Yuantong Temple, September 2023
Yuantong Temple, Zhonghe District, New Taipei City, 16th September 2023
圓通禪寺, 中和區, 新北市, 2023年9月16日
I had almost no opportunities to make recordings throughout 2023.
The last time I visited Yuantong Temple was sometime around 2014. Back then, I was simply there for a hike and didn't pay much attention to the sounds of the surrounding environment.
I had assumed that a temple in the mountains, even if it couldn't be completely free of human noise, would at least be a quiet and peaceful place suitable for recording. But when I arrived at Yuantong Temple, I found the area around the main entrance surprisingly busy. In addition to people visiting the main hall to worship, there were several people who seemed to be local residents sitting on chairs and chatting loudly in groups of three or five. There were also visitors taking photographs and people passing through on their way up the mountain.
To get away from the crowds, I walked around to the back of the temple and facing toward the forest, using the temple buildings to block the voices coming from behind me. Even so, the recording still picked up some conversations, along with aircraft overhead and traffic in the distance. There also seemed to be the sound of a motor from some kind of power tool mixed into the background.
Amid all these human-made noises, however, I could still hear cicadas, birdsong, and the bells of Yuantong Temple.
Note: This is a binaural recording. Headphones are recommended for the best listening experience.
📍 Location: 24.982246, 121.492969 Zhonghe District, New Taipei City, Taiwan
🌤 Weather: 33°C, Sunny, 70% Humidity
🌿 Ambient Sound: Cicadas, Birds, Aircraft, Car Engine, People Talking, Temple Bell
🎤 Setup: DPA 4560 Core (Binaural Recording), Zoom F3
🎚️ Editing: 80Hz HPF 12 dB/oct
圓通禪寺, 2023年9月
整個 2023 年，我幾乎沒有什麼機會錄音。
記得上一次來到圓通寺，已經是 2014 年左右。那時候單純是來健行，並沒有特別留意周遭的環境聲音。
原本以為，山上的寺廟即使不可能完全沒有噪音，至少應該是一個環境清幽、適合錄音的地方。沒想到實際來到圓通寺後，正門附近仍然相當熱鬧。除了正殿前有來參拜的人，也有幾位可能是當地居民的人坐在椅子上聊天，三、五個人聚在一起，聲音相當大；此外，還有來觀光拍照以及登山的遊客。
為了避開人群，我走到寺廟後方，面向森林錄音，並利用寺廟的建築物遮擋背後的人聲。即使如此，錄音中仍然可以聽到些許談話聲，以及天空中的飛機、遠處的車聲，似乎還混雜著電動工具運轉時的馬達聲。
除了這些人為噪音之外，還是可以聽見蟬鳴、鳥叫，以及圓通寺的鐘聲。
備註：這是一段雙耳錄音，建議配戴耳機聆聽以獲得最佳效果。