There is a powerful force on this island. An unseen magic that exists in the hearts and minds of the Kinmenese. The belief that stone idols in the shape of a lion will shield them from the strong winds of the northeastern monsoon. They are the wind lion gods. Sent from the sky and walk down to earth in the form of a feline, their guidance and protection is a must in my “Escape from Formosa”.
Varying in height, color and purpose on why they were built, these wind lion gods are scattered around Kinmen. Half of their total number can be found in Jinsha Township where the ferocious winds of the northeastern monsoon are easily felt. It was impossible to see all of them in a short period of time but through the help of the Taiwan Tour Bus, searching them became an easy task.
A special tour. After buying the half-day ticket in Shanwai Bus Station which costs NTD 250, I looked at the poster hanging on the wall. The Taiwan Tour Bus in Kinmen now has a wind lion god sight-seeing tour. It's an addition to the original four bus routes that go around the Kinmen Island. Accompanied by a tour guide from the Visitor Information Center, visitors are taken directly to the idols saving precious time and money.
 |
| Guan'ao (官澳) |
 |
| Guan'ao (官澳) |
 |
| Guan'ao (官澳) |
 |
| Tangtou (塘頭) |
 |
| Xiyuan (西園) |
 |
| Xiyuan (西園) |
 |
| Tiandun (田墩) |
 |
| Yangshan (洋山) |
 |
| Yangshan (洋山) |
 |
| Houzhai (后宅) |
 |
| Houzhai (后宅) |
 |
| Lucuo (呂厝) |
 |
| Lucuo (呂厝) |
 |
 |
| Liu'ao (劉澳) |
 |
| Pubian (浦邊) |
 |
| Pubian (浦邊) |
 |
| Xiatangtou (下塘頭) |
 |
| Doumen (斗門) |
 |
| Qionglin (瓊林) |
 |
| Hecuo (何厝) |
 |
| Zhonglan (中蘭) |
A wish granted. I felt lucky to have come here in Kinmen at the right time. Back in November 2016, when I was originally planning my escape from Taiwan, there was no such wind lion tour bus. So I have to resort to Google Maps, checking and recording the location of each idol. Knowing how to get there and if there were any public buses that would stop at a particular place was always a headache. The wind lion gods must have heard my prayers or maybe they had been waiting for my arrival for a very long time.
 |
| Qionglin (瓊林) |
 |
| Guan'ao (官澳) |
 |
| Yangshan (洋山) |
The lion's tale. Each wind lion has a story to share. In Qionglin, which is said to be the biggest village in Kinmen, an idol stands in front of floodgate and functions like its keeper. Near Mashan Observation Point, which is an area in Kinmen Island very close to Mainland China, a pair of tall wind lion gods can be seen. They were donated by the people of Fujian province as a sign of friendship. In Lucuo, the deity gazes at a mountain. While in Yangshan, a female lion god caught me by surprise. She was pregnant!
 |
| Qingyu (青嶼) |
 |
| Qingyu (青嶼) |
 |
| Guan'ao (官澳) |
 |
| Guan'ao (官澳) |
 |
| Guan'ao (官澳) |
 |
| Tiandun (田墩) |
 |
| Tiandun (田墩) |
 |
| Qionglin (瓊林) |
 |
| Qionglin (瓊林) |
 |
| Yangshan (洋山) |
Extraordinary. Some wind lion gods were difficult to recognize. In Guan’ao which was the last stop of the Wind Lion God Morning Route, the deity became a part of a staircase. You won't know that it is a god unless you step on the farm that is facing and you turn your back to look at the idol directly. Still in Guan’ao, my tour guide had difficulty finding another wind lion god inside a temple. It was there standing beside the local gods of the community, but it was too small to be seen. Not to mention its dark color. But the most bizarre were the ones stuck in the walls of old houses. They had been there standing even before the war had erupted in Kinmen during the 1950s.
 |
| Guan'ao (官澳) |
 |
| Qingyu (青嶼) |
Masters of the wind. Whenever a person's wish is granted by the deity, the wind lion is dressed in a cape by the locals as a way of saying thank you to the god. Sometimes red in color or in a flower pattern, the cape adds color to their granite bodies, hiding the intricate patterns in their limbs. When a wind blows, the royal mantle flies in the air. Telling everyone that they aren’t just the guardians of Kinmen but also the island’s pretty little lions.
*********
Taiwan Tour Bus Wind Lion Route
Morning Tour: The bus departs at Shanwai Bus Station at 8:30. The tour ends at 12:05
Afternoon Tour: The bus departs at Shanwai Bus Station at 13:30. The tour ends at 17:15
*The morning and afternoon tours are two different wind lion sight-seeing routes.
*As the trip ends, both tour buses return at Shanwai.
Half-day ticket: NTD 250
Whole-day ticket (both tours): NTD 400
*Tickets are available at the Visitor Information Center
*There are still wind lion gods that are scattered around Kinmen and they are beyond the reach of the Taiwan Tour Bus.
