Changhua Aerodrome Fortifications 彰化飛行場古砲台

Fragmented history

One of my idle pursuits this mild winter has involved documenting all the obscure and unusual stuff I find in my travels around Changhua. When I go riding I prefer to take winding roads that twist and turn through old villages rather than the newer thoroughfares that directly connect communities in the countryside. Sometimes this pays off—for instance, while exploring some of the side roads on my way to Lukang I found this strange looking building amid the rice fields and rural industrial sprawl.

Yangliufeng Mansion 楊柳風燒酒全故宅

A merchant’s home

During the Japanese colonial era the liquor trade in Taiwan—along with tobacco, camphor, and several other goods—was tightly controlled by a government agency, the Monopoly Bureau. Alcohol was sold exclusively through a network of authorized distributors, many of whom were local Taiwanese who evidently became quite wealthy, as this crumbling yet majestic ruin in the back alleys of Changhua City would suggest. Located along a small laneway just off Mínshēng Road 民生路, this two-story brick mansion was formerly the residence of the local liquor monopoly distributor.

Wulai Qingpu Hotel 清瀑大飯店

An abandoned hotel at Wulai Falls

While on a day trip to Wulai at the very end of 2013 I was delighted to stumble upon one of the most picturesque abandonments I have had the pleasure of exploring in Taiwan. Mere steps from the southern terminus of the Wulai Sightseeing Tram 烏來觀光台車 one will find a viewing platform across from Wulai Falls 烏來瀑布, one of the most scenic waterfalls in the greater Taipei area. What you might not realize—unless you have a sixth sense for all things abandoned—is that the viewing platform doubles as the rooftop of a derelict hotel with a rather stunning view.

Jinguashi Old House 金瓜石老屋

We have explosive

One of the enduring mysteries of abandoned Taiwan is this: why do people leave so much stuff behind when they go? I understand there might not be any descendants or close friends to go through the belongings of the departed—but what about when entire families pick up and move? Sure, leave the junk behind (and there’s lots of that), but what about children’s toys, letters and diaries, old schoolwork, music, book, and movie collections, and photographs? It is almost as if entire families undergo a kind of ritual metamorphosis, pupating within their former domiciles, emerging transformed and casting away the remnants of their former lives, all the miscellaneous detritus and kipple that naturally accumulates in the course of everyday affairs.

Jukuiju 聚奎居

Jukuiju, an abandoned mansion in Taichung

Jùkuíjū 聚奎居 is an abandoned mansion in Wuri, Taichung, built in 1920 by Chén Shàozōng 陳紹宗, a wealthy businessman and landowner. The architecture is a combination of the traditional Taiwanese sānhéyuàn 三合院 (a U-shaped building with three parts surrounding a central courtyard) and the Baroque Revival style of the Japanese colonial era. It is located on the rundown, industrial margins of the city, along an otherwise unremarkable lane next to a military base, looking completely out of place in space and time.

Jinshuncheng Hoffmann Kiln 金順成八卦窯

Inside the brick kiln in Huatan Township

Jīnshùnchéng Hoffmann Kiln 金順成八卦窯 is located on the eastern Changhua Plain 彰化平原 in Huatan, a rural township south of Changhua City. During the Japanese colonial era this part of Taiwan specialized in brick and ceramic production due to plentiful supplies of high-quality clay, and the industry continued to expand after the arrival of the KMT. This particular kiln only dates back to the early 1960s and is the last of its kind in Changhua. For that reason the county government designated it a historic building in 2010 but very little has been done to clean the site and make it inviting to visitors.

Dayeh Futian Temple 大葉福天宮

Remains of a mountaintop temple in Changhua

High on the upper slopes of the modest Bagua Mountain Range 八卦山脈 (pinyin: Bāguàshānmài) overlooking Dayeh University (pinyin: Dàyè), on the border between Changhua and Nantou in Taiwan, stands a strange half-abandoned temple. It is peculiar in that temples are almost never left to the elements the way this one has been. Abandoned buildings are commonplace in this land of abundant ruins—but even the most obscure temples receive regular maintenance in the form of incense and offerings, among other things. To neglect the gods and spirits is to curse a place with tremendously bad luck and misfortune. Temples may be formally decommissioned, dismantled, and destroyed—but they are almost never simply abandoned or left to decay like this. What’s going on here?

Vanilla Garden Minsu 香草園民宿

The front deck of the termite palace at Spring grass gardens 春

I was out riding a scooter from Changhua the hot springs resort town of Guanziling in rural Tainan when I noticed a rundown, seemingly abandoned building by the roadside in the mountains of Zhongpu, Chiayi. Stopping to investigate, I discovered a mínsù 民宿 (essentially a bed and breakfast) in the early stages of decay. Initially I had no luck finding out any information about this place but more recently I uncovered its formal name: Dòngzǐjiǎo Vanilla Garden Minsu 凍仔腳香草園民宿. Dongzijiao, apparently famous for its betel nut crop, is the name of the nearest village.

Harbour City 海灣新城

The living ruins of Harbour City

Harbour City 海灣新城 is an imposing ruin sprawling along the coastline not far from Cape Fugui 富貴角 at the northernmost tip of Taiwan. I first noticed it on my round-the-island bicycle tour last year but did not stop to explore, having already spent much of my daylight riding time poking around the UFO houses of Wanli.

More recently I set out on a two-day urban exploration road trip with a friend from the Netherlands. Late in the afternoon on the first day we were thrown out of an abandoned amusement park in nearby Jinshan. Not having anything better to do with the remaining hour or so of daylight, I suggested we make our way up the coast to Shimen to investigate the ruin I had seen the previous year.