| COVER STORY |
|
|
|
Putting New Taipei City on the MapThe high cost of real estate in Taipei city has long caused many businesses and would-be home owners to look at alternative locations in suburban areas, but they were often deterred by inconvenient transportation links and the inferior educational and healthcare facilities in Taipei County. The recent elevation of the county to the status of special municipality under the name New Taipei City will mean more budgetary resources for investment in infrastructure improvements, however. The metropolitan MRT system is undergoing substantial expansion, and both the city government and private sector have major development projects in the works. As a result, New Taipei City is expected to continue to be one of the fastest growing places on the island. BY JANE RICKARDSVisions and ChallengesEric Liluan Chu, the mayor of New Taipei City, previously served as Vice Premier in 2009-2010, Taoyuan County magistrate from 2001 to 2009, and member of the Legislative Yuan from 1998 to 2001. He holds a Ph.D. in accounting and MBA in finance from New York University and has taught at National Taiwan University and Baruch College of the City University of New York. He recently talked with TOPICS editor-in-chief Don Shapiro and staff writer Jane Rickards. Seeing the Sights in New Taipei CityEspecially recommended are Sanxia and its famous Zushi temple, the historic town of Damshui, and the onetime mining region east of Keelung. BY STEVEN CROOKPutting New Taipei City on the MapThe high cost of real estate in Taipei city has long caused many businesses and would-be home owners to look at alternative locations in suburban areas, but they were often deterred by inconvenient transportation links and the inferior educational and healthcare facilities in Taipei County. The recent elevation of the county to the status of special municipality under the name New Taipei City will mean more budgetary resources for investment in infrastructure improvements, however. The metropolitan MRT system is undergoing substantial expansion, and both the city government and private sector have major development projects in the works. As a result, New Taipei City is expected to continue to be one of the fastest growing places on the island. BY JANE RICKARDSOffering sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and emerald bamboo forests, Vantone Taipei 2011, a collection of holiday apartment buildings currently under construction on a mountain in the Danshui district of New Taipei City, is tailor-made for China’s moneyed classes and forms the first-ever substantial Chinese property investment in Taiwan. When completed in three years’ time, the 29,734 square-meter site will feature elegant multi-storied buildings with one household per floor, giving owners a 360-degree bird’s-eye view of Taipei 101, Danshui’s coastline, and other landmarks. “They are among the best views in Taiwan,” says Tony Chao, managing director of real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle. “It’s a good area to escape the cold, especially for people who normally live in northern China during wintertime.” The company in charge is Vantone International Development Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Vantone Capital, which is invested in by Beijing Vantone Real Estate group and others. A private Taiwanese developer is also involved, says Chao. The project, which the government approved in April, aims at providing vacation homes for Chinese visitors, who under recently revised regulations are now permitted to stay in Taiwan for up to four months a year. Vantone Taipei 2011's website offers information only in simplified Chinese characters and gives offices in Shanghai and Beijing as contact points. New Taipei City, which came into existence at the end of last year as an upgraded version of the former Taipei County, is the first place in Taiwan to be targeted by significant Chinese investment, reflecting the vibes surrounding the city as a place of high potential. Forming a ring around the capital city of Taipei, New Taipei City has always been a latent force to be reckoned with. Its area of 2,052 square kilometers is eight times the size of Taipei, and its population of nearly four million people includes talented employees who represent one-sixth of Taiwan’s overall workforce, 43% with university qualifications. Close to the nation’s financial and political heart in Taipei, but with cheap and plentiful supplies of land, the city is home to 248,000 registered businesses (18.5% of Taiwan’s total) and more than 20,000 factories. Nearly all the island’s key industries – including electronics, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemical materials, and optics – are present. Two of Taiwan’s biggest multinational companies – Acer and Hon Hai Precision Instruments – are headquartered there. Until recently, development of the area was held back somewhat by its status as a county, which meant that it received limited funding from the central government compared with jurisdictions such as Taipei. But that changed in December, when Taipei County was formally elevated to the rank of