Religion takes a great part of everyday Taiwanese lives, and the official number of registered temples in Taipei is around 200. But this is only a fraction of the amount of unregistered ones. Yes, this means we have A LOT MORE temples than you thought we might have. Each temple celebrates their festivals in unique ways, with some celebrations gradually becoming an important yearly event for local people.

As one of the three major temple festivals in Taipei, The Nighttime Parade of Qing Shan Temple in Wenhua (aka Manka) district is a perfect example of what you

shouldn’t miss out when you are in Taipei. (The other two are the Xia-Hai City God Temple in Dadaocheng and the Bao An temple in Dalongdong. However, this year only the Qing Shan Temple’s parade will be taking place.)

Every year in the Lunar calendar from Oct.21, 22 and 23, for 3 consecutive days, Qing Shan King will have patrols throughout the whole Wenhua district with his 16 guards in order to ward off evil spirits and protect the people. You will see the 16 guards each with different facial paintings and weapons, walking ceremoniously.

Beside from that, since this is an important event in the year, you will also see different troupes dressed up in different forms(we call them Din Tao陣頭) from other temples in nearby districts which make the parade even more distinguishing.

Last but not least, while you are busy watching, we have to remind you to be prepared for the background sound effects, because a parade will never be complete without all the firecrackers!

Come to join the nighttime parade with our guide who will give you tips on what to look for and explain to you the history of Qing Shan Temple!