Here goes the Part 7 of my recent trip to Taiwan: A Glimpse of Old Streets in Modern Taiwan - Treasure Hill Artist Village 台湾老街漫步遊, 怀旧 - 宝藏岩国际艺术村.
Home to veterans of the Chinese Civil War who fled to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) about 60 years ago, Treasure Hill used to be packed with aging and illegal structures built by the residents. Instead of bulldozing the whole site, the Taiwan government turned the area into a living artists village. It was officially opened in 2010 and now features art studios and exhibition spaces. Some families originally living in the area have come back to share the space with the many artists and tourists that have invaded the community now. Houses of stone and later of brick appeared along the hillside, forming a picturesque scene as they intermingled at different heights. Viewed from the outside, passerbys could see the little hilltop village standing in its solitude as if forgotten by the rest of the world. 在台北人文气息浓厚的台湾大学附近, 有一个昔日是违章建筑聚集的村落, 如今演变成台北最具特色的国际艺术村, 它就是拥有层层叠叠的狭窄屋舍, 保留着台北几代人居住记忆的宝藏岩. 半个多世纪前, 台北因城市急速发展而出现人口激增, 住宅短缺的窘况, 于是以铁皮屋, 砖瓦屋等为代表的违章建筑就成了台北以及台湾都市的普遍景观. 在台大, 台师大附近依山面水的宝藏岩就是违章建筑集中的村落之一. 这个曾居住国民党老兵的眷村拥有两百多户乱搭乱建的小屋, 这些简陋的屋子拼凑交迭, 在山坡上勾勒出错落有致, 栉比鳞次的线条. 几十年过后, 台北已是高楼林立的国际化都市, 曾经低矮的房屋已无处可寻, 当人们找寻起旧时生活, 居住的记忆时, 巷弄蜿蜒, 阶梯起落, 层层叠叠如燕巢的宝藏岩再一次进入公众的眼帘. 宝藏岩, 寻宝趣. 一个曾经面临被拆除危机的老社区, 如今已摇身一变成为国际艺术村. 原本单调老旧的社区, 彷佛披上了美丽的新衣.
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Here goes the Part 6 of my recent trip to Taiwan: A Glimpse of Old Streets in Modern Taiwan - Daxi Old Street 台湾老街漫步遊, 怀旧 - 大溪老街.
Almost every small town in Taiwan has an old street these days, but the Daxi Old Street is one of the finer examples. The architecture has been carefully renovated and is really picturesque when it isn’t too crowded. The Daxi Old Street trip is mainly centered around Heping Old Street. The beautiful scenery along the baroque style old buildings and snack bars that are hidden behind the old streets and in the village render the old street trip an enriching experience. In modern times, it has become a historical place replete with reminders of times past mixed intermingled with modern Taiwanese town life. Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine how a short block in Taiwan could have two such different styles of old buildings. I just love to spend time over there to enjoy the architectural beauty of the place. Old towns are precious assets to every city, as each possesses cultural significance and its own local spirit. 大溪老街是大溪古镇文化的代表, 咸丰年间, 为唐山与桃竹等地的转运中心及汇集所在地. 桃园大坝建成后, 大汉溪的河运断绝, 大溪的黄金岁月也随之结束. 如今的大溪因位处北横公路起点及邻近石门水库, 成为交通转运站, 近来观光业的发达, 老街重整, 凡是临街店面, 均需统一装饰门面, 使得旧日历史的美貌嫣然再现. 市区里古老的巷道, 朴质的旧建筑, 以及隐身于街衢巷弄间的传统行业, 仍见证昔日繁华的市街景象, 往来匆匆行旅之间, 不妨在此稍停脚步, 为旅途增添几许古老的知性与感性. Hello everyone, A happy start to a new week, hope all of you had a great weekend! I know some of you are anxiously waiting for my next photo blog post on my recent trip to Taiwan, Part 6 of A Glimpse of Old Streets in Modern Taiwan will be released very soon! My travelling spree for Year 2013 has started! Well, i just came back from a short getaway break at Hong Kong over a long weekend. I went over to explore a few more places in Hong Kong which i did not manage to cover in my last April trip. Besides that, the other main reason why i flew to Hong Kong was to check out a book store named - Aco Books 艺鵠 - located in Causeway Bay which two of my travel photo essays to be published in an upcoming creative lifestyle travel magazine will also be put up for sale at this Hong Kong bookstore too! Not sure if you still remember that i briefly mentioned about my soon-to-be published travel photo essays (Haikou & Hong Kong Sham Shui Po) in my blog post November last year. I thought, since i was heading there for some photography shoot over the weekend, i might as well also make a trip down to this place to find out more about the bookstore. Stepping into Aco Books, the noisy summer bustle vanishes and peace descends. Spacious and homey, this little store stocks English and Chinese language books that cannot be found in mainstream publishing houses. I honestly can't wait for that book to be published locally and overseas this Spring soon! :-) There will be several photo blog posts coming up soon, please continue to stay faithfully close tune to my photography blog. I will complete my whole Taiwan travelogue first before i blog on some of the places travelled in Hong Kong over last weekend. Other than showcasing my photo pieces through my personal blog, i also have some few photo publication submissions on hand which need to be done within some timeline period. I sincerely hope all of you can continue to show your utmost support and appreciation in my photography work as always! Have a great week ahead :-)
Good news again! A happy start to a great weekend! One of my photos taken at Yangshuo 阳朔 in China, a trip travelled back then in January 2011 (exactly 2 years ago) is being published again in the latest January 2013 Issue of Digital Camera Magazine, the popular leading monthly photography magazine in all major bookstores in Singapore and Malaysia!