a special municipality on the same level as Taipei and Kaohsiung. The challenge now is to make the best use of the expanded budget to improve the poor public transport and infrastructure that is the legacy of past limited funding, boost tourism (see the accompanying story), and in general transform the city’s positioning from a “bedroom” satellite of Taipei (over one million people live in New Taipei City but work in Taipei) into an independent and culturally vibrant city. Already the property market is responding. As Taipei land prices surge and New Taipei City transport links improve, local developers and home buyers have shifted their focus to this area, which last year saw the greatest surge in property prices in Taiwan – rising 20% on average, compared with 17% in Taipei, according to Tony Chao. In material prepared for TOPICS, the Taiwan branch of real estate firm CB Richard Ellis says local developers last year spent NT$51.4 billion (US$1.77 billion) on purchasing land parcels in New Taipei City. The most-sought-after locations are along or close to MRT lines. Traditionally Taipei was the preferred location for property investment by the financial and other service industries, CBRE adds. But the surge in commercial-property prices in Taipei by more than 50% over the last three years, coming amid stagnant growth in office rental income, has caused investment yields to dive from around 4.5% to less than 3%, driving investors away. New Taipei City property investments have looked more attractive, even with the luxury tax introduced June 1 by the central government. While no site in New Taipei City has yet reached the price of over NT$1 million per ping found in upmarket Taipei neighborhoods, the Xinzhuang district, which will see partial completion of an MRT line by next year, has seen the greatest increase in property prices – by 32% year-on-year for the first quarter of 2011. Chao says current prices of NT$700,000-$800,000 per ping in Xinzhuang are a bubble that will soon be corrected, with rates leveling to around NT$600,000 per ping, the price of property in the New Banqiao special district (known in real estate circles as the “new Xinyi District” due to its modern buildings). CBRE says home prices in the nearly 50-hectare special district escalated more than 40% in the last five years, and the area constitutes a regional transport hub due to the confluence of High Speed Rail, MRT and railway stations, along with bus terminals. “Superb amenities” are also planned for the district, says CBRE, such as a Super Dome sports stadium, five-star hotels, and grade-A office buildings. In addition, the Far Eastern Group is investing NT$6.5 billion (US$224 million) to build a trendy department store complex, due to open in October, in the special district. It will accommodate 12 designer brands, including YSL, Gucci, and Bottega Veneta, making them available in New Taipei City for the first time, says Sophia Yiin, assistant vice president of the Far Eastern Resources Development Company’s development and operations department. Jones Lang LaSalle and CBRE say that numerous multinationals, along with domestic high-tech and financial services companies, have recently been inquiring about office space in New Taipei City. And those who have already set up there seem happy with the decision. “Reasonable rents and excellent transportation via the MRT make [Banqiao] a very convenient location for our operations,” says Lee Wood, managing director of the Taiwan branch of HSBC Life (International), based in Banqiao. “Overall, it seems that New Taipei City is up and coming.” Not so distant
Allen Yuan, general manager of Linkou-based Bourns Electronics (Taiwan), a maker of high-end electronic components, marvels at the perception of Linkou’s remoteness versus actual transport time. It seems like the boondocks, he says, but actually Linkou is only 25 minutes away from central Taipei by car. The Taiwan subsidiary was set up in 1986 on 120,382 square meters of land in an industrial park that is now showing its age. But Yuan considers it to be a good location and regards Linkou as having great growth potential. Transportation can be a major headache for those without a car, however, as there are only a few bus routes to Banqiao, Taipei, and Taoyuan, says Yuan. This situation may be alleviated with completion of the MRT line to the airport in 2014, he says, but more buses will still be needed. The water supply can also be a problem during periods of drought, Yuan adds, though Linkou’s location on a plateau diminishes concerns about flooding. In its 25-some years of operations, Bourns has never suffered any damage from earthquakes or typhoons. Because of those advantages, and also because it is halfway between Taipei city and the international airport, with good highway connections (a roughly 30-minute journey either way), logistics and distributions companies have shown interest in Linkou, says Tony Chao. Once public transportation connections improve, Yuan foresees Linkou’s cheap property prices as attracting large numbers of businesses and home buyers, in turn attracting investors in entertainment and shopping