Friday, May 14, 2010

Lotus Lake, Tsoying, Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung's lake surrounded by temples


The Lotus Lake (蓮池潭) in Kaohsiung's northern district Tsoying (Chinese 左營, sometimes spelled as Zuoying) is one of the main tourist destinations in Taiwan's second metropolis. I had no idea, that there's such a big lake within the city, but my lovely girlfriend brought me here and I was really impressed by what I saw: Temple after temple and religious celebrations just upon our arrival. There were fireworks in the middle of the day. I thought: "OMG, what's going on? So many people and a lot of hustle and bustle. Wow. Let's see what's happening." So we just mingled and observed the situation, took photos. It was pretty loud, because someone started to throw firecrackers. And the heat was almost unbearable, so we didn't stand there too long. We started to walk around, entered the Dragon and Tiger pagodas and walked along the lake for a while, even took a break for a snack. The impressive Lotus lake looks amazing, but it's too good to be true. It's actually man made and opened in 1952. Most temples were built after that. So I can't really say I visited a historic site. Nevertheless, it's still a breath-taking display of amazing buildings surrounding the lake. And there is one really fascinating historic site in the area: The old Fengshan city North gate. But more about that in a new post.

Let's see some of the main sights along the Lotus Lake:

A religious festival upon entering the lake area greeted us.

The temple in its full glory.

The famous Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. See more of my photos here>>

Each pagoda is 11m tall.

The top part and the tip of the pagoda.

The view on the temple from the second floor.

The Tiger and Dragon Pagodas from the Wuli pavilion.

Guanyin goddess near the Spring and autumn pavilions (春秋閣).

I love this photo. My girlfriend walking towards the Wuli pavilion.

The Lotus Lake with the view on the Taoist temple.

Big statue of the Taoist god Bei-Ji Shien-Tien...

...he's also known under these names: 玄武, 玄天上帝, 真武大帝, 北帝 and 帝公.

The Temple of Enlightenment is a majestic temple in the area.


The Lotus Lake is Kaohsiung's getaway inside the city. I really liked the area and recommend everyone to visit it, if you happen to go to Kaohsiung. The buses are small and take some time, before they arrive, but they're very cheap. If I didn't have my girlfriend, I'd be a little lost. Maybe it's better, if you take a cab near the Tsoying station, but that will cost quite a bit.


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