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April 5th: Danshui Historical Tour [Tomb Sweeping, Museum, Food & Sight seeing]
Time: 4/5/2007, 10am
Place: Danshui TamKang High School
Price: None

In 1984, two Canadian Presbyterian missionaries, Jack Geddes and Georgine Caldwell came to the just founded Canadian Society with the idea of adopting an abandoned Foreign Cemetery in Danshui. That year was our first Tomb Sweeping activity, just weeding the place, to see the graves: Canadians, British, Americans, Germans, French, Spaniards, Portuguese, and even Chinese. Some were missionaries, others sailors, harbor masters, merchants, engineers and many infants. Each year, on the same day, we showed up there for cleaning, re-painting the writing on the stones, fixing the graves and removing the tons of garbage accumulated there over the years. We started yearly contribution drives among the foreign community to rebuild the surrounding walls and gate. To stop the city government from destroying the cemetery to widen roads, we worked at declaring it an historical site, and once done, money was allocated to help us for drainage and displays along one of the walls. As the cemetery is adjacent to Dr. George Mackay and his family graves inside the TamKang High School , the school showed interest in also helping in the maintenance. The wall between the two cemeteries was lowered to its original height, merging the two sites, giving them the view you have today.

This year again, on the fifth of April, Tomb Sweeping Day, we will keep the tradition alive by doing some work on the cemetery, rain or shine, at 10 am. We will provide the tools, brushes, paint, gloves and garbage bags. After we are done,the principal of TamKang high School, Mr Albert Yao, will lead us for a tour of the school museum which exhibits its history starting with its founding by Dr Mackay and the subsequent work of the Canadian missionaries in their effort to educate the people of Northern Taiwan . It's the site of the first women school in Taiwan. We will have lunch in the old Danshui.

Directions:

1.  On foot
Follow ChongSang Rd. (中山路) across on the MRT station
Turn Right on to Chen-Li Rd ( it’s a steep uphill road)
Arrive Tamkang High School, the cemetery is on the opposite end of the entrance.
Note: Total distance 1.5km, will take approx 30 minutes

2.  By Bus
Across the MRT station there is a bus stop, take Red-26 and get off at Aletheia University (真理大學). If it helps it is the 4th stop.
Walk up the hill, pass the Aletheia University and you will find
Tamkang Hifh School
Arrive Tamkang High School, the cemetery is on the opposite end of the entrance.
Note: Approx 15 minutes

3.  Taxi
Say you want to go to Tamkang High School (淡江高中)
Note: less than NT$100