Sketch of Archilife Study Tour, November 2018
2018年11月份見識之旅縮影 ![]() For the study tour of November 18, 2018, Ms. Lu Ming-yun led 22 ARF interns and their parents on a tour to Sanxia Old Street to learn about its history and culture, and try their hands on creative metalwork. At the start of the day's activities, team leader Ms. Lu Ming-yun reminded everyone about things to note and what to observe, and gave the interns some background knowledge. ![]() The tour began with a visit to Atop Time Arts Pavilion in the morning. Using the sun, moon, mountains and rivers as the theme, the tour guides explained the reason for the cycle of day and night, and the four seasons each year, giving the interns some background understanding of the Earth's rotation and revolution. She said that we could perceive the relationship between time and people by observing the traces left by living things, e.g. tree ring, the frequency of beats per minute pulse rate and shelf life of foods. The interns were urged to smell the difference between new vinegar and old vinegar, and use their senses to learn about their surroundings and become aware of the flow of time. The tour guides then explained that time zones of the world are based on Greenwich Mean Time, teaching everyone the simple way to calculate time differences for places in the world. Referring to the quartz stone, precision measuring instruments and related equipment on display, the tour guides explained how a quartz watch works and the manufacturing process for its internal mechanism. In the process, the tour guides also used a thickness gauge to measure the thickness of interns' hair to show the degree of precision and intricacy of the parts and components of a watch. ![]() After lunch, Mr. Su from Sanchiaoyung Cultural Promotion Association led the group on a tour of Sanxia Old Street. Mr. Su began by describing the origin and development of indigo dyeing in Sanxia, and the procedure of extracting indigo dye from the assam indigo plant (Strobilanthes cusia). Located on the plain where the Dahan River, Sanxia River and Heng River meet, Sanxia was originally called "Sanchiaoyung", meaning the "delta of three rivers", and used to be an important trade town for tea leaves, camphor and dyed fabric. Mr. Su made a special effort to teach everyone how to interpret the signboards on the shophouses. Mr. Su also explained the architectural design of Baroque-style building and red brick archways. Arriving at Sanxia Zushi Temple, Mr. Su explained that the restoration of the temple was led by master painter Li Mei-shu. Sculptures within the temple depict stories of loyalty, filial piety, integrity and righteousness, and integrate elements of both Eastern and Western cultures, and combine styles of different craftsmen, giving the temple its reputation as the temple of Eastern arts. The final part of the tour brought everyone to participate in metalwork DIY activity. Although all the participants had difficulty grasping the hitting technique at first, they soon improved after making much effort and eventually completed their unique works. At this point, the day's itinerary came to an end. Everyone took a group photo before heading back and looked forward to the next study tour. |