Day 3
Places that we've went to: ๅ้ผๆๅๆ，Anping Fort and Old Street, Eternal Golden Castle, the Tainan Confucius Temple and the Chihkan Tower.
ๅ้ผๆๅๆ★★★★☆
It was our last day in ๅ้ผๆๅๆ, and hence, we went to a drum lesson where we learnt how to play the drums of various kinds and of all sizes. Shortly after that, we went to a performance performed by professional drum players. We were pleasantly surprised to know that we were given the first few benches, which were mostly for VIPs. As we watched, we could tell that the players were trying their best to give us their best performance and like what they've said, they wanted the tradition of Chinese drums to be passed down from one generation to the next, and it shows how preservation of this tradition was important to them. Quite reluctantly, we left the hotel as we headed to our next location.
Anping Fort and Old Street ★★★★☆
This was our next location, the Anping Fort, and it was relatively grand, and although it has already been built for many years, the structure of this building still remains stable without showing much signs of wreckage. You could see from this that the Taiwanese people took great care of this place with historical value. From Anping Fort, I've learnt that it was built by the Dutch in 1624, and it was originally named "Fort Zeelandia". Also, during the Dutch governance, slaves were brought in, commonly known as "Oo-Kui-a" or "้ป้ฌผๅฅด". After exploring the fort, we went to Anping Old Street where we had our lunch, having the opportunity to taste the infamous "ๆฃบๆๆฟ” or "Coffin Bread". We also managed to taste a unique soft drink that we've never tasted before, gaining a marble after we've finished the bottle. (The marble was in the bottle). Under the teacher's permission, we were allowed some time to stroll around, admiring the old streets of Anping.
Eternal Golden Castle ★★★★☆
Thirdly, we went to the Eternal Golden Castle. It was a beautiful place, and an old tunnel was built there. Despite it looking ordinary, much effort was made by many people to finish the process of building this tunnel. It is so strong and stable due to the materials used to secure it together, like an old version of 'cement', and materials used were sticky rice and so on. As we entered the tunnel, what came into our view was this beautiful garden in the middle of the place, the grass lush and green. However, there weren't a museum there of some sort for us to learn more information, which was a pity.
Taiwan Confucius Tower ★★★★☆
I've learnt that it was the first school ever built in Taiwan, and that it was also built by the Ditch during their colonization separately. There was a small museum in the temple, showcasing different uniforms and attire worn by disciples in the temple when attending a festival or when participating in various ceremonies. Other than that, there was also a small booth where papers were given out for you to write what you wanted to achieve for your studies, and after you were done, and had to use a stamp before hanging it up on a small wall. Because this temple was once a school, hence, people come here to write their wishes for their studies, hoping it would come true. It also proves as a popular way to make the temple a popular tourist attraction.
Chihkan Tower ★★★☆☆
This was the last historical place we visited in Day Three. It was also a place where scholars could put their certificates in this temple as they hoped to enter into the university they wanted to get in. Many people believed that the God existing in that temple was the God that would help the students in improving their studies and helping them to achieve their goals. Thus, this was the reason why many students went to this place. Also, since it was built quite a long time ago, the whole building was refurnished several times, and the stairs were still slightly creaky, giving us the chills as we went up from one level to the next, but yet leaving us feeling excited too. We left the place a little while after the tour guide finished what he'd wanted to say.
Taishinu Hotel ★★★☆☆
We went to this hotel at the end of the day, and since we only arrived there, I couldn't say much about it except for that fact that the rooms were relatively clean, except for several bugs found in my friends' rooms. For our rooms, our rooms were spacious enough as compared to the others whose rooms were way smaller than ours. However, we had a small bathroom and it was triangular-shaped, making it smaller than it looks. Everything was provided there but the bad things was that the lights would sometimes flicker off by itself. But overall, it was comfortable for me to stay in.
