Taipei Minor South Gate

Date Captured

February 5th, 2026 at 02:55 UTC

Camera

DC-S5M2

Lens

LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6

Aperture

ƒ / 8

Shutter Speed

1/200 sec

Focal Length

47.0 mm

ISO

100

Exposure Value

13.6 EV

Download

3600 × 2400

Today is winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, and it is a record-breaking 30°C in Taipei. In Chinese culture it is customary to consume tāngyuán (湯圓, glutinous rice balls typically immersed in hot, sweet soup) on winter solstice, better known to locals as Dōngzhì (冬至), a time when families gather together and celebrate growing one year older. Since I have no family here I will be lining up at 36 Yuánzǐ Shop (三六圓仔店) for a bowl sometime later on—though I might just skip this particular ritual if the line-up is too crazy. Two years ago I was informed, contrary to expectations, that you won’t actually age without eating tangyuan on dongzhi. If I miss it this year I suppose I won’t mind.

Date Captured

December 22nd, 2015 at 07:24 UTC

Camera

NIKON D3100

Lens

AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II

Aperture

ƒ / 11

Shutter Speed

1/500 sec

Focal Length

23.0 mm

ISO

800

Exposure Value

15.9 EV

Download

1800 × 1200

At the moment I’m enjoying a coffee next to Taipei Prefecture Minor South Gate (臺北府城小南門), originally built in 1879, cleaved from the old city walls by the Japanese in the 1930s, and later rebuilt and remodelled in a northern Chinese style by the Republic of China government in 1966 as part of a much broader program of Sinicization. Today it stands in a traffic circle amidst a complicated intersection of several roads in Zhongzheng not far from where I am staying these days in Wanhua.

Now the days grow longer, each more than the last.