龍潭葉山樓

December 18th, 2015

Longtan Yeshan Building (龍潭葉山樓) is an architectural oddity on the northern edge of Longtan in Taoyuan, Taiwan. In Chinese it is also known as Yè Fābāo Strange House (葉發苞怪屋), after its owner and lead designer, and often appears simply as Longtan Strange House (龍潭怪怪屋) in the popular press. It has been under construction since 1989 but at some point the money ran out. Since then the owner plastered it with advertisements, ostensibly to raise money to complete the project. Nowadays there is little to see beneath the incredible number of promotional banners hanging off the side of the unfinished building.

Longtan Yeshan Building from the back garden. I suppose it is better obscured by trees than garish advertisements.

A Closer Look at Longtan Yeshan Building (龍潭葉山樓)

Side Detail at Longtan Yeshan Building (龍潭葉山樓)

Longtan Yeshan Building from across the street. This is the intersection of several major roads and the main way out of town heading north.

So many advertisements. Seems like an awful waste of what might have been a cool place to visit.

A closer look at another corner of the building. I like the little piece of a balcony protruding from one of the ads.

Here you can clearly see the alphabetical flourishes on the top balcony.

The back of the building from the ground floor.

Obvious signs of decay between advertisement banners.

One last look at the most iconic building in Longtan.

Until very recently I was living in Zhongli, about 12 kilometers north of Longtan, so I made a point of riding over to check it out despite having heard that there wasn’t much to see anymore. And it’s true—visiting this place was a real disappointment. It could have been something fantastical out of a Hayao Miyazaki film, instead it’s a garish monstrosity that nobody should go out of their way to see. Since I went to all the trouble of taking a few photos I figure I may as well add it to my growing catalogue of roadside oddities here in Taiwan. The owner still plans to finish construction from the sounds of it so who knows, maybe it will be cool again one day.