"The age drop has been quite significant. While we used to see predominantly elderly worshippers, we are seeing a lot young people between 15 and 30 coming to worship," Chang said. "I guess it has lot to do with society in Taiwan and the way it is changing."
While the demographics of its worshippers have changed over the decades, the reasons for visiting Lungshan Temple have remained much the same.
According to Cheng, most worshippers come to ask the gods to bestow good health and good fortune on their family. The second most popular request remains that the gods bless parents with good health. Thirdly, however, more and more worshippers are asking deities for financial prosperity.
"People have always come here to ask for health and wealth, but with the changing economic times, we are seeing more and more people showing great concern over financial matters," Chang said.
Lungshan Temple has no such financial concerns. It is free of the financial scandals that are presently plaguing several of Taipei's more prominent temples and its future looks guaranteed to a be very healthy and wealthy one.
With the inclusion of the temple as a highlight of the Cultural City of Asia-Pacific 2001 tours, it is hoped that even more people will visit the temple.
The special Taipei tour buses will run their route between 9am and 5pm every Sunday until Nov. 4. Tickets are standard fare for bus travel in Taipei at NT$15 for adults and NT$8 for children and the elderly. For a complete listing of places of interest on the cultural route and more information about the cultural tours call (02) 2799-9322. For a full schedule of all of the events set to take place during this year's Cultural City of Asia-Pacific call the Taipei City Government Bureau of Cultural Affairs (
RSS