Sun Moon Lake

Located in the centre of Taiwan, 748 meters above sea level, it is the only natural big lake in Taiwan. The southern part of Kuang Hua Island is shaped like a new moon, and the northern part is shaped like a sun; hence the name Sun Moon Lake. There are several boat trips available.

Wen Wu Temple was built in 1938 and is actually 2 temples - Lungfung Temple and Ihuatang. It was rebuilt in 1969. Wen Wu is a large, imposing temple on the northern shore of Sun Moon Lake. The three large halls are dedicated to Kaiji, the God of Literature, Guang Gong, the God of Justice, and Confucius, the great teacher. The integration of the southern and northern styles of temple building, as well as the beautiful stonework and materials used, set this temple apart from many others in Taiwan. To the left of the observation deck in front of Wen Wu temple are the “Year of Steps”. A flight of 366 stairs that represent the days of the year (including leap year). These stairs were the original entrance to the temple and now lead down to the lake.

Xuan Zang Temple –Monk Xuan Zang was a Holy Monk in the Tang dynasty. At the age of 26 (627 AD) he travelled west in search of Buddha Dharma arriving at the Nalanda Monastery in central India 5 years later. After 17 years of studies in Buddhist Sutras and Treaties he travelled all over India to convert people in 138 kingdoms. Aged 44, he returned to China and by the age of 62, he had translated 75 books of Buddhist Sutras and Treaties, consisting of 1335 volumes and tens of millions of words. Upon his death, the Emperor Kao Tsung was deeply grieved and said "the country had lost a national treasure" and closed the Imperial Court for 3 days whilst the whole nation mourned.

 

During the China-Japan War, the Japanese took the Monk Xuan Zang's remains away from Nanchin to the Tsen Temple of Saidama Ken in Japan. In 1955, the Monk Xuan Zang's remains were returned back to the Xuan Zguang Temple then in 1965, they were moved to the Xuan Zang Temple after it was rebuilt.

	 
 		 
	 

Te Hua Village- Ita Thao is called Barawbaw in Thao language. The Han people call it North Cave. It was named Te Hua village after the restoration of Taiwan. Barawbaw is the last residence of the Thao people at Sun Moon Lake. Due to the number of tourists, many Han people moved here to go into trade making Ita Thao the most populous area around the Sun Moon Lake. There are stores, restaurants, and hotels in the village. Also the Thao people established the "Thao Cultural Village" for tourists to appreciate the traditional culture, songs, and dancing of the Thao tribe.