Aloha! I am Sunday
You are now watching the third episode of Story of Taipei - Chunghwa Market in Ximending
Chunghwa Road is definitely the most famous road in Ximending
Huh? It’s just a road? What’s so special about it?
Come on, the huge Chunghwa Market was built on this road!
Chunghwa Market is one of the most important memories of the old Taipei City
Whatever you wanted to purchase, you could find it there!
But for the younger generation, Chunghwa Market probably rings no bell
since it no longer exist after the young generation was born
Why did Chunghwa Market shine in Ximending, and why was it demolished?
Let’s travel back to a century before...
A city wall sited on Chunghwa Road back in Qing Dynasty
which was the Taipei West City Wall
When the Japanese came, they tore it down because of the traffic issue
Not only did they tore down the wall, but also the gate
Taipei citizens were so angry
they constantly protested over it;
As a result, the General-governor agreed to stopped tearing down other city walls
So, the poor West City Wall became the only city wall gone out of the five walls
The only thing left from the West City Wall is a name, Ximending
Anyway, Chunghwa Road was a big, crowded avenue back in the Japanese Rule
As the R.O.C. government came,
a lot of soldiers and civilians had no money in their pockets and had no places to live
The R.O.C. government then built bamboo scaffolders along the North City Wall to Xiaonanmen
Citizens were thrilled to hear the news, and quickly moved over here to settle down
The situation was under control at first, but with the increasing move-in and add-ons,
unapproved construction of the scaffolders made the area overcrowded
The government was not pleased with this mess
Rather than leaving the mess, why not hand it over to the professional
Finally in the year of 1960, the mess was renewed into Chunghwa Market, a mix of residential and commercial area
After eight months of construction,
Chunghwa Market was officially, grandly opened
(Woah, that was fast!)
Of the 1-km-radius area includes eight buildings that possessed thousands of families and shops
“Fellow Taipei citizens, here comes a big announcement,
today is the grand opening of Chunghwa Market!”
Zhong, Xiao, Ren, Ai, Xin, Yi, He, Ping Buildings, contain the most fashionable items and everything else you need
Looking for a suit? Come to Chunghwa Market!
Looking for a record? Come to Chunghwa Market!
Seeking some companies? Ha, you wish!
Come to Chunghwa Market! You will have no regrets!
Come to Chunghwa Market!
Woah, Chunghwa Market is basically the heaven of Taipei citizens
Besides the variety of products you can find here
you can also taste the delicacies from states of China
Restaurants like “Dim Sum World” and “Real Peking Restaurant” provide
Dumplings, Chinese puff pastry, deep-fried twisted dough…
All my favorites!
With the convenient transportation and theaters around Ximending
made Chunghwa Market very popular and crowded at the time
The lights shone day and night
It was a fad of Taipei!
Time ticked by,
Criminals, vendor problems and sanitary issues started to appear in Chunghwa Market
Meanwhile
East District of Taipei were booming
Chunghwa Market, once the top place of Taipei, couldn’t caught up with the speed of Taipei City
How come?
Taipei City was about to construct the latest Metro system at the time,
Chunghwa Market became nothing but a barrier due to its location,
so the government decided to close it down
Even though shutting it down will affect thousands of shops and families there,
For the sake of a better Taipei City
Taipei City Government had no choice but to demolish Chunghwa Market in 1992
The shops in the market, either moved to Ximending and other places,
or shut down and disappeared
It was hard for many people to say goodbye to Chunghwa Market
Chunghwa Road went from a city wall, a road, bamboo scaffolders to a market
then back to a road
It went through so much over the past century,
what remain, are probably only the memories
To preserve these stories of Taipei, please stay tuned to the series of Stories of Taipei
Story of Taipei
ends here today with a nostalgia comma,
See you next time!
Hello everyone!
I’m Sunday!
After hearing the story of Chunghwa Road,
can you now picture the vintage memory of Chunghwa Road back then?
To think that Story of Taipei was born on the Chinese New Year Bazaars
Time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana!
Two months left till Chinese New Year!
May you be prosperous!
May you succeed!
When it comes to Chinese New Year,
you must go to the Chinese New Year Bazaars to feel the fusion of ancient and modern times
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
In the Chinese New Year Bazaars are many classic delicacies of New Year’s Eve dinner
like Karasumi(dried mullet roe), Steamed Assorted Meats in Chinese Casserole and so much more
And all the dishes served on the table of New Year’s Eve in every family,
lie different stories
For example, in George's family, a bowl of sunflower seeds is a must dish
This year in the Taipei Chinese New Year Bazaars, you can not only find all the classic dishes
but also enter the event, “Share Your New Year’s Eve Dishes”
Calling vantage, classical, luxurious, simple and all kinds of New Year’s Eve dishes!
Search for 台北年貨大街 Facebook fanpage and upload pictures of your New Year’s Eve dishes
to have a chance to win a Dadaocheng New Year Dishes set for two!
Now open your album and share photos
of your favorite family New Year’s Eve dishes
May your New Year be a year of of your favorite family New Year’s Eve dishes
May your New Year be a year of
health and happiness, wealth and wisdom, glee and glow May your New Year be a year of
health and happiness, wealth and wisdom, glee and glow
peace and prosperity, love and laughter