complexes. Whether in Linkou or elsewhere, new MRT links are therefore critical for New Taipei City’s development. Current plans call for constructing what are known as the San Huan San Xian – three circular and three linear MRT lines. New Taipei City mayor Eric Liluan Chu says that although it will be impossible to complete construction before the end of his term in 2014, work on all the lines should at least be well under way by then, with the Xinzhuang line – which forms the northern half of the second circular line – and the airport MRT already up and running. The first circular line, known as the Huanzhuang line, will include the 10.9-kilometer Wenhu line that runs from the Muzha zoo to northern Taipei. But it is not likely to form a complete circle very soon; another 15.4-kilometer segment on the southwestern side that runs from an area near Xindian through Banqiao to Wugu is not expected to be operational until 2016, while the two connecting sections are still in the planning stages. The second circular line, which includes the 19.7-kilometer Xinzhuang line in the north, is 90% complete, Chu says, while construction is scheduled to start in September on the southern 22.1-kilometer section known as the Wanda-Zhongho-Shulin line. The third “circular line” is not really a circle, but more like a V-shape, with the vertex at Taipei Main Station and the sides consisting of two winding routes, one connecting to the international airport in the north and the other serving portions of Banqiao in the south. Work on extending the existing Banqiao line to the outer suburb of Dingpu is 60% complete, Chu says, and there are plans to extend it further to Yingge, with construction to start in 2014. Construction of the 51-kilometer airport link is said to be 70% complete. The linear routes, all still under planning, include extensions to the Danshui line, a Xizhi-Minsheng line that goes from Taipei through Nankang to Xizhi, and an Ankeng line that runs in a southwesterly direction away from Xindian. The New Taipei City government stresses that all lines still under planning remain subject to possible future reviews. Lo Chih-cheng, a Soochow University political science professor who is a Democratic Progressive Party candidate for the Legislative Yuan from Banqiao, sees it as a weakness for the New Taipei City government that it does not have its own MRT bureau, but concedes that Taiwan may not have enough specialized MRT talent to make that possible. Half the funding for New Taipei City’s MRT construction is coming from its own budget and half from the central government, but the systems are designed and built by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. (TRTC), which has few members on its board representing New Taipei City. As a result, Lo says, the corporation tends to prioritize MRT construction in Taipei. New Taipei City may be put at a further disadvantage by the central government’s fiscal deficit, he notes. Lo says the DPP agrees that completion of the Huanzhuang circular line should be the New Taipei City government’s top priority, as it will link other parts of New Taipei City with the seat of the municipal government in Banqiao without the current need to go through Taipei. This inter-linkage would help develop the local economies and also ease traffic congestion in Taipei. Meanwhile New Taipei City’s other transport advantages include the new Port of Taipei in Bali and the proximity to Keelung harbor. Building a Golden Corridor
There are also plans for a Xinzhuang Knowledge Park and a Greater Xizhi Trade Park. The latter has been strongly supported by President Ma Ying-jeou, who reportedly has pushed central government agencies such as the Industrial Development Bureau and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to get involved. A large industrial cluster is already naturally forming in Xizhi, as it is home to 7,175 companies that have capitalization of at least NT$100 million (about US$3 million), the city government says. Among them are Acer, Wistron, semiconductor distribution company Zenitron, and the sole Asian unit of Garmin, the global positioning company. The city government has already set up a promotion committee for the Xizhi Trade Park, and municipal officials met in March with local industry representatives to obtain their input for the drafting of a concrete development plan. First-stage priorities will be to improve traffic conditions, water and electricity supply, and basic infrastructure, the city government says, while over the longer term it will seek to collaborate with the Neihu Technology Park and Nankang Software Park to produce a cluster that can attract foreign-invested industries. The goal is to bring 2,300 businesses into Xizhi within four years, creating over 80,000 jobs. Chao of Jones Lang LaSalle points out that property values in Xizhi are still NT$200,000 to $300,000 per ping, whereas neighboring Nankang is four or five times more. Michael Ng, CEO of Amko Solara Lighting Co., says his company is very satisfied with its Xizhi location. The innovative R&D-intensive company specializes in energy-efficient lighting and smart control systems and has