Temple Fair in Ruifang Ande Temple 瑞芳安德宫庙会

Passing Through Ruifang

It is a crime that many of the travelers who arrive at either the bus or train station in Ruifang use the city as no more than a pitstop on the way to the Spirited Away inspired Jiufen (九份). In reality, the small unassuming town of Ruifang offers a unique charm which rivals the glimmering lanterns and narrow alleyways of its more famous neighbor.

Ruifang is easiest enough to get to. A local train from Taipei’s Main Station will get you to Ruifang station in just about 40 minutes for only NT 49$ (1.5 USD). For those looking to take the bus, all you have to do is step out of Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station and grab the next service to Ruifang or simply take it all the way to Jiufen.

Knowing that the transit city of Ruifang is being overlooked or bypassed altogether is quite a shame. The town’s own night market, local eateries, and culture is something which easily overshadows the likes of Instagram breeding grounds like Jiufen.

To see Ruifang truly come alive, you will need to run across a temple parade. While many of these colorful Daoist worships are advertised, it is the festivals you are not expecting that leave you with a truly deep impression.

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Ande Temple Festival 安德庙会

Unlike their brothers from across the strait, Taiwan has preserved much of its traditional culture and heritage. Any time of the year, you could be strolling through the smallest village and all of the sudden a grand parade of demons, gods, and drums can come barreling down the street.

These temple fairs, or parades, are very much a part of Taiwanese life and is essential for preserving any sense of cultural individuality. While we may like to think that the gods have smiled on us and fortune has brought this array of colors and music before our feet, temple fairs happen throughout the year.

If you are not wanting to leave it up to chance and want to be sure you catch a temple fair, plan your trip to coincide with Mazu’s birthday. Other times of the year that you are bound to run into loads of festivals, such as this one in Ruifang, is during Chinese New Year (春节) and Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节).

Want to see more temple fairs in Taiwan? Check out this Taoist parade in Tainan!

Dragons and the Neon Gods

Even if you are taking a bus and are planning on blowing through Ruifang, the colorful processions and haunting music is more than enough to have you pulling the cord and chasing after the entourage of gods and demons.

During mid-autumn festival, Ruifang’s Ande Temple (安德宫) became the end destination for many of these colorful characters parading through the street. While you have the classic dragon and lion dances, the whimsical Electro-Techno Neon Gods (电音三太子) are the ones who are sure to catch your attention.

At one time it is said that these characters were a part of the bodyguards of the gods (大仙尪子). Over time, when young people took the role of these deities, the youth enjoyed dancing to techno music rather than traditional horns and drums. Due to the already offbeat nature off temple parades, incorporating go-go girls with the officers of hell, the techno neon gods fit right in.

Some of the more famous neon god dance troupes are actually performed by people with disabilities. In other parts of Asia, the handicapped are usually kept out of the spotlight. Taiwan, on the other hand, is sure to give them the stage and the chance to perform with everyone else.

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The Guardians of the Underworld

After stumbling across a temple fair, one of the troupes which will catch your eye is the vicious Guan Jiang Shou (官将首). Although easily confused with the Ba Jia Jiang (八家将) these officers of hell are usually fewer in number, wear fangs, and carry weapons rather than fans.

These guardians usually make up the leaders of the parade or the Zhen Tou (阵头). The role of these fearsome deities is actually to ward off evil spirits and clear a path for the coming of a god to the temple. Other than the demonic generals who parade through the streets, you can also find pole dancers and musicians whose function is both to appease the gods and expel evil.

There is something truly mesmerizing about seeing such creatures wander the streets of the ultra-modern cities of Taiwan. The entire island is a place where the boundaries between reality and fantasy are blurred, thus allowing gods to walk amongst mortals.

Want to see more colorful religious processions? Check out the San Fermin parade in Spain!

Offerings to the Gods

These three officers of hell are a more modern troupe when compared with the Ba Jia Jiang. Once you dive deeper into the deities origins, you will discover that they are actually two parts to one whole.

The Ba Jia Jiang move with smooth steps which makes the gods seem to float across the ground. The Guan Jiang Shou, on the other hand, have more sharp movements. To put it simply: the Ba Jia Jiang are “Yin” (阴) and the Guan Jiang Shou are “Yang” (阳).

As the colorful beasts move in synchronization with the beating of drums and clashing cymbals, devotees can be seen throw joss paper or ghost money at the guardians. Usually, these offerings are burnt in order to send money to ancestors who moved on to the next life, but they can also be used to pray to an individual deity.

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Bubble Tea or Temple Fairs?

If one were to remain confined to the bus and fly through Ruifang on the way to the touristy Jiufen, they would be sure to miss out on the adventure of a lifetime. Jiufen offers comforts, photo ops, and overpriced snacks.

Many of these more intimate temple fairs don’t take place in small tourist hubs for a reason. Culture would turn into a novelty and traditions would be suffocated by selfie-stick wielding onlookers.

This is not to say tourists are not invited or that you couldn’t find temple fairs on the streets of Taipei or Keelung. Simply, these traditional rituals attract a certain kind of person who usually wouldn’t be found uploading pictures of their bubble tea.

To find the true roots of Taiwanese culture you’ll have to get off the tourist route and stay a few days in towns such as Ruifang. Jiufen offers its own kind of beauty. The moments which you will be reminiscing about for decades, however,  lay off of the beaten path.