金紫戲院

Jinzi Theater

April 26th, 2024

Last updated July 30th, 2026

Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — A slightly Art Deco style pervades the architecture of this small town theater.

Jinzi Theater was built in Anxiliao (安溪寮) by Lin Yaodong (林耀東), a resident of Yanshui, who named it for an ancestor, Lin Jinzi (林金紫). Completed in 1956, it is remarkable for its relatively grand scale despite being located in a small village in rural Houbi, Tainan. Management changed hands twice within a few years of opening, and from around 1958 a couple from Taichung, Wu Bokuan (吳伯寬) and Wu Linyu (吳林玉), held the operating rights, screening mainly Taiwanese-language films alongside glove puppetry and touring opera troupe performances.

Ticket Booth at Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — The exterior of the theater was decorated by students in 2017.

Within The Ticket Booth at Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — After dark from within the ticket booth.

Inside The Ticket Booth at Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — Another study of the ticket booth, this time by day.

The theater is a two-storey structure with a reinforced-concrete façade. The symmetrical design features round windows and horizontal banding evoking a hint of Art Deco style. The body of the theater is timber-framed with traditional bamboo wattle-and-daub walls, a common construction technique in rural Taiwan, and a roof covered in typhoon-resistant tile. The curved ticket booth at ground level is flanked by two entrances, and the projection booth is lined with metal, presumably as a precaution against fire.

Inside Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — The interior of the theater was cleared out long ago. The structure remains mostly intact.

Substrate Analysis at Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — The timber frame features bamboo wattle-and-daub walls, a traditional construction technique in rural Taiwan.

Wall Markings Inside Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — This wall, just inside the ticket booth, is not graffiti; these appear to be notes written by staff of the theater while it was still in operation.

Projection Booth at Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — A glimpse inside the metal-lined projection booth. Since the theater is entirely made of wood it was a major fire hazard, as the projectors of the day ran extremely hot!

Light Switches at Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — Light switches inside the old theater.

Broken Window at Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — A broken window frame from the front of the theater lays on the second floor balcony.

In 2017 students from Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology (南臺科技大學) made the derelict theater the subject of a community project, hanging movie posters and painting murals on its exterior and screening an old Taiwanese-language film on antique equipment for mostly elderly residents, many of whom remembered the place in operation, outside a nearby community center. One attendee recalled the last screening was 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (尋母三千里), a Japanese animation series dating back to 1976 with a theatrical cut released in 1980. As with most other small town theaters it likely closed as a result of the rise of television, which began taking over the market in early 1970s.

Looking Back at Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — Looking back at the empty theater from the far side.

Detail of Jinzi Theater (金紫戲院) — One last glimpse of the old theater before its eventual renewal.

Somewhat surprisingly, the theater was extensively renovated in 2020, and a small convenience store (金紫平價甘仔店) opened on the ground floor beneath a shell that obscures the wooden roof trusses. As of 2026 it appears this store might already be out of business.