customers in Europe and the United States, including Fortune 500 companies such as Coca Cola. Amko Solara started roughly six years ago in Taipei with 500 square meters of office space, before moving to Xizhi and expanding to the current total of 3,600 square meters. “Taipei is extremely expensive and we were very limited there in terms of space,” Ng says. The first step the company took in Xizhi was to tear down all walls and partitions to create a large open-plan office conductive to brainstorming. Other tech companies have since moved into the building, producing a mini cluster effect. “It’s good to see what other people are doing,” Ng says. He touts Xizhi as a good place for budding entrepreneurs. Provided a private car is used, transport connections are excellent – for example, the Xinyi District is reachable in 15 minutes. Public transport, though, remains inadequate. In addition, both Ng and HSBC Life’s Wood mentioned a shortage of suitable restaurants in New Taipei City, although Wood says the situation seems to be getting better, especially in the area around the Banqiao special district. Besides the government-built facilities, the area also has privately developed industrial parks. The Far Eastern Group, founded in Banqiao 60 years ago, is developing the Taipei Far Eastern Telecom Park (Tpark) partially on the site of its old textile mills close to the Banqiao special district. In recent years, one of the group’s fastest growing companies has been Far EasTone, a leading mobile communications operator. According to Sophia Yiin, Group Chairman Douglas Hsu was motivated to launch the project by recognition that digital communications is becoming more and more important in modern life and from a conviction that Taiwan can be highly competitive in this field. Ericsson has already moved into the park, and it is expected that some other leading multinational companies will soon follow. In addition to telecom, Tpark is seeking to attract companies engaged in cloud computing, green energy, and other cutting-edge tech ventures. Designed by noted German design company Atelier Dreseitl, the park offers one of most ecologically friendly environments in Taiwan. It also features sculptures of giant buttons in homage to the site’s history. In its analysis of how New Taipei City is developing, CBRE expresses bullishness about the plans for the new MRT links, but cautions that “we are not certain about the demand driver for the newly-developed technology parks in New Taipei City.” It notes that some are having difficulties attracting tenants in the face of competition from the parks in Neihu and Nankang. While the Neihu Technology Park has seen a 300% increase in land prices in the past three years, causing some high-tech companies to relocate to New Taipei City, CBRE points out, the flow has not been sufficient to absorb the available supply. In addition, the planned Beitou Shihlin Technology Park from the Taipei City government will constitute another direct competitor. Implementing urban renewalUrban renewal is also seen as vital for developing New Taipei City, which has some of Taiwan’s ugliest housing and decrepit factories in old industrial areas. Tony Chao notes that this could become an important business in future, as 40-60% of the buildings are more than 20 years old. Deputy Mayor Hsu Shih-chien has been put in charge of an urban renewal team to try to increase the momentum for redevelopment. One of the challenges will be to deal with the resistance that urban renewal projects often encounter. In one recent case, Sanchung residents in July protested plans to tear down their houses to make way for the Danshui Manhattan Project being jointly promoted by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, saying they were not given enough notice. Currently if owners of roughly 80% of the floor space in a building agree to an urban renewal project, the government by law should force any holdouts to go along with the majority. But such cases are often considered politically sensitive, and according to media reports some non-government organizations are pushing to amend the law to offer more protection to the minority householders. Chao says more than 200 urban renewal projects in Taipei city are on a waiting list because one or several residents refuse to participate. “There are political constraints in Taiwan. Residents can find a city councilor and blame the government, so most projects are very slow,” he notes. Chao finds a more positive attitude toward urban regeneration in New Taipei City, but adds that in a democratic society, government must be respectful of the rights of all citizens. One potential weakness of New Taipei City is its dependency on good relations with Taipei, which for decades has enjoyed the most budget and political attention – and whose politicians are unlikely to be enthusiastic about sharing resources with their neighboring city. In addition to Taipei’s involvement in New Taipei City MRT construction, Mayor Chu and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-pin have come up with several joint development plans, such as the Danshui Manhattan Project (which combines