Xiyuan Road - Religious Articles Street

Recalling early Taiwan, Minnan people from Fujian crossed the Taiwan Strait to settle here. Leaving their homes behind, they faced an unknown, strange, and thorny new world. Their only spiritual reliance was on their ancestors and the gods from their homeland. The immigrants, through their religious rituals, purchased Buddhist statues to give concrete form to the deities in their hearts. This led to Section 1 of Xiyuan Road, adjacent to Longshan Temple, becoming the birthplace of Taiwan's Buddhist statue carving industry. From the intersection of Guangzhou Street near Longshan Temple to Guilin Street, this short stretch of Xiyuan Road Section 1 is Taiwan's most renowned street for religious articles. There are a total of 20 religious article shops on both sides, including a venerable establishment founded in 1895, and many other long-standing businesses passed down through generations. Longshan Temple played a crucial role in fostering the concentration of Buddhist statue carving businesses on Xiyuan Road. As people's lives gradually prospered, their devotion to deities deepened, and the number of temples continuously grew. This made it increasingly common for people to bring deities home for worship, factors that together created the cluster effect seen on the religious articles street. Beyond statues, other essential items such as altars, incense burners, and altar lamps are also indispensable offerings in these shops, collectively marking the most brilliant chapter for religious articles on Xiyuan Street.