Taipei's annual Qingshan King Festival breathes new life into one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. By traveling temple to temple through the shopping streets and red light district, worshipers in Wanhua hope the god will bring good fortune to a historic area that's known to be a little rough around the edges.
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00:00Every year, the streets of Taipei's Wanhua District come to life for the centuries-old
00:12Qingshan King Festival. The three-day event is one of the largest in Taipei, and culminates
00:18with birthday celebrations for folk deity, the Qingshan King, who is carried through
00:22his city by volunteers.
00:52On the two evenings before the main event, worshippers join the Anfang, or night patrol,
00:57a mysterious, more constrained and deeply symbolic ritual, in which a procession makes
01:02its way through one of Taipei's oldest neighborhoods.
01:05It's after sunset here in Wanhua District. Now this is one of Taipei's older neighborhoods
01:10and one that still practices cultural and religious traditions brought over from China
01:15hundreds of years ago. It's also home to some of the city's oldest and biggest temples.
01:21Starting and finishing at Qingshan Temple, the Anfang procession visited several of these
01:25temples, including Taipei's oldest, Longshan Temple. By traversing the narrow tangle of
01:30streets throughout the district, the Qingshan King and his eight generals dispel evil and
01:35protect the community.
01:56Legend has it, the Qingshan King saved Wanhua from a plague centuries ago. And today, the
02:01festival serves as a reminder of the community's resilience and unity. With its long history
02:07of booms and busts, Wanhua has a reputation for being a little rough around the edges.
02:12The district is home to one of Taipei's most vibrant shopping and nightlife areas, as well
02:17as one of its oldest red light districts. It's a place where elderly shopkeepers rub
02:22shoulders with tattooed gangsters, and where temple festivals bring different parts of
02:27Taiwanese society together.
02:56As the palanquin is carried through Wanhua's streets, a centuries-old tradition is carried
03:01on for another generation. For the next few days, this neighborhood with a deep history
03:06is coming together to celebrate and look to the future.
03:10Klein Wong, Millie Hughes, and Bryn Thomas for Taiwan Plus.