Religion is abundant all around the world. An old cathedral, mosque, or synagogue is often viewed from outside closed doors, its external beauty projected toward the people passing by. A few individuals may be seen coming and going into the premises, more so on days of worship, but much of the time the internal happenings are easily isolated from the world outside.
These religious buildings can trigger feelings of unease and intrusion for the first-time visitor, making it difficult to fully enjoy the novelty of the experience. Taiwan is not this way. Here, smiles and head nods are exchanged, a “ni hao” at the least, a full tour by the local temple chairman at the most. The instinctual feeling of discomfort is quickly shed, and in its place a deep reverence for the beauty and culture emerges.
In the city, a two minute stroll in any direction will almost surely yield a Buddhist or Daoist temple. And the doors will almost certainly be open. They range in size and appearance – some are merely a doorway’s-width space revealing a shrine, others are massive multi-building compounds of elaborately detailed architecture.
Outside the city, the two minute stroll may turn into a few minutes drive, but the temples are still abundant to an extreme. Religion and daily life integrated into a harmonious bliss.
Below is a video my boyfriend shot and composed of Longshan Temple, one of the most famous and highly visited in Taipei. It’s a wonderful insight into the daily internal happenings of these spiritual places.
tap.into.taiwan 
Beautiful insight, beautiful pictures ❤️
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