financial and tech businesses with tourism along the Danshui River) and the Greater Taipei Golden Twin Cities plan (under which the two cities will jointly apply to host the 2019 Asian Games and also institute various cooperative policies to boost the cities’ economies). Such joint plans may be inevitable, given that New Taipei City encircles Taipei, but it still may be a challenge for the two governments to work together successfully. Lo Chih-cheng notes that even if both mayors are from the same party, as is the case with Chu and Hau, cooperation might be difficult as they will both want to work in their own city’s interest to impress their voters. Another challenge for the new city will be to train public servants to handle the increased responsibilities that come with managing a special municipality. Before the upgrading, the various villages and townships within Taipei County enjoyed more autonomy in managing their own affairs. New Taipei City is a huge and diverse area, including crowded urban districts, rural areas, and fishing villages, but all will now be governed by a single city government rather than by their own communities. “The beauty of New Taipei City is its diversity, but this can be difficult to manage,” Lo says. For example, tasks that may be easy for Taipei to carry out, such as using standard garbage bags and having uniform garbage collection practices, maybe difficult for New Taipei City, where many people live in small communities in remote rural areas and may be accustomed to simply dumping their trash. Some villages in the past sponsored free shuttle buses for their communities, but in the name of standardization, the New Taipei City government has cancelled these services, Lo says, since other communities might complain that they don’t enjoy the same service. Some richer townships offered fellowships for their students and provided better care for elderly residents, but again in future all will need to be treated equally. Mayor Chu cites improving education and social welfare as key tasks that his administration will face. The city already has 18 universities (containing 11 innovation incubators) and 17 vocational schools, and the city government stresses the presence of an educated workforce as one of the area’s main attractions for foreign investors. By raising educational standards, Chu says he hopes to put an end to the need for students to travel into Taipei for good schooling. He also plans to create a volunteer network to help the elderly, and to expand the number of kindergartens and facilities for long-term care of the aged. This year’s New Taipei City budget of NT$156 billion (US$5.4 billion) is equivalent to NT$40,000 per citizen, compared with NT$60,000 for residents of Taipei. The New Taipei City government says that in light of its new status, it hopes to gradually receive increase the budget so that it can reach the NT$60,000 level within eight years. Visions and ChallengesEric Liluan Chu, the mayor of New Taipei City, previously served as Vice Premier in 2009-2010, Taoyuan County magistrate from 2001 to 2009, and member of the Legislative Yuan from 1998 to 2001. He holds a Ph.D. in accounting and MBA in finance from New York University and has taught at National Taiwan University and Baruch College of the City University of New York. He recently talked with TOPICS editor-in-chief Don Shapiro and staff writer Jane Rickards.
Overall, what is your vision for New Taipei City in the next four years?Historically, during the Qing Dynasty and Japanese colonial era, the area covered by today’s New Taipei City and Taipei city was all Taipei County. After World War II when the ROC government came to Taiwan, the area was divided into Taipei County and Taipei City. Now Taipei County has been promoted to what we call New Taipei City, a directly controlled municipality by the central government. It covers a very diverse landscape. Much of New Taipei City is urban, but the surrounding mountainous and coastal areas are also within the city limits, so we need to take care of people not only in the metropolitan regions but also in the countryside. So what is the vision for New Taipei City? First of all, it is to enable our metropolitan areas to compete with Taipei or to be even better than Taipei in the kind of lifestyle we can offer. After our upgrading to New Taipei City, our citizens are looking forward to a better life, even if they live in the countryside. Infrastructure is the first challenge, because for the past 50 years Taipei City basically received the most attention from the central government. For example, the mass transit system is mainly serving downtown Taipei. Even for other forms of infrastructure, we are still way behind. That is the reason why people felt that we needed to be promoted to a directly controlled municipality: to get more budget for infrastructure, starting with transportation infrastructure. That’s why we’re working so hard to plan the San Huan San Xian transit systems. They will form a network of circles and spokes linking all the districts in metropolitan Taipei together. Development of the surrounding river areas is also important. The