親親來來大戲院

October 20th, 2016

Among the many disused and abandoned movie theaters of Zhongli is a massive entertainment complex home to twin cinemas: Qīnqīn Theater (親親大戲院) and Láilái Theater (來來大戲院). Located immediately across from the former Sogo department store in the heart of downtown, it remains unexplored insofar as I know. Several businesses still operate out of the ground floor of this hulking ruin and they don’t take kindly to strangers skulking about in search of an entrance to the upper levels.

Deciphering the names of twin theaters in an abandoned entertainment complex in Zhongli.

Behind the empty frames that would have once held movies posters (much like those of nearby Zhongyuan Theater) the signs for several other businesses are also visible. Apart from the twin theaters this building also housed a Western-style restaurant (親親西餐廳), an ice rink (冰宮), some kind of gaming parlour or amusement park (perhaps 伙伙大樂園, it’s a bit hard to make out), and a sleazy cabaret (愛愛大歌廳), which was formerly a theater of the same name (愛愛戲院). Note the use of double characters in all these names; they had the same owners who evidently liked this sort of cutesy branding. Public records indicate the twin theaters on the top floors were in business from around 1978 until the late 1990s or early 2000s. The complex peaked in the early 1990s when the World Trade Caixing Building (世貿財星大樓) and Far Eastern Department Store (遠東百貨) opened across the street, but declined as newer malls drew shoppers to the rezoned Liuhe Textile (六和紡織) area. One of the managers, Zhuāng Tíngrén (莊廷仁), appears to have had some connection to a theater on Taipei’s Cinema Street as well as the Cáishén Building (財神大樓), also in Zhongli.

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。