The category released for publication in this magazine issue is "Your Mission - Black and White Landscape". It was again a very good chance to see it in print nationwide, yippee ! :-) Here goes the Part 5 of my recent trip to Taiwan: A Glimpse of Old Streets in Modern Taiwan - Danshui Old Street 台湾老街漫步遊, 怀旧 - 淡水老街.
The town calls itself by the English name "Tamsui”, but the Taipei MRT system calls it by its Mandarin Chinese name, transliterated as "Danshui". "Tamsui" probably comes from the town's name in the Taiwanese language. Danshui is a laid back waterfront town on the northern part of Taipei city. Historically this is a significant place in Taipei history, where it was one of the main settlements for the Spanish in the 1600s. It was also been influenced by the Japanese during the world war era having established its unique 1900s architecture and infrastructure. It's a great place to just stroll around, grab some great food or just soak in the atmosphere. The interesting thing is that the red line is above ground all the way to Dan Shui, so you can see the city passing by, from super packed urban to slightly more pastoral suburban. The ride reminds me a lot of Tokyo, actually. 淡水, 是一个充满历史的小镇. 位处台北盆地淡水河系出口, 扼守北台湾大门, 是台湾北部最早开发的港口, 境内除淡水河口狭小平原外, 泰半为大屯山陵所被覆. 今日的淡水镇, 则是一个总称, 泛指淡水河流域一带, 甚至是整个北台湾. 老街, 一座城市的记忆. 老街, 数万百姓的回忆. 人来人往, 老街留下了多少岁月的痕迹? 淡水老街, 淡水人撇不开的话题. 传说中, 淡水墟得名于古井仙泉. 历史上, 淡水墟成名于淡水老街. Here goes the Part 4 of my recent trip to Taiwan: A Glimpse of Old Streets in Modern Taiwan - Sanxia Old Street (also known as Three Gorges Street) 台湾老街漫步遊, 怀旧 - 三峽老街. There are just too many old streets in various counties and towns in Taiwan. They were the centre of trade in Dutch or Spain colonial period, Chinese communist period, Japanese occupation period etc. What is so characteristic of these historic places is the the architecture itself. Apart from the Baroque stone cravings, you will also find the old name of the stores that once stood here carved on to the building itself. Walking along Sanxia Old Street brings you a feeling of reminiscence for the good old days. If you like a deep cultural experience in Taiwan, welcome to visit Sanxia Old Street 三峽老街. 三峡老街是指民权街, 和平街, 仁爱街和中山路, 保存最久且最完善. 民权街(原名三角涌街), 长约二百公尺, 融合不同年代的建筑风格, 如巴洛克, 希腊式, 日式家纹等, 曾是台湾现存最完整的老街道. 老街的红砖拱廊梁, 柱, 匾额, 女儿墙, 牌楼上的收头图像都颇具特色. 在这可看见往日风情的商店街林立, 有染坊, 制材所, 茶行及着的三角涌米粉店, 伫足其间, 不禁令人怀念起往日时光. Sanxia's old name was 三角涌 Sanjiaoyong which means a point where three rivers converge. The name was changed to 三峡 Sanxia during the Japanese occupation period.
