TAIPEI Winter 2016 Vol.6
Navigating the City With a Literary Flow
Under the brilliant contrast of endless poinsettias, the Taipei of winter seems ablaze. The radiant red captures the warmth and passion of this city under its blanket of chill.
In 2015, Akira Higashiyama’s novel Ryu (“Flow”) won Japan’s prestigious Naoki Prize. Taipei is the stage for this novel’s story, immersing the reader in scenes of yesteryear that inspire waves of nostalgia. Under Akira’s pen, the old China Plaza’s wondrous homestyle aromas from different regions of China drift by once more, and many readers are transported back to the days when they came here to get school uniforms made. Akira lived for a time on Guangzhou Street, and the Longshan Temple and Ximending area have thus left vivid impressions on his life. First love blossomed for him in the Taipei Botanical Garden, and the bewitching old-time charms of the Dadaocheng neighborhood also fascinated him.
In this issue of TAIPEI we explore old and new Taipei through literary eyes and the footsteps traced in this novel. Many decades have passed, and the Longshan Temple in the novel remains shrouded in wisps of smoke from incense sticks. Huaxi Street and its foods remain a place of pilgrimage for tourists. Ximending is still a favorite haunt for the youth, with the addition of today’s many iconic arts and culture and trend-setting attractions. Akira’s beloved Taipei Botanical Garden is an urban oasis of exotic flowers and elegant historical buildings. Busy Dihua Street, with its intriguing old architecture, regional specialty goods, distinctive cultural-creative style, and inexpensive yet tasty cuisine, offers travelers an “authentic Taiwan” feast for both body and mind. In the pages to follow we take you on a tour of the city using Akira’s literary work as our guide.
In our fast-paced industrial society, the warmth of goods made carefully by hand is something both invaluable and irreplaceable. Expert craftspeople dedicated to preserving traditional handicrafts have carved a deep cultural heritage for Taipei, and made the Taipei story richer and filled with wonder. In this TAIPEI issue, we introduce Wanhua’s heritage bakeries, history-steeped teahouses, a venerable blacksmith shop, and Buddhist implement shops. The great panoply of local products may change with the times, but what is even more important than the passing down of traditions from one generation to the next – trustworthiness.
If you were to use handmade pencil and paper, do you think you’d feel differently? Who would think that once mastered, handmade paper can be used to develop paper necklaces and lanterns! A heritage maker of calligraphy brushes and ink can crossover to the production of cosmetic brushes, bringing new life to an old brand. Elsewhere, we explore the traditional art of decorative lantern making, each work a showcase of the skill involved, as well as the worlds of wood, tin, and pottery arts, which add zest to life.
Culture and creativity are the catalysts of a city’s kinetic energy. In this edition, we speak with Peter Zec, CEO of the world-renowned Red Dot Awards and founder of the World Design Capital project, who provides insightful observations on Taiwan’s design industry. We also spend time with Korean Mission in Taipei Representative Cho Baek-sang, whose term has just ended, and Japanese film director Kitamura Toyoharu, asking the two to share their Taipei impressions.
We’re now within 250 days of the upcoming 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade, and we specially share the stories of Taiwan national women’s volleyball player Wang Sin-Ting’s victory over a rare disease and world-class indigenous skater Sung Ching-Yang’s determination to overcome many obstacles. We invite you to give a rousing cheer for a successful Taipei Universiade!
Under the brilliant contrast of endless poinsettias, the Taipei of winter seems ablaze. The radiant red captures the warmth and passion of this city under its blanket of chill.
In 2015, Akira Higashiyama’s novel Ryu (“Flow”) won Japan’s prestigious Naoki Prize. Taipei is the stage for this novel’s story, immersing the reader in scenes of yesteryear that inspire waves of nostalgia. Under Akira’s pen, the old China Plaza’s wondrous homestyle aromas from different regions of China drift by once more, and many readers are transported back to the days when they came here to get school uniforms made. Akira lived for a time on Guangzhou Street, and the Longshan Temple and Ximending area have thus left vivid impressions on his life. First love blossomed for him in the Taipei Botanical Garden, and the bewitching old-time charms of the Dadaocheng neighborhood also fascinated him.
