I’ve always believed that if you really want to know a country and its people, you need to learn about three things: food, sex and religion (in no particular order either). Temples fall very much into the third category. But before we go on, here is some background on religion in Taiwan.
The two main religions in Taiwan are Buddhism and Taoism, but Christianity and native folk beliefs are present as well. One goddess who is particularly venerated is Matsu, the Goddess of the Sea (I suppose she has a very special meaning to the locals, since Taiwan is surrounded by the sea).
Religion plays a very important part in daily life of the Taiwanese; worshipping one’s ancestors, praying for good luck or rather to ward off bad luck, paying respect to deities are all intertwined with daily living activities. We visited Taipei during the festival of the dead (Grave Sweeping or Tomb Cleaning Day), and you could see street vendors burning incense and offerings to the dead, while tending shop. If you’re interested in reading up more check out:
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/taiwan/pro-religion.htm for some additional information.
There are literally thousands of temples all over Taiwan. In stark contrast to Japan where you can easily distinguish between a Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple, in Taiwan the temples are rarely mono-religious (if there is such a phrase), but rather a place where mixture of Buddhist, Taoist and folk deities are all being worshipped under a single roof. People come in, light up incense sticks (always in odd numbers) and pray to the gods. Temples’ architecture varies widely and no two are alike. In fact, you can see some of the most striking temples on the side of a road, or hidden deep within some shopping district.
Taipei’s most famous temple, Mengchia Lungshan Temple, is located in the Wanhua district (211 Kuangchou Street: you can take the metro to the Lungshan Temple station – Snake Alley is also in the vicinity). The temple was built in honor of Goddess of Mercy, Kuanyin. Wonderful architecture and sculptures, although due to its crowded design, it is extremely difficult to take photographs here.
Taipei’s largest temple, Shantao Temple is located at 23 Chunghsiao East Road, Section 1 (you can also get here by metro). It has a very modern, seven-story design, and is primarily used to pray to and worship the dead (translation: do not take your Taiwanese date here).
There are lots of other interesting temples around, so you can pick and chose depending on how much time you have. Check out http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/taiwan/taipei_temples.htm for more information.