TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An Australian analyst completed this intricate illustration of a historic temple in Tainan on March 18. 

Nicole Coggan (Instagram @cognac_legion), 42, illustrated the scene with black ink on Xuan paper based on a photo of the original main entrance of Kaiji Wu Temple (開基武廟). Coggan told Taiwan News she enjoys illustrating things she sees on holiday, and heard that Tainan is a capital for culture and Taiwanese heritage.

Coggan said she was walking around the city in November and “just happened to see the man walking along the road in front of the temple’s entrance.” She said, eye-catching aspects of the building itself were the swallowtail eaves and “the way that nearly every vertical surface teems with paintings and sculptures.”

While drawing the roof details, she also noticed that a small plant had taken root in the eaves, directly beside a mountain diorama. “It looks as though it was meant to grow there,” said Coggan. 

On Saturday, Coggan posted the illustration on Reddit with the heading “Completed drawing from Tainan adventure” and the caption “Man walking past a temple.” The post has since gained nearly 600 upvotes and 22 comments. 

The Kaiji Wu Temple is recognized as the first temple in Taiwan to be dedicated to Guan Yu (關羽), the Taoist god of war, wealth, and literature. The temple is believed to have been established during the Kingdom of Tungning (1662-1683), when one of Koxinga's (鄭成功) generals brought two Guan Yu statues from Fujian to the site.