Alishan Shouzhen Temple Shouzhen Temple (受鎮宮), which is located in Alishan Forest Recreation Area, i
Alishan Shouzhen Temple Shouzhen Temple (受鎮宮), which is located in Alishan Forest Recreation Area, is the highest elevation temple in Taiwan. In 1927, the Taiwanese lumbermen helped Japanese cutting down red cypress. In that time, aborigine hided in the bush and cut intruders’ heads down once they entered the forest. Lumbermen were afraid of it. They wanted to be blessed and protected by god by means of building a temple. However, approval was needed to build a temple from Japanese Government during Japanese Colonial Era. After Taiwan’s Retrocession, Taiwanese lumbermen didn’t work for Japanese anymore. Yet, there were still many lumbermen working in Alishan above 2000 meters elevation. After one and another accidents happened, someone proposed to build a temple in Alishan. Finally, Shouzhen Temple was finished in 1948. It’s the biggest temple in Alishan. One of the most well-known tales is that every March on the lunar calendar, around the time Xuan Wu God (玄天上帝) is to celebrate his birthday, the temple is visited by wonder butterflies (神蝶) who roost on the statue. These wonder butterflies have been on the statue, and worshippers believed that these beautiful creatures were celebrating the birthday of Xuan Wu God. (In fact, the wonder butterflies aren’t really a butterfly species, but a Brahmin moth called Brahmaea wallichii.) Opening Hours:N/A Entrance Fee:Free (included in TWD200 ticket of Alishan Forest Recreation Area) Address:Alishan Forest Recreation Area, Alishan Township, Chiayi County 605, Taiwan (R.O.C.) Tel:N/A Official Web:http://www.ali-nsa.net/user/Main.aspx?Lang=2 -- source link
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