Aloha! I am Sunday
You are now watching the forth episode of Story of Taipei - Donuts!
Many foreigners
will experience our special night market culture when they visit Taiwan
But do you know where Taiwan’s first night market was?
If you walk all the way north from Taipei Main Station
you will see a donut-like glass building
that glows under the sun and the place is usually pretty quiet
That’s right, the mysterious place is called Taipei Circle
Speaking of the Taipei Circle, it used to be where delicacies are
Many elders’ mouth would start dripping when they hear Taipei Circle
just like we would think about the large sausage in Shilin Night Market (Yummy~)
But how come the prosperous delicacy paradise
has turned into a white elephant building now?
This is a long story.
Taipei Circle used to be called Chien-Cheng Circle
because it was located in “Chien-Cheng Ding” during Japanese rule
Chien-Cheng Ding means construction success
however, it doesn’t seem successful after it became a huge glass building…
Long long time ago
this place was just like everywhere else with farms and fields
However, along with the merchandise ships coming from Tamsui River and trains
passing by frequently
Dadaocheng began to prosper
and Taipei City began to prosper
these fields became traffic arteries
During Japanese rule
they wanted to build a park over here
therefore they drew a large hula hoop on the nearby roads
planted some beautiful orange jasmine
and placed rows and rows of comfortable benches
a “Circle park” appeared.
Merchants and citizens passing by liked to take a walk or rest here
People saw the business opportunities here
so they started vendors
and earned a great fortune
more and more vendors came, not even fines could stop them
In 1921, the government officially launched the “Circle park night market”
There were so many people, that it even have the nickname of “small Ximenting”
Until 1950s
vendors were so crowded
that they set the iron shed carelessly
which made the Circle looked like a UFO that’s under construction or Fujian Tulou
Although the government didn’t like it
people LOVED it.
The food market in the Circle rooted there since Japanese rule,
like oyster omelets, braised pork rice, shark fin soup and donuts… all kinds of delicacies
are Mr. Wang and Mr. Gee ‘s favorite food!
This place was a food paradise before 1980s!
What caused the thriving night market to disappeared?
It was because a touch of fire that burnt the Circle
Taipei Circle suddenly became a fire circle
Although it was covered by iron sheds afterwards
the burned marks can still be seen
plus the eastern district of Taipei rose up at that time
the Circle now… Some people like it, and some don’t, because the Circle had a kind of “circle-style”...
Ever since then, the circle lost its popularity.
The Taipei City Government has been trying to help this “bad-luck donut”
but everyone has different opinions
Some wanted to demolish it and turned it into a park, others advocated to keep it
After multiple discussions,
they decided to rebuild it nice and neat, and revive to its glorious time
In 2003
the whole new “Chien-Cheng Circle food court” was done
The building was made of glass, glows under the sun
there is no place in the building that couldn’t get sunlight
which made the sunscreen sold out at once
If you want a sunbath, come to Taipei Circle for tanning!
In addition to sunscreen, there were a bunch of troubles
like awkward route design, vendors’ rent couldn't reach consensus...etc
Citizens were disinterested in the Circle due to all the troubles
but the government wouldn't let go, they kept re-opening the Circle again and again
they even used the night club and drag queens to draw attention
efforts were still in vain
Until today
after the contract of the Circle expired
the government thought: “fine, let’s take it back”
So what will it look like in the future?
It’s still a mystery…
To the elders in Taipei, the Circle had a delicious memory
although it won’t be tear down like Zonghuwa Shopping Mall
the good old days of the Circle would be hard to revive.
The youngsters today might think: “wow this is a perfect useless place to feed mosquitoes”
but to the elderly it was such a pity
The impression of the donut gradually fades away through time
but how can the Circle be fully used in Taipei City where every inch of land is expensive?
Let’s wait and see
Story of Taipei
ends here today with a caramel flavored donut-styled comma
See you next time!
Bye bye!
After watching the story of Taipei Donut, aren’t you a little hungry?
New Year, a time for us to eat till our heart’s content is around the corner
Speaking of eating a lot in New Year’s break
we definitely have to mention the oldest and most valuable street
which is the “Chinese New Year Bazaars” we had introduced in the debut of Story of Taipei
If you are not familiar with this first street in Taiwan
Here’s the link for you to take a look
This year, the Taipei New Year Bazaars is celebrating its 21 anniversary
Wasn’t the New Year Bazaars held every year? Whats special about this year?
Come on! This year, starting from January 23, the New Year Bazaars that held for 2 weeks
will begin their fierce battle in order to draw people’s attention
First of all, Boss Ko drew a spell card “ profound Dihua slice”
In the brand new Taipei Traditional Shop
15 ancient mythical monsters that are full of thoughts, histories are summoned
Then in front of Yong-le Square, Boss Crab activated a trap card
“ultimate development of famous paintings” and restored the reality site of “Festival on South Street” in the 1920s
in order to rob Boss Ko’s spotlight
Meanwhile, Boss Ko wouldn’t give in
continued to summon 6 cards of Xiahai City God
and went out of control on the streets
At the same time,
Boss Crab launched the ultimate skill “ Awards for finding Gods”
calls upon citizens to capture gods that appear randomly on streets
If you want to know more about what crazy New Year activities
Boss Ko and Boss Crab released in Dihua Street this year
Check it out on the Facebook Page of “Taipei Lunar New Year Festival”!
Let's reveal more and more Stories of Taipei
Aloha, see you again in Story