A Day in Pingxi

March 25, 2012 — A Day in Pingxi

Spring was warming up, and taking the kids outdoors felt like a wonderful way to spend the day. The annoying part was that weekends in northern Taiwan usually meant traffic jams and crowds everywhere ~.~'"

There was probably no escaping the crowds, but we could at least avoid the traffic by taking public transportation ^.^

Setting Out from Badu

Badu Station on the way to Pingxi — The first stop of the day: Badu Station.

Today’s plan was to take Belle by bus, transfer to the MRT, and then catch a train for our grand adventure to Pingxi ^.^

Belle waiting at Badu Station for the train toward Pingxi — Bus, MRT, and train—we were collecting every mode of transportation today.

Yaaawn~~~ Is the train ever coming? ~.~'"

Belle yawning while waiting for the train — The train had not arrived, and Belle was already yawning.

We rushed all the way from home to Jingtong, the last stop on the Pingxi Line. The whole journey took… three hours @.@'"

By the time we got off the train, we were starving, so we picked a place beside the station and sat down for something to eat.

A place to eat beside Jingtong Station — After reaching Jingtong, our first priority was finding food beside the station.

A nostalgic dining space inside an old building in Jingtong — The old building supplied all the nostalgic atmosphere it needed.

The restaurant had a nostalgic style. The old building hardly needed any decoration to have plenty of atmosphere. The prices, however, were not nearly as old-fashioned ~.~'"

Judging by this auntie’s deep, contemplative gaze as she enjoyed a quiet moment, she probably did not care much whether the food tasted good either XD

A family member sitting quietly during the meal — A quiet moment, preserved by the camera.

I had originally planned a photo shoot for Belle at Jingtong’s Prince Guest House. It had been under renovation when we visited two years earlier, but when we arrived this time, we were disappointed yet again >.<'"

The scene encountered while visiting Jingtong’s Prince Guest House — After waiting two years, we still did not get inside the Prince Guest House.

On the way down, we came across a couple taking wedding photos. Belle loves brides and kept asking to have her picture taken with the bride.

Newlyweds taking wedding photos in Jingtong as Belle watches — A wedding shoot on the street immediately captured Belle’s attention.

Unfortunately, their group did not seem very experienced with sky lanterns. Soon after they lit it, the lantern caught fire. Belle stared at it after it fell into the water, looking even more disappointed than the newlyweds ~.~'"

No luck with the Prince Guest House again. Next time, we would make sure to check before coming =.=

Back to Pingxi

We checked the time and realized we could just catch the train. I scooped up Belle, dashed to the station, and rode back to Pingxi for a walk around town.

One of her older sister’s after-school assignments was reading her lessons aloud. Her recent Chinese lesson was about how everyone could find a special stone in the mountains—one that could share their happiness and help calm them when they were angry.

So when Belle stepped off the train and saw stones covering the tracks, she immediately crouched down to find one that belonged to her @.@'"

Belle crouching near the tracks to look for a special stone — The stones reminded Belle of her sister’s lesson, so she crouched down to choose one carefully.

She thoughtfully found one for her sister too. I nearly fainted…

Wait… a sky lantern!!

A sky lantern seen in Pingxi — After finding her stone, a sky lantern caught her eye.

We had arrived in the home of sky lanterns, and people were releasing them everywhere.

Visitors releasing a sky lantern on Pingxi Old Street — On Pingxi Old Street, a lantern covered in wishes was ready to rise.

A wish-covered sky lantern rising over Pingxi — The lantern rose slowly, carrying everyone’s written wishes.

But once those lanterns covered in wishes came back down, they also became a burden on the environment. With so much commercial interest involved, banning them probably would not be easy…

Time to sit down for some ice cream—Belle’s reward for being so good today ^.^

Belle eating ice cream during a break in Pingxi — Belle had been good all day, so ice cream was her reward.

Guanyin Temple and the Hillside

Once we left the old street, the crowd thinned out immediately. We walked to Guanyin Temple, a center of local worship.

The exterior or entrance of Guanyin Temple in Pingxi — We reached Guanyin Temple, a center of local worship in Pingxi.

There was a cave dedicated to the Eight Immortals, but Belle was afraid of the dark. She agreed to take pictures outside and refused to go in @.@'"

So we wandered around the hillside instead.

Up there, we found the Guanyin Temple air-raid warning bell pavilion.

The air-raid warning bell pavilion above Guanyin Temple — The old air-raid warning bell pavilion on the hillside above Guanyin Temple.

Near the end of World War II, a lookout post was established on the slope above the temple to help protect Pingxi’s coal mines and coal trains and to monitor aircraft flying toward Taipei. Personnel stationed there would issue a warning when they detected danger.

The pavilion had deteriorated over the years and was in danger of collapsing, so a warning sign kept visitors from getting too close ~.~'"