How to get to Shanwai Bus Station from Jincheng Bus Station: Board Bus Red 1, Blue 1, 2 or 3 and alight at the terminal stop which is Shanwai Bus Station
Departure times of the buses from Jincheng Bus Station:
Red (紅) 1: 6:00/7:20/8:00/10:40/12:10/13:05/16:55/17:50/18:15/18:40/19:30/20:30
Blue (藍) 1: 7:30/8:30/9:30/10:30/11:30/12:30/13:30/14:30/15:30/16:30/17:30
2: 6:45/7:40/8:20/9:25/10:20/11:25/13:25/15:00/16:15/17:20/19:10/20:50/21:20
3: 6:00/7:00/8:00/9:00/10:00/11:00/12:00/13:00/14:00/15:00/16:00/17:00/18:00/19:00/20:00
Departure times of the buses going to Jincheng Bus Station from Shanwai Bus Station
Red (紅) 1: 6:15/6:30/7:20/8:40/9:00/10:00/12:10/13:05/16:35/16:55/17:40/20:20/21:00
Blue (藍) 1: 7:30/8:30/9:30/10:30/11:30/12:30/13:30/14:30/15:30/16:30/17:30
2: 7:00/8:10/9:40/10:50/11:25/15:35/18:00/18:40/19:15/20:30
3: 6:00/7:00/8:00/9:00/10:00/11:00/12:00/13:00/14:00/15:00/16:00/17:00/18:00/19:00/20:00
*Tourists staying at Benshan Old Western Style House must board the earliest Bus 10 or 11 in the morning to get to Shanwai Bus Station before 8:30 am.
Sakura Series - Taiwan
2025 Forecast
Taipei 101 first flowers
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Taipei Flower Test Center
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Broadwood Park
Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura
Wuling Farm (武陵農場)
SYS kawazu sakura
Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
CKS Memorial Hall
Shibafen Yoshino Sakura
Hope River
Dongfang Temple
Tianyuan Palace
Neicou Stream Trail
Orange Garden Cafe
Yangming Park Visitor Information Center
Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop
Huashan Road
Qianshan Park
Zhongshan Hall Entrance
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura
Neihu Creek Trail
Shulin Land Office
Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest
Lung Yen Sakura Forest
Yangming Park cherry stream
Yangming Park fountain
CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura
Wugu District Tianyi Road
CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura
Loving Farm
Yong Long Farm
Zhongbaling Sakura Road
Sun Link Sea
Tai'an Police Station
Cherry Hill Slope
Hsinchu Park
Taipei 101
Kāng Gào Kēng Creek
New Garden City
Broadwood Park
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Alishan Ranger Station
Alishan House
Alishan Police Station
Alishan Forest Railway
Alishan Station
Alishan Entrance
Alishan Gou Hotel
Alishan Magnolia Garden
Wulai tour
Wun Chang Elementary School
Bishanyan
Sanzhi Sansheng Trail
Sakura Series - Taiwan
Nei Cuo Stream
Orange Garden Cafe
Sansheng Trail
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Yangming Park Cherry Stream
Yangming Park Fountain
Flower Test Center
Broadwood Park
New Garden City
Yinghua Park
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Yangmingshan Visitor Center
Taipei 101
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Sakura Series - Japan
Kamonyama Park
Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park
Shinko Park
Minato-mirai 21 area
Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus
Onda River
Tenryuji
Byodoin
Kiyomizudera
Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple
Hōryū-ji Temple
Nara Park attractions
Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus
Sumida River
Tsuruma Park
Gion
Maple Series
Taipei Aowanda
Shimen Dam
Alishan
Aowanda
Shanlinxi
Taoyuan Valley Garden
Fushoushan Farm
 |
| Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis |
The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)
Always in my heart
MRT birdman
Valentine's Day
Tulips Festival
2018 Taipei Lantern Festival
City of Azaleas
Linji Huguo Temple
Nanjichang Night Market
Gudetama Chef restaurant
Dalongdong Bao'an Temple
Shilin hollyhocks
Ningxia Night Market
Ximending graffiti
Discovery Center of Taipei
Chunghwa Postal Museum
Double-Decker Bus
Shilin Cold Balls
Jingimoo
GomanMango
mud volcanic ice
Fire and Ice Dumpling
Opium Fen-Yuan
Ichiran Ramen
Liu Shandong Beef Noodles
hydrangea flowers
National Palace Museum
Other attractions in Taipei
Taipei on a budget
Japanese buildings
Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles
Presidential Office Building
Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain
CKS and SYS Hall
City tour
Beitou ramen
MRT Monopoly Game
Winter city tour
Zhicheng Park
Shilin Plum Blossom
Art museums
Shopping in Taipei
Summer desserts
Qingtiangang
Qixingshan hiking
2015 Calla lily
2016 Calla lily
Beitou tour
Beitou-Zhuzihu tour
NTU
Confucius Temple
2015 Dadaocheng Festival
Puppet Museum
Fantasy Ice World
2016 Bread Show
Strawberry picking
2015 Rose Garden
Modern Toilet
Shilin Night Market
NASA Exhibit
Raohe Night Market
Longshan Temple
2013 Taipei Zoo
Maokong Gondola
Lupin flowers
Taipei 101 day visit
Taipei 101 night visit
Tiger Mountain
Din Tai Fung
Taipei Story House
2014 Flower Show
Chrysanthemum Show
Miramar Ferris wheel
Miniatures Museum
Archery
1600 Pandas
Wulaoguo hot pot
Upside Down House
2016 101 Fireworks
New Taipei
Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel
Shifen Waterfall
2017 Sand Sculpture
Dragon Caves
New Taipei tour
2016 Kite Festival
Pingxi Crags
Bitou Cape
2016 Sand Sculpture
2015 Christmasland
Juming - Jinshan
Houtong - Pingxi
Sandiaoling Waterfall
Jiufen foodtrip
Guanyinshan hike
Yehliu Ocean World
2014 Kite Festival
Pingxi Rail tour
Jinguashi tour
Vigor Kobo Pineapple
British Consulate
Yehliu Geopark
2014 Sand Sculpture
Paragliding
2014 Christmasland
2014 Pingxi Lantern
firefly watching
Yingge Ceramics Street
Jiufen tour
0 comments:
Post a Comment