Lotus Pond and the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas

About this place

A broad lake in old Zuoying, north Kaohsiung, ringed by some twenty temples. Its landmark is a pair of matching seven-storey pagodas built in 1976 over the water, joined to the shore by a zigzag bridge; visitors walk into one through the mouth of a huge colourful dragon and out through the mouth of a tiger. Folk custom says entering by the dragon's mouth and leaving by the tiger's brings luck and drives off misfortune. The passages inside the dragon and tiger are painted with folk tales, and the pagodas' upper floors look over the lake and hills. On the same shore are two more colourful pavilions on the water reached by a long lantern-hung bridge, and Kaohsiung's Confucius Temple, Taiwan's largest. A promenade and cycle path circle the lake. The site is free; morning or sunset, when the pagodas mirror in the water, are best. Temples are living places of worship: dress modestly, speak quietly and do not photograph worshippers up close. Southern Taiwan is hot and humid most of the year, so carry water and a hat; winter is the mildest season for sightseeing.