Taipei
City Tour, and Cultural Evening, August 15, Tuesday
Half-Day Taipei City and Palace Museum Tour
(13:50pm board the bus at the Grand Hotel)
Taipei is the capital city of Taiwan with many faces where ancient and modern Chinese culture co-exist in perfect harmony. Your tour begins with the Chiang Kai-Shen Memorial Hall, located near the presidential square in the center of Taipei.
The National Theater and Concert Hall flank a Ming-Style arch at the main entrance.
Driving through the downtown, you'll see the Martyrs Shrine modeled after the Ming architecture of Beijing's Forbidden City and dedicated to the fallen heroes of China's war.
The last stop is the National Palace Museum where houses the world famous collection of Chinese art treasures which span the 5,000-year history of Chinese culture.
After dinner, we will go
to the Cultural Show at National Taiwan Junior College of Performing Arts, the
most famous Arts College in Taiwan.
Two sets of famous opera, A Case of Mistaken Identity and The Legend of the White Snake, will be presented.
A
Case of Mistaken Identity:
Song (1127-1279) and Liao (916-1125) were at war. The frontier was in great danger. With a passport, Yang Ba-mei (the 8th sister), dressed as a man was sneaking into Liao’s barracks to collect military information.
On her way home, she went by Liou-yen town and was stopped by the innkeeper, Jiao Guang-pu, soliciting her into his inn. Thinking that her true identity had been discovered, Yang Ba-mei wanted to kill the innkeeper. After a struggle, she discovered that Jiao Guang-pu was a relative staying in Liao because of a war. With only one passport, Yang Ba-mei asked him to pretend to be her groom, and went back together to Southern Song.
This opera shows the “fighting” skills of a female warrior pitted against a comic-cum-martial artist. The skills display in their choreographed combat, full of acrobatic leaps and near-misses, especially their skillful movements employing a chair are this opera’s most outstanding feature.
The
Legend of the White Snake:
The spirits of a white snake and blue snake were transformed into human figures and descended into the mortal world at Hangchow’s West Lake. They encountered a young and handsome merchant by the name of Hsu Hsien. The white snake, called Lady White in her mortal form, and Hsu Hsien fell in love and were married in a hasty wedding ceremony. However, a Buddhist monk Fa Hai hinted to Hsu Hsien of Lady White’s true identity. In order to test this hypothesis Hsu Hsien put a special herb into the wine which they were to drink on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. Lady White reverted to her true form as a large white snake, and Hsu Hsien fell unconsolous in fright.
The white snake traveled to the Kung Lung mountain to steal a special medicinal herb. Which would bring her husband back to life. Alothough Hsu Hsien was saved, he was so terrified that he set out for the Golden Mountain Temple to seek protection. The white snake followed and demanded the release of her husband. The Buddhist monk Fa Hai refused her, and in anger, the white snake used her magic powers to cause the river to flood and temple. A big battle ensued, but because the white snake was pregnant, she could not defeat Fa Hai. She was captured and locked beneath the Thunderbolt Pagoda finally.
※Please come to the service desk at the conference site to check your bus seat.