三峡在早期有 "三角涌" 的旧名, 因位处三峡, 横溪及大汉溪, 三溪的交流汇集之处, 故得此名. Part 3: A Glimpse of Old Streets in Modern Taiwan - Yingge Pottery Old Street 台湾老街漫步遊, 怀旧-鶯歌陶瓷老街8/1/2013 Here goes the Part 3 of my recent trip to Taiwan: A Glimpse of Old Streets in Modern Taiwan - Yingge Pottery Old Street 台湾老街漫步遊, 怀旧 - 鶯歌陶瓷老街. For the past two centuries, Yingge has been known as the ceramics center of Taiwan. The town’s cobblestone-lined Yingge Old Street 鶯歌陶瓷老街, Japanese colonial-era architecture and world-class ceramics museum are all especially picturesque in the autumn sunshine. Yingge 鶯歌 is a beautiful little area known island-wide for its traditional pottery. The cobblestone streets of Yingge have been attracting lovers of pottery for over two centuries. According to local tradition, the seeds of Yingge’s flagship industry were planted when a potter from Guangzhou Province, Wu An settled in the area 200 years ago. The abundant forests and ample coal deposits around Yingge provided plenty of fuel for kilns and the city is still known for the manufacture of plumbing fixtures and cable insulators, as well as the abundance of ceramic dishware, fine-art pieces and kitsch available for tourists to purchase. Meaning "parrot song", the name of the town is derived from the parrot shaped rock outcropping slightly north of the town. Pottery and ceramic fanatics will love Yingge. The town lies roughly an an hour south of Taipei by train, and is famous for it's high concentration of potters and ceramic makers. 鶯歌陶瓷老街, 它因陶瓷而兴盛, 也因陶瓷而闻名. 回首莺歌两百年, 在历史巨轮的转动中, 由早期粗陶器的制作, 一直到跃升为台湾陶瓷重镇. 默默耕耘的陶工师傅, 将莺歌陶瓷点土成金, 也造就莺歌成为台湾陶瓷工业发展史上不可抹灭的地位. 位於台北县莺歌镇的的陶瓷老街, 陶瓷艺术闻名, 这里的老街风格, 跟一般我们认知的老街印象, 相差满大的, 因为这里街道是多家陶瓷店进驻, 能让人感受到这浓浓陶制品艺文气息及悠闲的情调. Yingge, a quick MRT ride out of Taipei, transports visitors to a world that does not seem, at first glance, to resemble Taiwan. Following the brown tourist signs to Old Street, sometimes called Pottery Street, visitors will find cobbled, palm tree lined streets encouraging afternoons filled with casual strolling. This could be any avenue in Europe, with notes of a street violinist drifting in the air and valuable, handcrafted pottery lining shop windows.
Here goes the Part 2 of my recent trip to Taiwan: A Glimpse of Old Streets in Modern Taiwan - Wulai Old Street 台湾老街漫步遊, 怀旧 - 乌來老街.
About 300 years ago, the Atayal ancestors hunted in this area and saw a lot of smoke from natural hot water. Therefore, they called it "Wulai" which means hot springs in their language. It was just their hunting territory; however, because lumber, producing camphor oil, and construction of the hydraulic power plant offered great job opportunities during the Japanese government occupying Taiwan, people gradually moved to Wulai area and formed the village. Now it is a popular spot for soaking in the hot springs after a day hike in this area or on a cold and chilly winter day in Taipei. Furthermore, it has other attractions which catch people's attention. This place is also known as 乌來老街. I like visiting old streets of Taiwan past. That brings me back in time to the earlier days of Taiwanese living. If you like a deep cultural experience in Taiwan, welcome to visit Wulai Old Street! 虽然每一条老街都有一些很雷同的元素, 但是台湾本来就不大, 文化的差异当然也不会因为几小时候的路程而天差地别, 但若每条老街有一部分不一样的地方, 都值得旅人去探索, 而一般听到老街, 都原以为是古代建筑. 每天被淹在忙碌的酱缸中, 该如何调和苦涩的滋味? 旅游不只是放松心情而已, 还能够帮单调的日子, 增加生活的乐趣与经验. 欢迎各位到底 "乌来老街", 何须多做介绍:泰雅族, 老街, 台车, 温泉, 等多元素把乌来装扮的多彩多姿, 而且这些元素是自然聚集的, 让空气中散布着一种令人感动的篥子. 