Danshui River is so vital for this metropolis – and not just its right bank [Taipei City] but also the left bank. I have the obligation to make the river not only clean but also beautiful. We want people to love the river and make the river part of their lives. Another part of the vision for New Taipei City is localization – so that people not only live here, but can also find jobs here, have their children educated here, and enjoy good care for their elderly parents. Before, children had to go to downtown Taipei to study to get a better education. Now I’m trying to improve the educational quality here, so that New Taipei City’s younger generation can study locally and won’t feel the need to go to downtown Taipei as their first choice. Before, the job opportunities were also mainly in downtown Taipei. But today, because it’s too crowded and too expensive downtown, more and more employers are choosing New Taipei City after doing a cost-benefit analysis. In Banqiao, Xinzhuang, Sanchung, and Zhonghe – as well as in Xindian and Xizhi – a lot of people are selecting New Taipei City as a place to open a business, whether it’s a store or factory or operations center. We’ve been able to create a lot more job opportunities, so that people don’t have to travel to downtown Taipei to make a living. We will also build more hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The elderly should be able to get the help they need right here in the community instead of having to travel to other places. A final aspect to be mentioned is entertainment. New Taipei City already has many tourist attractions and shopping and recreational areas – and there will be more and more. We are inviting investors to build hotels and shopping malls, and we will renovate our tourist attraction areas, to increase the number of entertainment activities and events for our people. The goal is to make people feel that New Taipei City is a great place to enjoy life. Could you elaborate on the plans to clean up the Danshui River?Before, the river was used mainly in the Danshui and Guandu areas. Now we’re seeking to build docks so that people can take cruises from Danshui to Taipei city, to Sanchung, to Banqiao, to Xinchuang – that’s my plan. The riverside will be decorated and landscaped into parks, and all the bridges will be remodeled and decorated. I want it to be like the Washington DC or New York area, where all the river banks form wonderful riverside parks and all the bridges have a special beauty. We have focused too little on our river. In addition, we’re building a series of bicycle and pedestrian bridges, just like London’s Millennium Bridge. The first one, in Xindian, will be finished by the end of the year. We’re planning another one for next year. I hope to complete at least three by the end of my term. What are the plans to get businesses to come here and create jobs?The first thing we have to do is try to have more land supply. There is a strong demand for science parks and well-equipped office buildings. That’s why we’re working on transforming some of our old industrial parks into modern science parks. What are your main current challenges?The first is the budget deficit for both central and local governments. The budgetary deficit problem of the central government means they cannot give us enough support as a directly controlled municipality. We cannot expect the kind of financial support that was provided to Taipei City previously. That’s the first problem. Another difficulty is managing the change from a county government to city government. It’s a totally new system for those civil servants. A county government can count on the local township and city governments to perform a lot of the needed services, but now everything has to be done directly by the New Taipei City government itself. Our personnel will have to change their attitudes, methods, and organization – everything. It’s a new system and a challenge for us. Seeing the Sights in New Taipei CityEspecially recommended are Sanxia and its famous Zushi temple, the historic town of Damshui, and the onetime mining region east of Keelung. BY STEVEN CROOK
My immediate thought: These words fit New Taipei City to a tee. Many complain about the dense population and round-the-clock congestion in what used to be Taipei County. Thanks to its 41,000 residents per square kilometer, Yonghe has plenty of loud, nonstop movement. Yet Wulai has just 15 people per square kilometer, and is known for hot springs and birdwatching trails. There is no “unifying theme,” for sure. In addition to the commuter towns and industrial parks that surround Taiwan's capital, the special municipality has some of the island's most attractive coastal scenery and a good number of mountains. New Taipei City is certainly multicultural. There are Hakka communities, including one in Sanzhi whose most famous son is former President Lee Teng-hui. About one in three of Wulai's inhabitants are Atayal aborigines. The Southeast Asians who live in Zhonghe and Yonghe celebrate the end of the Thai and Burmese lunar year with a raucous Water Festival. Hundreds of Western expatriates can be found in Danshui and