David on Formosa

After visiting Yingge the week before on Saturday I went to the town on the other side of the river, Sanxia (三峽). Sanxia looks like any other Taiwanese city with its high-rise apartment buildings and narrow streets crowded with shops. In the midst of this it is still possible to discover a little history and some beautiful artwork.

My first stop was Sanxia's most famous attraction, the Zushi Temple (祖師廟). This temple is considered by many to be the most beautiful in Taiwan. Unfortunately it was a dull, gray Taiwan day. That combined with the smoke from people burning incense and ghost money made it really difficult to get any good photos. All the stone carvings are in gray rock, so the lack of contrast also makes them difficult to photograph. You really need to go there to appreciate the craftsmanship that has gone into creating the temple. It truly is exquisite.

Inside the main courtyard of the Zushi Temple

Stone carving at the Zushi Temple

The restoration of the temple is largely due to the vision of Li Mei-shu, who was one of Taiwan's greatest artists. He was born in Sanxia and lived there for most of his life. The Li Mei-Shu Gallery (李梅術紀念館) is a must visit if you want to learn more about the man and see some of his artwork. Many of his original paintings are on display.

At the gallery and also in the Sanxia Historical Museum (三峽鎮歷史文物館) there are a number of old photos on display that allow you to appreciate just how much Sanxia has changed over the years. One photo of Sanxia in 1981 showed that there were still no high-rise apartment buildings at that time. The transformation of the city must have been quite rapid. Fortunately they did save some of the older buildings from destruction.

Minquan Old Street (民權老街) is the part of Sanxia that probably best preserves its past heritage. The street was undergoing pretty extensive renovations when I was there, so it didn't look its best. I did stumble across a TV crew shooting a program in a small part of the street. The show was recreating a street scene from the Japanese Era. You can see some photos of it below.

Director checks on the screen

Actress prepares for the shoot

Signs recreating the Japanese era for the TV program