From a prism-shaped church to a traditional Arabian-style mosque, Xinsheng S Road in Taipei City’s Daan District (大安) is flanked by an array of religious buildings illustrating a rich variety of architecture and providing the area with a definite religious atmosphere, which has earned the thoroughfare the nickname the “Road to Heaven.”
Walking north along Xinsheng S Road Sec 3, Grace Baptist Church is the first religious building you encounter, standing opposite National Taiwan University (NTU).
In early 1951, three foreign missionaries who took up teaching positions at NTU and National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) set about planning a church to accommodate ever-increasing members of their flock. After finding the site, they commenced construction work in 1954.
Photo: Weng Yu-huang, Taipei Times
Following the opening of the church, Chou Lien-hua (周聯華) was invited to serve as a pastor.
The building underwent a renovation in 1983 to incorporate both Taiwanese culture and elements of Chinese architecture.
In a tribute to Jesus Christ, the roof of the church is designed in the shape of a hat that was worn by scholar-bureaucrats during the Ming Dynasty, with its yellow color symbolizing greatness.
Only a few steps away lies the Taipei Truth Lutheran Church, another long-standing religious structure, which was erected in 1952. The church was given a modern makeover in 2005, when a stained-glass roof was integrated into the building.
Arriving at the intersection of Xinsheng S Road and Heping E Road, where Daan Forest Park is situated, the Bread of Life Christian Church sits to the south of the park, while the Holy Family Catholic Church and the Taipei Grand Mosque stand to the west.
The Taipei Grand Mosque, the oldest and largest center of worship for the country’s Muslim community, was built in 1960 in accordance with Islamic religious edicts and Arabic construction methods.
The building, which was designated a historical site in 1999, includes several facilities, such as a prayer hall, ablution hall, community hall and two 20m tall minarets.
Heading further north to the intersection of Xinsheng S Road Sec 2 and Xinyi Road, a unique spiral building comes into sight — the Seventh Day Adventist Taipei Church.
The exterior of the church is bedecked with a mosaic pattern depicting the three angels of Revelation as a demonstration of the church’s determined mission to spread the messages of the angels to the world.
Standing at the intersection of Xinsheng S Road Sec 1 and Jinan Road, the two-story Taipei Wesley Methodist Church, founded in 1953, is renowned for its distinctive triangle-shaped doorposts.
Opposite the Apostolic Nunciature (the Embassy of the Holy See), which is situated at the intersection of Yongkang Street and Aikuo E Road, sits the place of worship for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — a religious group also known as the Mormons.
The church’s prism-shaped architecture and six spires were constructed with lightweight partition walls within a steel frame — a rare demonstration of architectural skill at the time of its construction. A miniature golden statue of the prophet Moroni, the son of Mormon, is pictured holding a horn above the tallest spire, which is about 34m in height.
According to local residents, the concentration of religious buildings on Xinsheng S Road is probably connected with the nearby NTU and NTNU, both of which are situated in Daan District.
Daan District Office official Wu Chung-hsin (吳重信) said that in the early 1940s and 1950s, Daan District was — compared with other administrative areas in Taipei — a vast, but sparsely populated region.
However, as scores of Mainlanders fled China with Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, they settled in the area, which was home to schools including Taipei Imperial University — the predecessor of NTU — and NTNU, Wu said.
“In the early days, many foreign missionaries took teaching posts at the two universities. In an effort to better balance educational work and their missionary work, they tended to hold religious gatherings in the vicinity of the campuses,” Wu said.
Over time, the district started to draw more missionaries from China, who also settled in the area, which helped transform Xinsheng S Road into the center of worship for Western religions in Taipei, Wu said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and