Newcomer alarmed by Qingshan all-nighter pilgrimage

By Vivian Hsiao, The China Post, Taiwan |
駐台老外Sean Sam在深夜聽到鞭炮聲誤以為台北遭到攻擊。Expat Sean Sam thought the city was under attack when he heard firecrackers going off in the early morning. (Photo courtesy of Sean Sam/Facebook)

TAIPEI (The China Post) — Neighbors of the Qingshan Temple expressed outrage on Monday morning over disturbances caused by fireworks and firecrackers following the pilgrimage’s all-nighter that kicked off on Sunday.

The annual festival held by Qingshan Temple (青山宮) in Wanhua District (萬華) is a local tradition, but for newcomers in the neighborhood, it was a cause of great worry.

An expat in Taipei, Sean Sam, shared some photos of the “huge local religious event near his home” to Twitter.

According to his post, Sam lamented that the fireworks had been going on for “non-stop” the entire weekend and shared some photos he took at 5 a.m. on Monday morning.

Fireworks and firecrackers went off non-stop all weekend, Sean Sam wrote. (Photo courtesy of Sean Sam/Facebook)

He added that he initially thought the city was under attack by a foreign military, but later realized it was a celebration with many stages.

A social media user commented below and shared a photo of one of the stages, apparently featuring exotic dancers, adding that the “male gods have been very happy.”

A social media user suggested that “male gods” would be very happy with the performance. (Screengrab from Facebook)

Another suggested that the expat should file a noise complaint to the police, asking them to arrest the “gods”.

Others complained about the whole event claiming that the temple had “zero respect for anybody” and left behind trash and debris after the festival wrapped up.

Many posted photos of the trash left behind from the pilgrimage. (Screengrab from Facebook)

In fact, the celebration marks the birthday of the temple’s patron deity, Qingshanwang (Green Mountain King, 青山王), and is held every year in early December.