新港戲院

July 27th, 2017

Hsin Kang Theater (新港戲院) is located in the small town of Xingang, Chiayi, not far from the famous Fèngtiān Temple (奉天宮). Multiple sources agree it went out of business in 1988—a victim of shifting consumer preferences and demographic changes in small town Taiwan—but the actual age of the building is somewhat uncertain. This academic reference suggests it was established as Shinko-za (新港座) in 1929, in the midst of the Japanese colonial era. Based solely on the appearance it was almost certainly demolished and rebuilt in the post-war period, possibly in the 1950s.

Scoping out another derelict theater in small town Taiwan.

This is supposedly of Japanese colonial vintage but the architecture is pure post-war ROC.

After many idle years the theater is now rented out for use by the big Mazu temple in town, the halfway point of the immense Dajia Mazu pilgrimage (大甲媽祖遶境進香活動). There is some talk of turning the old theater into a traditional arts center but presently the interior is only used for storage, as can be seen in this television news report. With a horseshoe-shaped balcony level it reminds me of another post-war theater, Xinxing Theater in Xinpu, albeit with a recently renovated rooftop.

There aren’t any good angles on these cramped streets behind the big temple.

30 NT full fare, 15 NT for veterans and students.

I returned to check up on this theater in 2022 while passing through Xingang. It hasn’t changed much at all in the five years since my initial visit. Some additional photos shot on a Nikon D3400 appear below.

Another oblique look at the only old theater still standing in Xingang.

The ticket booth in black and white, still displaying old prices.

Finally, a note about naming conventions: usually I roll with standard pinyin but in cases like these where there’s an official Wade-Giles romanization out front I’ll use that instead. If you’re interested in more information about this theater you’ll find it mentioned here, here, here, and here, all in Chinese of course.

Map

Recorded On

July 17th, 2017
January 14th, 2022

Themes

Theaters in Taiwan (台灣老戲院)

Series: Taiwan Summer Road Trip 2017

In the summer of 2017 I borrowed a scooter to ride to a music festival in Nantou and only returned it several months later. It wasn’t a continuous road trip—I’d leave the scooter parked at various HSR stations as I slowly made my way around central and southern Taiwan—but each leg of the trip usually involved 3 or 4 days of riding. In the end I gathered enough material for 60 or 70 posts, only some of which have been published.