Aloha! I am Sunday
You are now watching the first episode of Story of Taipei
Legends of Bangka
Speaking of Bangka
foreigners may think
Wow, Longshan Temple, praying and worshiping
The aborigines may think
Oh, canoe, let’s go canoeing
Taipei citizens may think
What? Isn’t it filled with only the homeless and prostitutes?
Just like the movie "Monga" presented
many people consider Bangka a declining district
However, few realize that it was the earliest origin of Taipei
How on earth did Bangka went from being Taipei’s first street to declining?
How can it revive?
Bangka is the current Wanhua District
As a famous expression goes
“First Tainan, second Lugang, third Bangka”
described how prosperous Bangka used to be
Starting from the Qing dynasty
Bangka, along with Tainan and Lugang are the three main trading centers of Taiwan
At that time, Bangka was as prosperous as the town center of Age of Empires
its where the losers and riches of Taipei crowded
When the city flourish to a certain level
all kinds of illegal activities like prostitution appeared
Later on, although river was congested
resulting in industrial transformation
and the gradual declination of Bangka
but all those illegal activities stayed.
Well, Bangka wasn’t all about those “illegal activities ”
its rich historical culture was its treasure
We have to be grateful of the hard work done by Guanyin Bodhisattva
A long time ago, Taipei was once a dangerous place
Some Han Chinese carried portable Guanyin Bodhisattva with them in order to pray for god’s blessing
Later worshippers all chipped in
and together they built the Bangka Longshan Temple
Longshan Temple had withstand many wars and exposure to wind and rain through two hundred years
but with the help of local residents
little by little they repaired it
so it still looks super new today
People’s admiration towards Longshan Temple never fade through time
Walking into Longshan Temple
you’ll notice its delicate carvings and the elaborate works
OMG! Gold leaf all over the place!
Such astonishing building become the best selfie site for tourists without a doubt
And the nearby Herb Ally
Buddha shop Street
Huaxi Street and
Sesame Street…
(what?)
benefit from Longshan Temple
However, the whole district went through times of urban renewal
it somehow lost the feeling of the “good old days”
“So, where can we find the feeling of the good old days?”
Then, you must come to the neighboring Bopiliao Historical Block, preserved from the Qing dynasty
Speaking of Bopiliao Historical Block
we must speak of the *peeled chili,
and speaking of peeled chili *In Chinese, “Bopi” means “peeling”
we must speak of…
nevermind, it had nothing to do with Bopiliao Historical Block at all
(then be quiet!)
But isn’t it weird?
Why were all the other places rebuilt but not Bopiliao?
(and it looks somehow phony…)
In Japanese rule
Bopiliao was planned for the use of Lao-song public school
which is the Lao-song Elementary School today
After ROC took over
the government said
You Taiwanese can not build this, can not build that
can not build whatever you want to build here
In the 80s, the government decided to renew the city and take back this place
facing the danger of their homeland being tear down
the residents formed a self-help organization
People rushed to Old Mr. Wang’s to research
and then rushed to Old Mr. Liu to research
and revealed many old time stories
These hard work successfully received media support and public attention
The government had no choice but to pause the demolishing plan
and left it unharmed for cultural preservation
Congrats
However, right at the moment when Bopiliao was about to be registered as a historical site
representatives of Lao-song elementary school and the nearby communities protested
This is not ok, tear this place down!
We want to build a community center!
You people only want to keep this place for land development
right?
Dealing with the arguments
the government decided not to favor either side
The government started the Bopiliao renewal
and at the same time drove the local resident away
Finally until 2009
Bopiliao presented a new look with the Cultural Education Center and Creative Industry Center
Today, when we walk in the Bopiliao Historical Block
we can sense a mysterious feeling in the air
Although you see old buildings
the modern Cultural and Creative Industry replaced the original look of the locals’ life
You would probably say
“What’s the problem, it’s still crowed”
But all those tourists were here just for selfies!
After they left
Bopiliao Historical Block was like bubble tea without bubble
pineapple can without pineapple
peeled chili without peels
(but they still look delicious)
But is this fake look really what we want out of cultural preservation
But thankfully
at least Bopiliao Historical Block hasn’t become Bopiliao department store yet
Congrats
Today, Bangka is trying to use its rich historical culture
to get rid of its negative stereotype
but resident’s life is the fountain of culture
If the renewal
forced former residents to say goodbye to there old houses and hello to brand new ones
How can we guarantee they’d be satisfied and pleased to accept all these changes coming there way
And after the reformation
how can we regain the original life and culture and create a whole new Bangka Legend
Think about it~
Story of Taipei
ends here today with a perfect comma
See you next time!
bye bye~
Aloha! I am Sunday
After 6 months of awaiting, Story of Taipei is now officially screening
Starting with Bangka the earliest district of Taipei
we will reveal a story of Taipei once a month
After hearing these stories
you will discover that Taipei is not only a cutting-edge city
but also rich in historical culture
Its historical culture totally exhibited an “Taipei Native” style
(What is an “Taipei Native style?”)
Well, that’s the style of native
ancient, aged, primeval and… native style
(What are other styles that Taipei have?)
Taipei got a lot of styles!
Some “art enthusiast” places might turn you into a hipster as you step in
Some “night owl” places might turn you into an owl as you step in
Some “BFF” places might
make you realize that you are no more than a “BFF” as you step in
(cry cry)
(So where can we find all these special style in just one place?)
Then you must check out Exchange Taipei
In October
on the official website of Exchange Taipei
a list of a hundred stylish stores
picked out by
Feng Guang-yuan
Aoki Yuka
Jeng Tz-jing
and Huang Wei-rung and citizens of Taipei will be released
Wow! Aren’t you as excited as I am?
If you want to experience various styles of Taipei
“Taipei Walking Tour” will be your top choice
Starting from mid-September
Taipei Walking Tour provides four routes of different styles including
“Art Enthusiast,” “Taipei Native,” “Night Owl” and “BFF”
for you to stroll around Taipei
To get more details
get on Exchange Taipei Facebook fanpage
and take a look
then another and maybe… click like...
(but I am using a tablet, how can I click?)
Fine, then just go take a look, check it out and read the posts
Let's reveal more and more Stories of Taipei!
see you again in Story of Taipei