Banqiao. Because Taipei County has had a reputation for extreme urban ugliness, in this article I focus on New Taipei City's manmade attractions – to restore some balance, as it were. And as getting from one part of the donut-shaped special municipality to another can easily take an hour, I chose to home in on three regions: Sanxia, the mouth of the Danshui River, and the area to the east of Keelung's busy harbor. (Keelung itself is not part of New Taipei City). Worthwhile attractions elsewhere in New Taipei City include the Museum of World Religions in Yonghe, the Lin Family Gardens in Banqiao, and the Juming Museum in the hills above Jinshan. Sanxia and Yingge are twin towns separated by the broad Dahan River. Yingge can be reached by train, and it has numerous pottery shops and the highly-rated Ceramics Museum (www.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw; admission NT$99), but Sanxia deserves more of your time. Sanxia's most famous place of worship is regarded as a pinnacle of religious art in Taiwan. But on my most recent visit to Zushi Temple, my initial response was to think it grossly overrated. After all, patches of crudely painted concrete are visible, as is some messy wiring. But when I started going over the wood and stone carvings inch by inch, I was quickly won over. In addition to the usual dragons and sages, there are crabs and other crustaceans, elephants, fish, owls, pangolins (scaly anteaters about the size of a fox), and a whole orchestra of musicians. The gold leaf-bedecked ceiling of the central chamber, where incense is offered to Zushi, is breathtakingly ornate. Zushi, which means “divine progenitor,” is the godly name of Chen Zhao-ying, a 13th-century government official honored for his bravery at a time when the Mongols were invading China. The temple's long history has been punctuated by violence and dissent. Founded in 1769, it was flattened during the War of 1895. Rebuilt in 1899, major renovations began in 1947 under the supervision of local politician and acclaimed painter Li Mei-shu. Since Li's death in 1983, progress on the temple has been stymied by rows between the management committee, which prefers to use cheaper semi-finished decorations imported from the Chinese mainland, and those who back Li's policy of employing only local master carvers and artists. Use Sanxia's bilingual map boards to find the nearby gallery showcasing several of Li's masterpieces. Managed by Li's son, the Li Mei-shu Memorial Gallery (Tel: 02-2673-2333; admission NT$50) is only open on weekends and national holidays, but groups can visit on weekdays if they make a reservations at least 10 days in advance. Baroque-style shop housesSanxia's oldest thoroughfare and former business hub has been reborn as a touristy “old street” and reverted to its pre-1945 name, Sanjiaoyong Street. By far the largest building on the 26-meter-long street is a hangar-like temple, but it is the redbrick Baroque-style shop-houses that catch the eye. Some are more than a century old, although the street's distinctive look did not appear until around 1915, when the colonial authorities ordered gutters to be added for reasons of public health. For the 2004-2006 renovation, hundreds of mud bricks were fired for internal partitions, while sagging roofs were straightened. Embellishments of vases (a symbol of tranquility, as in both Mandarin and Taiwanese the word for vase, ping, is a homophone for peace), lotuses, dragons, and lions were redone. The street was paved with chiseled granite slabs, while manhole covers and house numbers were made to look as traditional as possible. Like Sanxia, Danshui is not nearly as important now as it was in the final years of Qing rule. During the three decades before Japan took control of Taiwan, it was a treaty port. As in Shanghai, traders from the British Empire, Russia, the United States, and France enjoyed special rights and protections. Several sights are associated with the Westerners who lived in the town in its heyday. Less than 100 meters east of the Danshui MRT Station stand warehouses that date from the 1860s, and which were owned by Shell Petroleum (now Royal Dutch Shell) from 1897 until 2001. Of Westerners who have passed through Danshui, none is more famous than George L. Mackay. In his 1896 book From Far Formosa, this Canadian missionary described Danshui as “a smoky, dirty town.” Tamkang High School and Aletheia University, both founded by Mackay, have become landmarks. Until 1999 the latter was known as Tamsui Oxford College. The original 1882 redbrick structure is a pleasing blend of Taiwanese residential and Western ecclesiastical architecture. A street bearing Mackay's name links Zhongzheng Road and Zhongshan Road. This minor thoroughfare has various sights related to the missionary, including a brass statue at the eastern end of the street; Mackay's original clinic at No. 6 (closed Mondays; admission free); and the old single-floor house which Mackay rented for a while at No. 20 (not open to the public). Tamsui Church at No. 8 (open for services only) was designed by Mackay's son. Mackay, who died in 1901, and several of his descendants are buried