新店江陵新村

Xindian Jiangling New Village

April 18th, 2016

Jiānglíng New Village (江陵新村) was one of more than 800 military dependents’ village in Taiwan before its ultimate destruction in mid-2015. It was formerly located not far from the confluence of Jingmei River (景美溪) and Xindian River (新店溪) just outside Taipei city limits in the northern part of Xindian. Immediately to the south is a military facility of some kind—and the historic Jingmei Prison can be found on the opposite side of the nearest major intersection.

Jiangling New Village (江陵新村) — The entrance to the abandoned Jiangling New Village in Xindian.

Rows of Homes Inside Jiangling New Village (江陵新村) — Into the rewilding lands beyond the busy city streets.

Level Up at Jiangling New Village (江陵新村) — Up the stairs to the next level.

Playground of the Elements — Playground of the elements. Anything left behind is subject to the forces of nature.

The abandonment of Jiangling New Village is part of a massive urban renewal effort sweeping across the nation. Hundreds of these old military communities have been depopulated and destroyed to make way for more modern developments, a process that has not been without controversy. Residents of these communities, some of whom have spent almost their entire lives in these homes, don’t always want to leave, as was the case with the famous “Rainbow Grandpa” of Taichung. There are also issues with the compensation paid to former residents, particularly since corporations like Farglory Group (遠雄集團) typically rake in huge profits from redeveloping military villages like this one. Many military villages have seen clashes between civic activists, police, and the workers charged with destroying homes. That being said I’ve seen no evidence of such struggles here at Jiangling New Village.

Leftover Toys Inside Jiangling New Village (江陵新村) — Leftover toys litter the ground on this covered deck.

Forgotten Shrine Inside Jiangling New Village (江陵新村) — A forgotten shrine inside a home in the old military community. Is this now part of the rubble field?

I chanced upon Jiangling New Village in March 2014 while cycling around the area, which wasn’t far from where I was living. At that time I knew little of the history of military dependents’ villages and, to be perfectly honest, probably wasn’t even sure what I had stumbled upon. As a novice explorer I was mostly interested in documenting ruins wherever I found them—and only more recently have I begun to really understand something about the places I’ve been. This understanding comes too late for me to return to Jiangling New Village and capture anything from a more informed perspective. All that remains of these homes is a field of broken rubble behind a corrugated metal fence and this handful of fading photographs.

For a more conventional look at this old military community have a look at photos here and here.