Travel Date: 2018/11/10
Today's weather isn't good, it has been rainy since the morning. I hope this doesn't ruin our trip. I have chosen six places to visit: Golden Waterfall, Remains of 13 Levels, Yin Yang Sea, Elephant Trunk Rock, Helping Island Park, and the Fairy Cave and Buddha's Hand Cave.
It's our second time visiting Golden Waterfall and Remains of 13 Levels. This time, we are not traveling alone; a nice guy from Slovakia has joined us. I don't often have the chance to meet other foreigners, so it's pretty nice. I hope this trip is really interesting for him.
It's time to visit the last place on our list - a temple in the cave. There are two caves near each other, and we are going to see both of them. These caves are among the many natural marine caves in Keelung.
Fairy Cave / Xiandongyan Zuisheng Temple (仙洞巖最勝寺)
Finding this place isn't difficult. In front of the cave, you will see the gate of the temple and a Buddha sculpture a little further up. The cave is open for tourists every day from 8am to 5pm.
No one knows when the shrine inside the cave was built. It's said that a fairy used to live inside the cave, which is why it is named Fairy Cave. In 2006, the cave was announced as a Cultural Landscape.
The Fairy Cave was naturally formed by sea erosion and is the largest cave in Keelung, spanning over 80 meters in length. The cave is divided into two parts: the left one and the right one.
The right cave is quite big but not very deep. On the walls, you can see carvings of Buddhas and calligraphy from the Qing Dynasty. There are also a few Buddha sculptures where people come to pray.
The area around this cave used to be an important fortress during the Qing Dynasty. Inside the cave, you will also see Buddhist statues that were left after Japanese rule. There are many poems and other calligraphy left on the walls as well.
The left cave is a narrow tunnel but much deeper. If you decide to go there, you should be careful of people walking back. This part of the cave is quite small, and sometimes you may have to almost kneel down to finally arrive and see the Buddha sculpture, where people are praying.
Buddha's Hand Cave (佛手洞)
Close to the Fairy Cave, you can see another one called the Buddha's Hand Cave. There is not much to see inside this cave. It doesn't have sculptures, and no one prays here. So, what attracts people to this cave? It's a huge handprint on the stone ceiling, resembling the hand of Buddha.
Inside the cave, there are several chambers, so you should follow the signs on the walls to get to see the Buddha's Hand. The handprint was created due to weathering and resembles the hand of Buddha.
Keelung Shengan Temple (基隆聖安宮)
You can also climb higher up to the park and Shengan Temple. From here, you can see Keelung Harbor, a lighthouse, and an old fort on the mountains in the west side.
The founder of the temple, Shuangzong, was originally a railway employee in the Dajia area during the Japanese occupation period. Later, he gathered Dajia folks who came to work in Keelung and formed a pilgrimage group. They visited Beigang Chaotian Temple with Zhenlan Palace and established the tradition of returning to Zhenlan Palace for incense grabbing. In the same year, villagers from the Xiandong area invited the Heavenly Virgin Liu Ma to visit the Keelung Xiandong area and enshrined her in the Xiandong Rock.
The pilgrimage group continued to visit Zhenlan Palace in Dajia, and with the approval of the chairman Guo Jinkun, Liu Ma's spirit was separated to the west bank of Keelung Harbor. The statue was initially enshrined in Xiandongyan and later in rented houses, which eventually led to the establishment of the Sheng'an Palace. In 1967, the temple was officially built at its current location on Zhongshan 3rd Road.
In 1993, construction began on a new temple, which took nearly 20 years to complete. The temple features a town hall Mazu and two fairies carved from camphor wood, which were consecrated in 2012. The chairman Shuang Jinchun expressed his hope to rebuild the temple into a five-story museum if funds allow.
Sacrificial activities at Sheng'an Palace include annual pilgrimages to Zhenlan Palace on March 20 of the lunar calendar and the driving around the border ceremony. The pilgrimage is warmly welcomed by the directors, supervisors, and local residents of Zhenlan Palace.
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