Hualien
Hotels often have marble furnishings, such as marble coffee tables, marble bathrooms, and more. Hualien airport is also remarkable, as it is the world's only marble airport terminal.
Since marble is abundant in Hualien, temples are also built from marble. The Temple of Eastern Purity sits on a hill downtown, and has floors, walls, columns, and shrines created from local marble. The main hall houses three gilded Buddhas, while a pagoda stands behind the hall. Hall of Motherly Love
This hall is located near the end of Chunghua Road, just before it crosses a small canal en route to Carp Lake. Major festivals are celebrated here on the 18th day of the second lunar month annually. During this time, thousands of pilgrims from all over Taiwan would visit the temple to have chronic illnesses cured and receive blessings from priests.
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Hualien
is a pleasant and spirited town that can be reached by train or by air
from Taipei. Almost three-quarters of Hualien is dominated by alpine,
while the city fills the narrow strip of flat land separating the mountains
from the sea. Marble is Hualien's pride and joy. Tons of pure marble is
contained in the rocky cliffs and cracks nearby Taroko Gorge. The marble
is processed and used to make lamps, ashtrays, bookends, vases, goblets,
and so on.
Temple
of Eastern Purity
Many
temples in Hualien are made from marble, but the most distinguished of
them is the Hall of Motherly Love. This Taoist temple is impressive for
its sculpted stonework on the columns and pillars with its painted door
gods. The main half of the temple is occupied by a shrine devoted to the
Regal Mother of the West. Two other old and ancient shrines are built
into grottoes on either side of the central altar, each with its own set
of carved dragons and guardian lions.
