Xiyuan Road - Buddhist Supplies Street Introduction
In the early days of Taiwan, people from Fujian's Minnan region crossed the Taiwan Strait to settle and cultivate the land, leaving their hometowns behind and facing an unknown and thorny new world. Their only spiritual reliance was on their ancestral hometown and various deities. Immigrants materialized the deities in their hearts through hometown faith rituals by purchasing Buddha statues, thereby opening the history of Buddha statue carving in Taiwan along Section 1 of Xiyuan Road next to Longshan Temple. From the intersection of Guangzhou Street near Longshan Temple to the intersection of Guilin Street, this short Section 1 of Xiyuan Road is the most famous Buddha supplies street in Taiwan, with a total of 20 Buddha supply shops on both sides, including a century-old establishment founded in 1895, and many other long-standing family-run shops. Longshan Temple is an important catalyst for the gathering of the Buddha statue carving industry along Xiyuan Road. As people's livelihoods gradually improved and their faith in deities became more devout, the number of temples increased, making it more common to invite deities into households for worship. These factors created a gathering effect for Buddha supplies on this street. In addition to statues, other related items such as altars, incense burners, and lampstands are also essential products in these shops, collectively contributing to the splendid history of Buddha supplies in Xiyuan Street.
