富有大樓

August 24th, 2015

At the end of a bicycle trip to Taitung City in the spring of 2015 I went wandering near the old train station, which had been transformed into the Taitung Railway Art Village (台東鐵道藝術村) in 2004. I had a hunch I might find some hulking derelict near former station front, perhaps an entertainment complex or shopping center in terminal decline, for the new Taitung Station is located far outside the downtown core. Sure enough, within minutes I noticed the telltale signs of decay on a large commercial building several streets over from the art village. This proved to be the Fùyǒu Building (富有大樓), a shopping and entertainment complex built in the early 1990s under shady circumstances. It was later abandoned and has since become an eyesore and public health menace as well as a political hot potato for local officials.

Outside the Fuyou Building, a derelict shopping complex in Taitung City.

A long view of the fruit market on the corner.

Looking up the back side of the building near the basement entrance.

An imposing view of the building from the market area down on street level.

Descending into the repulsive swamp in the basement.

Finding a way in is a piece of cake; hardly any effort has been undertaken to limit access to this festering ruin. Several businesses still operate out of ground floor storefronts and the stairways were unblocked. Nobody seems to care who comes and goes but it couldn’t hurt to exhibit some caution. My first stop was down in the basement, among the more repulsive places I’ve explored in Taiwan. Most of it is flooded with scummy, garbage-laden water, and audibly leaking pipes can be discerned deep in the oppressive gloom at the far side of the chamber. Mosquitos and other insects have taken advantage of conditions to breed magnificent swarms while giant rats and cockroaches roamed with impunity.

First look inside the Fuyou Building. Most of the upper levels have been cleaned out.

Next I ascended the building to the rooftop to better gain an understanding of its scale. The first stairwell I tried was filled with oppressively hot and stagnant air. The windows were sealed, probably to prevent flooding from the typhoons that regularly strike this coastline. Up on top I entered one of several elevator rooms, not finding much more than a bird carcass, its banded leg providing a clue to its place of origin, and an old black and white manga.

Taitung City from the Fuyou Building rooftop. This is looking north toward the entrance of Huadong Valley.

Daylight was fading fast by the time I made it to the top of the Fuyou Building. Here I captured city skylines in all directions, reveling in the excellent views of the mountains flanking the entrance to the Huādōng Valley (花東縱谷) and the Pacific Ocean. Not much remained on the rooftop to suggest a human presence; it had no doubt been cleansed of artifacts by past typhoons.

Water coolers on top of the Fuyou Building.

Tiled arches on the north side of the Fuyou Building.

South side view from the Fuyou Building.

Descending several levels I encountered the top floor of a derelict department store, golden sunlight spilling out of a window to illuminate a set of broken escalators that went down at least another four floors. Nothing remained of whatever business had occupied these levels years before—everything that could have been salvaged had been removed. There was only bare jackhammered concrete, broad tiled outlines of former walkways, closed metal shutters, filthy windows, and those improbable escalators.

The top level of the abandoned department store in the Fuyou Building.

Fuyou Building in the golden light of afternoon.

No need for caution tape here; this escalator is obviously out of service.

Escalators don’t break, they just become stairs.

Deeper into the building I found more evidence of activity. Local people have made use of the space to store junk or simply dump garbage. There was a lot of it crammed into dark and dusty market stalls much like those in the mosquito-infested basement, none of it particularly photogenic.

Sunset from the ruined Fuyou Building, Taitung City.

Slipping back into the outside world a group of schoolchildren saw me exit the building. They burst out into laughter at the absurdity of the sight, a foreigner in dusty clothes documenting the process of decay in their hometown. Finally, if you’re curious about Taitung City check out my post about Dàtóng Theater (大同戲院) and the rest of what I found around town that day.

Warning: this location is abandoned, hazardous, or otherwise neglected and may be unsafe and even dangerous! Exercise appropriate precautions when visiting.

警告：此處已廢棄或長期無人管理，可能存在潛在危險。造訪時請務必提高警覺，並做好相關安全防護措施。

Map

Themes

Urban Exploration in Taiwan (台灣城市探險)
Taiwan Mixed-Use Buildings (台灣住商混合大樓)
Urban Exploration

Series: Southern Taiwan Ride 2015

This series chronicles a multi-day bicycle trip around the deep south of Taiwan, specifically from Tainan to Taitung in June 2015. Along the way I visited many places in Kaohsiung and especially Pingtung. A lot of what I saw and experienced hasn’t been written about in English very much so I’ve taken some extra time to provide background information to better contextualize what’s in the many photographs in this series. Altogether this is a complete trip journal clocking in at around 20,000 words from start to finish!