Temple renovation

Seeing how temples and other old landmarks are renovated is fascinating. I visited the Temple of the Navigation Superintendant in Tainan - one of that city's minor shrines - to find it covered with a temporary roof and, essentially, dismantled to allow for a complete renewal. Segments of the roof worth saving are suspended in position from the corrugated-metal ceiling by wires. Down at ground level, two women worked at painting and lacquering wood while their colleagues discussed how best to get new wooden beams into position.

Returnng a few months later, wondering if the renovation had been completed, I found one of the female artists (pictured here) balanced on scaffolding, still hard at work.