Zhongying Recreational Building

Date CapturedAugust 17th, 2016 at 04:44 UTCCameraNIKON D3100LensAF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IIApertureƒ / 9Shutter Speed1/320 secFocal Length18.0 mmISO200Exposure Value14.7 EVOriginal Size1800 × 1200

Zhōngyīng Recreational Building (中英育樂大樓) is one of many distinctive and iconic ruins in the urban blight surrounding Taichung Station (臺中車站) in central Taichung. It was once a bustling commercial center but it fell into disrepair in the 1990s around the time that a series of fires left a total of seven people dead. With its fortunes in steep decline the building became a haven for the homeless—which is why the upper levels and basement have been sealed off.

Nowadays what residents remain are unusually suspicious of outsiders and, as a result, I haven’t made much progress in gaining access to most of the building the two times I’ve visited. The parts that can be seen are peculiar, to say the least: a concrete path corkscrews up from ground level to the third floor, allowing anyone to drive a scooter directly to their doorstep much like you would in a parking garage.