Oldies and Newbies in Taipei
Just like many other cities in developing countries, Taipei has been through much reconstruction in the last 20 years or so. Most traditional architectures are demolished, but a lot are remodeled into something claimed by the city government resembling their predecessors, something like a live museum. As a Taipei resident for more than 20 years, I have always been astonished by the way these oldies transform to newbies.Hoping to find the connection between the past and the present, perhaps just for nostalgia reasons, I visit several old marketplaces undertaking reconstruction and try to trace back: When was it built? What it has become and how? Why is it changing to the way it is today?
For their relationship with daily life, those emporiums of diverse forms are deeply rooted in my memory, and I believe many citizens feel the same way. The city transforms rapidly, and slick new department stores and supermarkets seem to be everywhere, but some people just tend to remember the small shop fronts in the brick house.
I always think the city that doesn’t know its past will not understand its future. So here I write some little stories about little places, trying to pull them from the dusts of history, in the hope of giving you, the readers, some glimpses of the big picture of Taipei—if there is really such a picture.
Link:
Wikipedia’s view on Taipei, Taiwan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei
Taipei City’s official wesite
http://english.taipei.gov.tw
See Taipei from a satellite
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Taipei&spn=0.168623,0.234180&t=k&hl=en
Tourist information
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/asia/taiwan/taipei/
Latest culture events in Taipei
http://express.culture.gov.tw/
E-map of Taipei
http://addr.taipei.gov.tw/aspx/englishmap.aspx
posted by Max.L @ 2:05 PM
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