For a long time, the scenic area around Long
Shan Temple has been marred by its notoriety
for being the hangout of many homeless people.
Then the Taipei City Government made it an
objective to turn the place around and rebuild
Wan Hua. Park No. 12 in front of Long Shan
Temple finally completed its renovation on
January 22 this year, and has been officially
renamed Meng Chia Park.
There are pleasant pedestrian
walkways, a huge water fountain and an astrological
map on the surface of the plaza. There is
also an underground shopping mall, food hall
and parking area. This not only solves visitors'
parking dilemma, but also gives everyone another
good option for shopping and having fun clearly,
this new park has beautified the entire Long
Shan Temple area. The park's water fountain
has been named the "Beauty Mirror Pool".
Legend has it that this is where the goddess
Kuan Yin used water as a mirror. Basking in
this romantic legend, one can enjoy a fantastic
high-tech display of water and light dance,
every 15 minutes daily from 9 a.m. till 9
p.m.
The astrological map in front
of the fountain is an almalgation of Western
and Eastern astrology. In the evenings, over
2,000 star lights which have been installed
in the ground light up the plaza. On the edge
of the plaza, you will find a stand that provides
audio astrological explanations. Visitors
can pick out their own astrological signs
and listen to the explanation in Chinese,
English or Japanese.
The underground shopping mall
in Meng Chia Park is divided into 48 areas
with a total of 426 shops that opened for
business on March 27, with more businesses
starting up in the near future. The underground
parking area has 567 private car parking spaces
and 279 motorcycle parking spaces, making
it very convenient for visitors. Situated
in front of Long Shan Temple, Meng Chia Park
is closely linked to the MRT and Wan Hua District,
creating a great new, scene city hotspot with
its connection to the district center and
shopping area.
By Shanzi Chen
Translated by Cara Steenstra
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