me of the famed sign of Hollywood, California in the USA. I thought it was a nice contrast to the scenery as I haven't seen anything like this in any of the other cities in Taiwan.
Walking past the harbour, the fresh salted air was aromatic, after living away from the sea for so long I had almost forgotten how much I had missed the smell, the water was sparkling as the sun light hits against the blue water; boats were bobbing on top of the water and the dock styled buildings would shade paths providing with temporary cool air.
Some people who see water on a hot day have the tendency to want to jump in, but I would highly recommend that you would reconsider if you were in Keelung, as the water is in contact with the city as well as having a high shipping traffic coming in and out of the harbour, small oil colours would sit on top of the water; gazing in to it mesmerise you as you watch the rainbow like colours.
Along the wooden platform around the edges, tourists would bask in the sun, as well as skateboarders showing off their tricks and families walking around the area with their small kids, there was a chilled vibe that could help you forget about your working life back home.
A river cuts through the city, splitting it on either side of the banks; bridges of different designs would cross the river, it reminded me of the canals of Amsternam in the Netherlands, it seemed like Keelung is the shipping gateway to the world and along with it has brought in ideas from other nations to help assemble the distinctive look to the city compared to others in Taiwan.
Keelung is a city full of contrasts but due to my lack of planning I soon realised that a lot of the places were closed because of the Chinese New Year, but from what I could see, Keelung isn't one of those places that is locked in the past but is still a very modern city, ok some of the buildings looked old and tattered with a 70s or 80s look, but the usual chains like McDonalds, Burger King and even a Starbucks were situated here.
Things to do in Keelung City
Just to remind you again that I was very limited on what to do because of the holiday, I caught a taxi to the island of Hepingdao to visit the coastal park there which from what I have heard has amazing views, only to be turned away from the car park attendants saying that the sight was closed, I thought it was absolutely stupid that a place that was naturally made was closed off, that was the typical hunger for greed and taking advantage of the islands beauty, this is one of the many examples in Taiwan.
Fo Guang Shan Ji Le Temple
We headed back to the city and went to visit the 'Fo Guang Shan Ji Le Temple', it was a rather large temple that sat on top of a hill, the concrete steps going up towards the temple allows you to meet a rather chubby joyful Buddha, as if he is welcoming you into the temple with warmth and cheerfulness.
Walking closer towards the huge doors of the temple, I was approached by a woman who provided me with an incense stick that was already lit, I started walking into the temple when the woman stopped me by making these strange noises, as if she was trying to think what to say to someone who doesn't fully know Chinese, she pointed to a sign that said no shoes and then bowed to me a couple of times with a smile across her face, I nodded towards her to show that I understood, I was confused, I have been in many Buddhist temples and never had to take my shoes off before.
The grand hall of the temple was well lit and shiny, there are three giant statues high up behind the columns, the white colour of the statues gave them an immense focus to the room, the middle statue was of the Buddha, sitting down with his legs crossed and a grin across his face, he wore a gold hat that glisten from the light above his head, I gazed into the eyes of the Buddha and felt like he was looking back at me, a shiver went up my spine; calm relaxing music echoed the grand hall of the temple providing you with a soothing feel of relaxation.
Leaving the temple, I put my incense stick into the sand of the cauldron outside the main doors, it is just something I have seen Buddhist do before.
Zhongzheng Park
I headed a little further down the road and came to the Arch of Zhongzheng Park, which is a typical chinese style gate, again there were more grey concrete steps that helps you to climb up the hill, once you get to the top of the steps, you are confronted with the 'Keelungs Martyrs' Shrine' which was a classic Chinese looking building with red columns and brown wooden doors. Taiwan has a short history about martyrs and their struggles to fight off foreign invaders, I find it nice that Taiwan hasn't forgotten those people who have died fighting for what they believe in.
A little further into the park you have to keep going up the hill, the forest was rather dense and overgrown, when we got to the top of the hill a Chinese tower stood overlooking the city, but you couldn't enter because of a yellow tape blocking the entrance, so I stood there and looked back across the city as sunset had already started to fall over Keelung, the mountains in the distance shows the contrast of how close nature is to the cities in Taiwan, the green leafy mountains were a prominent feature in the city skyline as Keelung has so few high rise buildings, the city from above looks small and uninteresting but I can assure you there is more to this little city than what meets the eye.
Keelung Night Market
Keeling Night Market is a rather popular place for residents and tourists to shop, it is a vibrant array of streets, hectic with people scurrying by looking at the different stalls that are available, a lot of the places are food stalls which focus on Taiwanese food of noodles and rice, I even saw a whole pig being roasted, the non food stalls would mostly sell fashionable items such as clothes and handbags as well as cheaply made items which didn't really catch my attention, there was one stall that looked perfectly normal until I noticed on the conrer of their table, they were selling a viarity of sex related toys and dildo's of different shapes, sizes and colours, I wasn't expecting it at all.
When you do find your way past the crowd of shoppers at the night market you would notice that come night time most of the city is pretty quiet, there was the odd massage parlour with signs written in other language such as Vietnamese and Thai, as well as rough looking bars that were closed for the New Year.
Families would light sparklers and fireworks in open spaces as they celebrated the holidays, I would watch in enjoyment feeling like I was part of this families entertainment, I only had a day stop in Keelung on my way down to Hualien but the trip itself was rather pleasing and I really enjoyed the city, I could imagine it being over looked by foreigners who have focus on Taipei, the city that shadows Keelung, but I think that is what gives Keelung its charm, a city of surprises.
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