Previously known as Park No. 12 located in the Wanhua District, the sprawling Bangka Park next to Longshan Temple is enclosed by Guangzhou St., Heping W. Rd., Sanshui St. and Xiyuan Rd. Developed by the Taipei City Government, it is a distinctively art-themed “folklore park” teeming with culturally significant details. For example, a dragon-inspired sculpture in the Park’s east side is inspired by a Chinese Feng Shui rule for good luck, being an azure dragon appearing on the left-hand side when facing south, while a boat sculpture in the west side recount a bit of history of the early settlers in the neighborhood who used canoes as a common means of transportation, ferrying and trade. Adjacent to a pond named “Beauty’s Mirror” is a viewing platform defined by Feng Shui principles in accordance with the position of the Big Dipper constellation, where illuminated “dancing water” shows are staged on a daily basis. After sunset, the Temple Gateway Square, an extension of the Longshan Temple into the Park’s north side, sees over 2,000 stars simultaneously radiating lights of varying colors from an astrological chart that consists of both Chinese and Western zodiac signs. Meanwhile, the roof tile-like structure of reinforced glass and vitreous enamel panels transforms the Park’s inverted U-shaped art gallery into a passageway with recreation and exhibition facilities. As an important public project in the City Government’s campaign of “Rotating the Axis of Urban Development and Regenerating Taipei West”, Bangka Park, along with its neighboring Longshan Temple, will hopefully blossom into a vibrant international tourist hotspot of historical, cultural and religious importance that buttresses western Taipei’s growth and business potential, and ultimately regains the glory of this two-century-old neighborhood.
Bangka Park 艋舺公園
