The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) yesterday announced a list of the top 100 religious attractions in the country, selected by the public through Internet voting and a panel of experts.
“There are a lot of religious sites in Taiwan, including temples and churches, but many people seem to be detached from these religious establishments,” Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) told a news conference at the ministry to announce the list yesterday. “The purpose of selecting the top 100 religious attractions is to remind people of this treasure in our culture, and second, to connect these churches and temples to tourism and to our daily lives.”
“Of course, this is only the beginning, we will have other events and projects surrounding these religious attractions,” the minister added.
The ministry selected 417 candidates from more than 10,000 sites and events across the country, posted the list on the Internet for the public to vote on, and had a panel of experts review the attractions that received the most votes and collate the final list, which it hopes will promote tourism.
Among the top 100 religious attractions on the list are the Hsing Tian Kong (行天宮) temple and the Taipei Grand Mosque in Taipei, the Tamsui Presbyterian Church in Tamsui District (淡水), New Taipei City (新北市), the Chenghuang Temple (城隍廟) in Hsinchu City, the Luce Memorial Chapel on Tung Hai University campus in Greater Taichung City, as well as the Sky Lantern Festival in Pingsi District (平溪), New Taipei City, the Bombarding of Handan (炸寒單) in Taitung City, the Yenshuei Beehive Rocket Festival (鹽水蜂炮) in Yenshuei District (鹽水), Greater Tainan City, and the Ilisin Harvest Festival put on by Amis Aborigines.
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