In this issue of TAIPEI we explore old and new Taipei through literary eyes and the footsteps traced in this novel. Many decades have passed, and the Longshan Temple in the novel remains shrouded in wisps of smoke from incense sticks. Huaxi Street and its foods remain a place of pilgrimage for tourists. Ximending is still a favorite haunt for the youth, with the addition of today’s many iconic arts and culture and trend-setting attractions. Akira’s beloved Taipei Botanical Garden is an urban oasis of exotic flowers and elegant historical buildings. Busy Dihua Street, with its intriguing old architecture, regional specialty goods, distinctive cultural-creative style, and inexpensive yet tasty cuisine, offers travelers an “authentic Taiwan” feast for both body and mind. In the pages to follow we take you on a tour of the city using Akira’s literary work as our guide.
In our fast-paced industrial society, the warmth of goods made carefully by hand is something both invaluable and irreplaceable. Expert craftspeople dedicated to preserving traditional handicrafts have carved a deep cultural heritage for Taipei, and made the Taipei story richer and filled with wonder. In this TAIPEI issue, we introduce Wanhua’s heritage bakeries, history-steeped teahouses, a venerable blacksmith shop, and Buddhist implement shops. The great panoply of local products may change with the times, but what is even more important than the passing down of traditions from one generation to the next – trustworthiness.
If you were to use handmade pencil and paper, do you think you’d feel differently? Who would think that once mastered, handmade paper can be used to develop paper necklaces and lanterns! A heritage maker of calligraphy brushes and ink can crossover to the production of cosmetic brushes, bringing new life to an old brand. Elsewhere, we explore the traditional art of decorative lantern making, each work a showcase of the skill involved, as well as the worlds of wood, tin, and pottery arts, which add zest to life.
Culture and creativity are the catalysts of a city’s kinetic energy. In this edition, we speak with Peter Zec, CEO of the world-renowned Red Dot Awards and founder of the World Design Capital project, who provides insightful observations on Taiwan’s design industry. We also spend time with Korean Mission in Taipei Representative Cho Baek-sang, whose term has just ended, and Japanese film director Kitamura Toyoharu, asking the two to share their Taipei impressions.
We’re now within 250 days of the upcoming 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade, and we specially share the stories of Taiwan national women’s volleyball player Wang Sin-Ting’s victory over a rare disease and world-class indigenous skater Sung Ching-Yang’s determination to overcome many obstacles. We invite you to give a rousing cheer for a successful Taipei Universiade!
- Red Dot Award CEO Peter Zec (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Surveying Taipei City –Using Design to Improve Life Red Dot Award CEO Peter Zec Article＿Cai Shutian Photos＿Bernd Lauter, Red Dot Award The Grim Reaper aimed and then shot at the tires. The blas...16882017-03-10
- Lantern Artist Chen Zurong, Man of Many Talents (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)The Figure Behind the Brilliance Lantern Artist Chen Zurong, Man of Many Talents Article ＿ Fan Yujie Photos ＿Shi Chuntai, Chen Zurong The 12-meter-tall “Monkeys Presenting Peaches” (祥猴獻桃) lante...15492017-03-10
- Wood Products, Tinware, Ceramic Art (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Wood Products, Tinware, Ceramic Art Daily Use Items Infused With the Warmth of ‘Handmade’ Article＿Du Yunru Photos＿Shi Chuntai, Woo Collective When daily-use objects are infused with “handmade” ...19092017-03-10
- Traditional Crafts – Writing a New Page in Taiwan’s Memory (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Meng’s Handmade Paper & Lam Sam Yick Calligraphy Brushes Traditional Crafts – Writing a New Page in Taiwan’s Memory Article＿Fan Yujie Photos＿Wu Jinshi, Shi Chuntai Each day, we continually chec...23332017-03-10
