Dongnanya Theater

Established in May 1966 by Li Jingran (李景然), Wu Qiujian (吳求劍), and approximately 200 veterans on Tingzhou Road near where Xindian Line (新店線) had recently been abolished. The name of the theater, literally “Southeast Asia”, is a reference to the long years those veterans fought around the borderlands of China and Myanmar before being evacuated to Taiwan. It was the first theater in the Gongguan area and is credited with helping establish the surrounding commercial district. Initially it operated as a two-screen second-run cinema with low ticket prices to attract students. A major 1990s renovation converted it to first-run and expanded to four screens, creatively named Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Bangkok. In 2015 Showtime Cinemas took over, renamed it Dongnanya Showtime Cinemas (東南亞秀泰影城), and expanded to six screens. Real estate developer Xinmeiqi (新美齊) acquired the property in 2022 for NT$880 million. The theater closed on January 31, 2025.