您是否也原意展开胸怀深深地吸一口气, 保证是耳目一新. Part 1: A Glimpse of Old Streets in Modern Taiwan - Shenkeng Tofu Old Street 台湾老街漫步遊, 怀旧 - 深坑豆腐老街1/1/2013 Here goes the much awaited Part 1 of my recent trip to Taiwan: A Glimpse of Old Streets in Modern Taiwan - Shenkeng Tofu Old Street 台湾老街漫步遊, 怀旧 - 深坑豆腐老街. The theme / purpose of the first few blog posts on my recent Taiwan trip is not really to research histories of the old buildings in the photos, but rather piece together what is left at these Old Streets now and then, i.e. travel back in time. If you want to look back on the bygone days of Taiwan, these Old Streets in the first few parts of my Taiwan travel blog posts will lead you to travel through the time tunnel back to 100 years ago. These Old Streets in Taiwan are a tourist avenue where a glossy, embalmed wedge of the past is preserved. The buildings along Shenkeng Old Street are not that old but some of them are several hundred years old from the Qing Dynasty. I hope you will enjoy travelling back in time by browsing my photos and reading my stories in the upcoming blog posts on my recent trip to Taiwan! 现在台湾各乡镇都在发展老街, 有的发展得很有特色, 有的已经可以吸引无数的人潮, 展现无比的商机, 变得热闹非凡, 一扫老街没落的形象, 变成人们休閒观光的好去处. 有很多人, 只是喜欢热闹, 喜欢往人潮多的地方去挤,吃吃喝喝, 逛了半天, 最后也不知道老街的特色在那里. 我喜欢探访老街,主要是想透过老街的巡礼,了解当地人过去的生活,捕捉一点残留的人文风貌. 每个人都有旅行的梦想, 有人喜爱跳上列车, 北上南下在轰隆作响的车厢里探寻环岛的乐趣, 有的爱往深山荒野走去, 越刺激的地域越有旅行的价值. 还有一种人, 喜爱在时光迁移的轨迹之外, 偷得记忆留下的證证据, 与老地方来场叙旧的旅行. 台湾北中南东各有特色且年份久远的建築与景点, 这些存在已久, 拥有好几世代共同回忆的地点, 无论是老街风华, 飘香一甲子的路边美味, 废弃後重生的日式房舍, 历久弥新的观光景点或者是改头换面的旧厂房, 都让人为之惊豔, 透过一次又一次的小旅行, 以悠闲的心情重温旧梦或者在老旧故事里, 重新诠释自己的记忆. 这次短短几天假期走访老街, 任时光倒流, 远离尘嚣, 享受与世隔绝的祥和宁静. 此外, 因应季节而生的时节活动, 像与大自然一起在四季中跑趴, 无时无刻都有不同的特色人文活动. 老物, 可以新创, 老宅, 也能再生, 但老地方的风情却是一种累积. 它不只有历史的轨迹, 生活的闲情, 还有生命的厚度. 旅行, 其实可以很简单, 不需要太多的理由与藉口, 只需凭藉一丝丝的小衡动, 选好想去的地点, 抛开恼人的世俗与烦忧, 跟随书中景点, 追寻那份属于自己, 独一无二的老地方, 慢时光. 在台湾, 还有许多特色的 "老地方", 都值得一访, 不管是与家人, 朋友或是自己来个放松之旅, 趁著假日的时后, 走访这些老地方, 一起来享受浪漫幸福的慢时光. 如果您跟我一样,喜欢这样的怀旧风情, 邀请您和我一起体验台湾迷人的老地方! 在台湾, 以"豆腐" 产业闯出名号的地方不多, 最知名的要属台北县的深坑了. 深坑以豆腐打飨观光知名度, 深坑老街更是人们心目中品尝豆腐美味的最佳去处, 在这儿就有条可以媲美深坑老街的豆腐街. 每逢周休假期, 深坑老街便湧进大批遊客, 只为感受豆腐街魅力. 台北是一个盆地, 四周青山环绕, 而深坑位于河边, 地势更低, 犹如坑底, 因此而得名 "深坑".
I hope you had a great Christmas celebration and, if you had time to spend with your family, friends or loved ones, that you had a wonderful time or, if such occasions are not uniformly a source of joy, that you, nevertheless, found reasons to be happy and grateful. This year has been unusually challenging for me, so i suppose i am in the company of some others who are anxious and enthusiastic about starting a New Year. It's silly that we put so much emphasis on the calendar, but the symbolism of starting a better future is powerful. I know i intend to make good on my oft-stated platitude that the "best is yet to come". In my entire year's of photography blogs in 2012, i've tried to put much of my wisdom, reflection and resolutions to be better and enjoy life more. I hope you find value in them or at least try to take pleasure in the little things in life. You realise all these years i love to photo shoot, i love to travel, i love to watch the sunset. I find joy in meeting an old friend, attending a concert at the Indoor Stadium / Esplanade and visiting a wonderful exhibition at one of our museums. I love to read books and listen to music. Reading is an excellent habit. Books keep me company when i am alone. Books transport me to another country, another culture, another time and into the lives of other people. Reading is an endless source of happiness. So is music. I listen to music every day. I thank local bilingual Radio Station 88.3 Jia FM for bringing me so much joy every day.
Lastly, i hardly envy others. One of the reasons which caused people to be unhappy was that they were envious of others. I never envied my friends who had a better education or earned more money or lived in bigger houses or owned more expensive cars. I am contented with what i have which i think this is a good piece of advice for all of you. Philosophically, it would be even better if you could feel vicariously happy when you see your friends doing well in life. So let me close out the year with my sincerest good wishes that 2013 will be your best year yet! I really hope more of my photography work will be recognised and published in 2013! Cheers :-) |
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