Temples, Tea, and Tired Legs: Climbing Maokong's Zhinan Temple Trail

TEXT　Ami Barnes

PHOTOS　Ray Chang

Wenshan District's Maokong area is frequently on lists of recommended Taipei day trips — and for good reason. It's basically a greatest-hits tour of the city squeezed into a single, easily accessible mountainous neighborhood. Between the tea-covered hills, gondola rides, grand temples, hiking trails, and plentiful refreshment options, it has everything necessary for an effortlessly rewarding day out.

Any Maokong day trip is incomplete without a stop at Zhinan Temple, which – despite the name – is not so much a single temple as a sprawling religious complex with several grand halls, a syncretic all-you-can-eat buffet's worth of divine advisors, and gardens dotted with blessing-laden bushes. Since the opening of the Maokong Gondola nearly two decades ago, most visitors arrive after a 20-minute cable car ride, but a more rewarding way to visit is by climbing the leafy Zhinan Temple Bamboo & Cypress Trail (part of the Taipei Grand Trail), which cuts its way up from Lane 33, Section 3, Zhinan Road.

To reach the trailhead, take the BR15 bus from MRT Taipei Zoo Station (southern terminus of the Brown Line) and get off at Beizheng Junior High School bus stop. The walk starts at the end of a residential cul-de-sac, where a gaggle of elderly locals often gathers for a morning chinwag. You can get the sense that they're placing bets on whether you'll be bounding up the trail like a mountain goat or huffing and puffing after the first ten steps.

Speaking of steps, the climb to Zhinan Temple is comprised of about 1,200 of them (by the time you reach halfway, you will be wishing no one had told you that). Thankfully, there are distractions to help break up the climb. Elegant stone lanterns and sculptures of austere lions dating from the 1895~1945 Japanese era flank the path at regular intervals, and several pavilions offer shady seats upon which you can pause for a breather. The most photogenic among these is Longhao Pavilion, a wide shelter that straddles the path, its mossy roof lending it a romantic air of semi-abandonment.

The first junction is reached after a 20-minute climb. Here, you'll need to decide which way to approach the temple. Turning left up a flight of narrower steps will bring you to Zhinan Temple bus stop and the sleepy Qianshan Old Street, which seems lost in a daydream of its former glory years. Passing through on any given weekday, the only signs of life consist of elderly store guardians overseeing dusty shelves full of temple offerings. Saturdays and Sundays are somewhat livelier – an influx of weekend warriors invigorates the old arcade, and several vendors crank open metal shutters to offer snacks like steamed sweet corn and roasted sweet potatoes.

The most famous store here is Jhi Nan Tea House, a tea shop boasting 50 years of history and a loyal customer base. It may not look particularly impressive, but the walls decked with certificates and medals tell a different story, and those who step inside can sample award-winning varieties of Maokong's specialty tea, Tieguanyin, or Baozhong (aka Pouchong) from just over the hills in New Taipei City's Pinglin District.

Alternatively, you can continue along the main Zhinan Temple Trail pathway from the junction until you come to Fude Temple. A fish-filled pool separates this smallest and simplest of Zhinan Temple's assorted seats of worship from the trail, and if you cross the bridge to peek inside, you'll find the Earth God, Tudi Gong, presiding over the altar. Steps to either side of temple climb upwards before converging (along with the path from Qianshan Old Street) in front of Chunyang Hall. At the top, there's a flag-flanked semi-circular platform where you can catch some expansive city views before stepping through the dragon door (the one on the right, and the correct door through which to enter any temple in Taiwan) to greet the gods.

Like many religious sites in Taiwan, Zhinan Temple is a concatenation of Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian beliefs, although Chunyang Hall leans mostly Daoist. The hall was the earliest established feature of the temple complex, and Lü Dongbin occupies its main altar. Best known as one of the Eight Immortals, Lü was a Tang dynasty poet and religious scholar whose escapades left Daoist literature a treasure trove of colorful tales. His reputation for being something of a womanizer has also led to the rumor that couples who visit Zhinan Temple are doomed to break up.

According to this superstition, seeing lovers together reminds Lü of his thwarted courtship of He Xiangu (the only female immortal), and in his jealousy, he drives young women away from their paramours. Temple custodians, however, maintain that this is an erroneous interpretation, citing various examples of why couples can safely visit the temple. One such example is the story of former Vice President Vincent Siew, who, while studying at National Chengchi University nearby, went on dates with his later wife to the temple. Their marriage has lasted over 60 years.

In adjacent Dacheng Hall, Confucius sits flanked by the Confucian sages Zengzi and Mencius, ready to bestow blessings and wisdom upon those who enter. Another altar honors the Daoist principles of bagua – a kind of cosmological framework encompassing the fundamental principles of the universe – and thirsty hikers will be happy to find Zizai Tea Pavilion tucked away to the right-hand side of Chunyang Hall. Wooden chairs polished to a glossy sheen invite visitors to sit while a gentle breeze flows through the space and – for the price of a discretionary donation – specialty teas spill from teapots into gratefully awaiting cups.

Exiting Chunyang Hall via the rear right-hand exit, a short walk brings you to Daxiong Hall (nicknamed Buddha Hall for reasons that will soon become clear). By far the quietest of Zhinan Temple's spaces, this hall seems to be in a perpetual state of renovation, but that doesn't stop the devout from coming to pay their respects.

Enshrined inside are Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, among them Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, the Medicine Buddha, and Guanyin Bodhisattva (Guanyin being one of several religious figures to slip through the porous boundary between Buddhism and Daoism). The interior is opulent – gold glints from almost every surface, and warm lighting sets the statuary aglow. How is such extravagance sustained? Zhinan Temple's deities are highly efficacious, and this has attracted many generous benefactors. Peer at the piles of building materials awaiting deployment and you'll notice each brick bears the name of the individual or company whose donation funded its purchase.

Pass back through Chunyang Hall, this time taking the exit to the left of Lü Dongbin's altar. A cloistered trail painted with scenes espousing the core Confucian values of loyalty, filial piety, moral discipline, and righteousness runs up towards Lingxiao Hall, and a profusion of red-and-gold blessing cards hang from the shrubbery beside the path. These small tokens can be used to petition for blessings in all areas of life and are sold in the temple store for a fair price, while those feeling in need of extra celestial support can opt for a relatively pricey lantern.

Lingxiao Hall is primarily devoted to the Jade Emperor, but perhaps the most impressive feature of this hall is the U-shaped room running behind the main altar, filled with representations of the Tai Sui Generals. The Tai Sui – of which there are 60 – are essentially guardian gods of the year, taking turns in a 60-year cycle. All of Lingxiao Hall's Tai Sui Generals are rendered in meticulous detail, each unique and each ensconced in its own alcove with plaques bearing the most recent years they have overseen. Above them, faux clouds and twinkling LEDs evoke a starry sky, while below, gleaming tiles reflect floor-to-ceiling banks of prayer lights.

Once you've attended to your spiritual needs, you can make your way on to your next destination by hopping aboard the Maokong Gondola. But before heading onwards and upwards to the heart of the Maokong tea-plantation area (or back down to the Taipei Zoo), it's worth taking a moment to explore the area around the gondola station.

Just to the south, the Green Ray Platform looks out over lush forest and tea plantations, while to the north, a hilly park has been transformed into a lovers' sanctuary (in part to quell rumors of the temple's deleterious effect upon couples). Yue Lao, the God of Love, greets those who make it all the way to the top, and in late winter, cherry blossoms frame the winding trails. Whether you come seeking spiritual guidance, cultural interest, or just a bit of exercise, it's safe to say you'll be heading home satisfied.