Anping Feng’an Theater

Feng’an Theater (封安戲院) was one of two theaters operating in historic Anping in the 1960s. It was constructed around 1967, likely on the site of the former Anle Theater (安樂戲院). With seating for approximately 200 patrons it was not large by the standards of the time. The theater hall was on the second floor while ground level was presumably rented out for commercial use. As with most other theaters in the 1960s programming was divided between film screenings, glove puppetry (布袋戲), and traditional opera. The advent of home television spurned a decline in viewership and in its later years the theater became a venue for pornographic films and striptease shows (牛肉場). It likely closed sometime in the 1980s.

Date CapturedApril 4th, 2021 at 05:04 UTCCameraNIKON D3400LensAF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR or AF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6GApertureƒ / 9Shutter Speed1/320 secFocal Length18.0 mmISO100Exposure Value14.7 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

Date CapturedApril 4th, 2021 at 05:04 UTCCameraNIKON D3400LensAF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR or AF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6GApertureƒ / 9Shutter Speed1/320 secFocal Length18.0 mmISO100Exposure Value14.7 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

Date CapturedApril 4th, 2021 at 05:03 UTCCameraNIKON D3400LensAF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G or AF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VRApertureƒ / 8Shutter Speed1/250 secFocal Length18.0 mmISO100Exposure Value14.0 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

Date CapturedApril 4th, 2021 at 05:03 UTCCameraNIKON D3400LensAF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR or AF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6GApertureƒ / 9Shutter Speed1/320 secFocal Length18.0 mmISO100Exposure Value14.7 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

In the late 2000s the old theater building was rented out to a variety of restaurant businesses including Qiu Family Shrimp Rolls (邱家蝦捲) and, more recently, Qin Beef Soup (秦溫體牛肉湯). The original nameplate for the theater is still visible along the alleyway to the south. Whether anything remains of the theater upstairs is a mystery waiting to be elucidated.