Fulong

September 29, 2023

中秋快樂! (Zhōngqiū kuàilè) – Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! You can read about it in Taiwan Public Holidays. Just think, it has been over four years since I first came to Taiwan.

The weather is cooling off. The mornings are without the heat of summer, though in the heat of the day the temperature is in the low 30’s. Now International House’s air-conditioner gets switched off at 5am, which in my opinion is too soon.

I decided to do a day trip to Fulong (福隆).

Fulong is not marked on the map above; it’s located under “Gongliao District”, almost to the eastern end of land. From Xindian to Fulong Beach is around 60 kilometres, less than going from Northbridge to Penrith in Sydney.

After eating breakfast in a cafe near Qizhang MRT Station, I went via the MRT subway train, which was moderately full (above).

At Taipei Main Station I bought a physical ticket (above). You will observe that it’s not the ticket above, because I made a serious mistake.

I hopped on a fast intercity express, figuring it would get me to Fulong quicker. The above picture is of a similar train at Yilan.

The intercity express went via the Mountain Line (above). I stood the whole way, not having a seat reserved.

Here is a view of (I think) the Keelung River.

The views were very scenic (above). However, I didn’t realise the intercity express was a non-stop train. The next stop was Yilan, way down south, over an hour away. I passed through Fulong but the intercity express didn’t halt. Worse, the conductor came along and charged me 202元 ($AUD10), around 2½ times the slow train price.

I changed to a slow train (above) at Yilan and reversed my travel.

Aboard the slow train. I paid extra for the slow train as well.

Fulong, at last.

On the steps to Fulong Station looking out over the busy street.

A map at the station. There are also a few Internet guides to Fulong, for instance Hoponworld.

I followed the road for a few hundred meters to Fulong Beach (above). According to Tour Taiwan, “Fulong Beach is located at the mouth of Shuangxi River at Sandiaowan, Gongliao District, New Taipei City. The beach stretches as long as 3 kilometers with golden sand. It has always been a summer resort in northern Taiwan. Every summer, a good number of tourists would gather here to swim and enjoy the sun. Fulong Beach was famous during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. … It is the most famous beach in northern Taiwan, just as Kenting is the most famous beach in southern Taiwan.”

Another shot of Fulong Beach, showing the bridge. I neglected to properly read the Internet reviews of Fulong Beach, so I was astounded to learn of the admission price. To go across that bridge costs 120元 ($AUD6). I guess sandy beaches are precious in Taiwan. Needless to say, I didn’t spend the money. In the east coast of Australia there are beaches after beaches for thousands of kilometers; Australians don’t know how lucky they are.

On YouTube there are many clips about Fulong Beach, but comparatively few on Fulong itself. The above YouTube clip is representative.

There is also a (free) public beach. The above photo shows the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant in the distance.

Young men played a kind of football on the beach, while boys and girls waded in the shallows (above). I could imagine the lazy days here.

I returned to the station and walked west on highway 2 trying to find the temple. It was in the middle of the day, hot and humid; after only a few hundred meters sweat dampened my shirt, and I was irritable and dehydrated. I seriously considered turning around.

Fortunately, I persevered, and met the entrance to Dong Xing Temple, on highway 2. I can actually mostly read the sign – Fulong District, Dong Xing Temple. Native speakers of Chinese, please correct me if I am wrong.

I seemed to walk several hundred meters to the temple, although it probably wasn’t that far; the weather was that hot and humid. I took the above photo propping my mobile phone on the crematoria.

According to Ben Hsu of the Google reviews of Dongxing Temple, “The Temple is registered as a Taoist temple, although it is more a temple which worships ancestors [3 old families’ ancestors- families Lin, Wen and Fu] and worships Chinese and Taiwanese folklore deities, including Ma-tzu, Land God, and other deities. The Temple was originally built in 1926 and went through a few rounds of rebuild and expansion and current temple structure was finalized in year 2000. The Temple is well loved and worshipped by the local residents, because residents of Fulung Township escaped from a few bombings during the World War II and other political suppression in early 1950 when Chiang Kai-shek came to Taiwan in 1949.”

I didn’t stay long, just a quick snap at the entrance (above). Then I retraced my steps to Fulong Station.

I had read about the takeaway shops in Fulong. Hoponworld says “Many blogs rave about the lunchboxes in Fulong, which have been famous since the Japanese occupation. If you’re into that, you won’t need to look far to find a biàndang shop in Fulong. There are a couple of shops right in front of the train station.”

Sure enough, there was one right next to the station (above) – you can see the entrance outside the front of the shop.

I ordered the grilled pork biàndang and milk tea (above). The biàndang reminded me of the railway dish, but richer and more complex. It included pork, whole boiled egg, tofu, a fish cake, pickled vegetables, steamed cabbage, and other things I’ve forgotten. It was delicious!

Shortly after this meal the weather turned from high humidity to torrential rain. When I arrived back in Taipei, after getting the slow train this time, the weather turned again to a fine late afternoon.