- Visits With Master Craftspersons Down Quiet Lanes: Using Stories to Awaken a City’s Memory (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Visits With Master Craftspersons Down Quiet Lanes: Using Stories to Awaken a City’s Memory Article＿Yeh Yawei Photos＿Lin Yanyi Wanhua was one of the earliest areas to develop in Taipei. Today, y...13062017-03-10
- Kitamura Toyoharu’s Filmmaking Dream (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Twenty, Thirty, Forty Kitamura Toyoharu’s Filmmaking Dream Article＿Jiang Xinying Photos＿Kitamura Toyoharu “A father going through a midlife crisis, a mother with an empty nest and three childre...15602017-03-10
- Cho Baek-sang: Taiwan, the Beautiful Pearl of the Pacific Ocean (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Cho Baek-sang: Taiwan, the Beautiful Pearl of the Pacific Ocean Article＿Yen Ai-Chueh Photos＿Yang Jiaying, Korean Mission in Taipei Entering the Korean Mission in Taipei on the 22nd floor of th...18482017-03-10
- Perspectives of a German Tourist and Loyal Annual Visitor (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Perspectives of a German Tourist and Loyal Annual Visitor Grand Cycling Tour of Taiwan Article＿Cai Jiawei Photos＿Chen Zhengguo The “grand tour” has long been regarded as the true essence of tra...11242017-03-10
- Exciting Developments in City Diplomacy (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Presenting Taipei’s Diverse Charms to Its Sister Cities Exciting Developments in City Diplomacy Article‧Photos＿International Affairs Division, Secretariat, Taipei City Government In early 2015, ...11242017-03-10
- Unforgettable Food Tours – Dihua Street (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)The True Tastes of Old-Time Taipei Unforgettable Food Tours – Dihua Street Article＿Xu Ciqian Photos＿Shi Chuntai In Ryu , novelist Akira Higashiyama describes the Taipei of his childhood – the c...36462017-03-10
- A Time/Space Oasis –Taipei Botanical Garden (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Travels Through Time and Timeless Beauty A Time/Space Oasis –Taipei Botanical Garden Article＿Xu Ciqian Photos＿Shi Chuntai If the novel Ryu can be described as a youth novel, the Taipei Botanica...21952017-03-10
- The Rise of Post-Youth Culture and Creativity Arts Pilgrimage – Ximending (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)The Rise of Post-Youth Culture and Creativity Arts Pilgrimage – Ximending Article＿Xu Ciqian Photos＿Taipei City Government Department of Information and Tourism, Shi Chuntai Tattoos, pop music, ...22582017-03-10
- The Culture of the Old City – Bangka (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Living Repository of Old-Time Flavors The Culture of the Old City – Bangka Article＿Xu Ciqian Photos＿Shi Chuntai ▲ Under the pen of Akira Higashiyama, the old railway of yesteryear seems to reapp...17172017-03-10
- A literary World Flow Tour of Taipei－A Look at the Old City’s Elegance (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)A literary World Flow Tour of Taipei A Look at the Old City’s Elegance Article＿Xu Ciqian Photos＿Shi Chuntai, Wang Nengyon ▲ Taipei’s old-city heritage areas possess charming historical elegance. (...14822017-03-10
- Paiwan Skating ‘God of War’ Sung Ching-Yang (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)2017 Taipei Summer Universiade – The Quest for Roller Sport Gold Paiwan Skating ‘God of War’ Sung Ching-Yang Article＿Xie Yingjie Photos＿Li Tinghuan, Wang Guanwen ▲ Sung Ching-Yang is a rarity, a...18122017-03-10
- Women’s Volleyball Super-Spiker Wang Sin-Ting (TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06)Fighting a Rare Disease, Continually Challenging Herself Women’s Volleyball Super-Spiker Wang Sin-Ting Article＿Xie Yingjie Photos＿Wang Sin-Ting, Taipei City Government Department of Information ...22022017-03-10
- TAIPEI QUARTERLY 2016 WINTER Vol.06Navigating the City With a Literary Flow Under the brilliant contrast of endless poinsettias, the Taipei of winter seems ablaze. e radiant red captures the warmth and passion of this city under ...8612017-03-10