further up the hill in a small graveyard beside (and accessed from) Tamkang High School. The adjacent plot is the Danshui Foreigners Cemetery, the final resting place of at least 75 and possibly as many as 81 Westerners who died in Taiwan – or in the nearby ocean – between 1867 and 1974. The 19 Americans buried here constitute the largest national contingent. The U.S. Embassy in Taipei administered this plot of land between 1973 and 1979, but after diplomatic ties between Washington and Taipei were ruptured, the graveyard was in legal limbo for several years. It now belongs to the Ministry of Finance, and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce organizes an annual clean-up. Many of the gravestones list the profession and nationality as well as the name and date of demise of the deceased. Generally speaking, military officers were interred to the north, while Roman Catholics were put in the south. Most of the graves on the east belong to missionaries, while merchants and their families were buried over on the west. Returning to the waterfront, you may well think that the stretch of Zhongzheng Road promoted as Danshui Old Street is neither old nor especially interesting. It does, however, feature Fuyo Temple, which is notable for its historical connection to the Sino-French War of 1884-85. During that conflict French marines occupied Keelung, but were beaten back by the Chinese imperial forces defending Danshui. A battered-looking wooden plaque hangs from a ceiling beam in the main chamber. Conferred by order of Emperor Guangxu, who wished to make public his recognition of and appreciation for the goddess Mazu's apparent intercession on behalf of the Chinese side, it reads yi-tian-chang-you (翌天昌佑), which can be translated as “bright heaven's blessing.” What with its miniature turrets and red walls, Fort San Domingo (closed Mondays; admission NT$60/40) resembles a Victorian folly. This square fortress has in fact been around since 1646, when it was built by the Dutch East India Company; some sources refer to it by its Dutch name, Fort Antonio. The current moniker is actually that given by the Spanish to a stockade they built here in the 1630s. In 1867, the British government chose the site to be its main Taiwan consulate. They renovated the fort (look carefully and you will find a brick marked “VR 1868,” VR being Queen Victoria) and erected the sublime two-floor consular residence next door. The fort has safes, a stove for burning documents, and cells for detaining British nationals (who were immune to local laws but could be punished by UK courts). The consulate was closed in 1972 when the UK upgraded its Beijing mission to an embassy. Across the riverUntil 2003, most visitors to Danshui ignored the township south of the estuary, but what is now Bali District has jumped up the tourist rankings thanks to the Shihsanhang Museum of Archeology. The main building, inspired by the shape of whales, sand dunes, and ocean waves, won a major architecture award even before the museum opened its doors to the public. The museum presents 500-to-1,800-year-old relics unearthed at the site, the only prehistoric settlement so far discovered in Taiwan where iron was smelted. The exhibits also touch on five other prehistoric cultures that thrived in the Taipei area between six and two millennia ago. Even if pottery shards and human bones do not excite you, you may still find Bali to your liking. The town is comfortably laid back, and in addition to some pleasant bike trails, there are curiosities like the Liao Tian-ding shrine. Liao was a Robin Hood type who battled Japanese colonial forces; icons of him began appearing in temples soon after his violent death in 1909. If industrial heritage appeals to you, head to Ruifang District near Keelung, where scars and structures left by mineral extraction have been leveraged into two worthwhile destinations, the Gold Ecological Park and Coal-Mine Ecological Park. The Gold Ecological Park celebrates the mining history of Jinguashi, which tourists ignored until recently in favor of Jiufen and its teahouses. Jinguashi was a boom town for much of the 20th century, but mining ceased in 1987. The park has four must-sees, two of which are museums. The Environmental Education Building describes local geology and climate, while the Gold Building lists some impressive facts, such as the area having more than 600 kilometers of mine shafts and tunnels. The Gold Building is where you can learn about the Allied prisoners-of-war who labored and died in Jinguashi's mines during World War II, as well as touch the park's famous 220.3-kilogram gold bar. The estimated monetary value of this ingot – said to be the world's largest – has in recent months topped NT$300 million (US$10.3 million). The Crown Prince's Chalet was built in 1922 to accommodate Prince Hirohito, later Japan's emperor, on a state visit. The public is seldom allowed inside, but the bilingual signs in the garden are a superb introduction to Japanese architectural concepts. Benshan Fifth Tunnel is the only underground section open to the public, and one of the few places in the park where admission is charged (NT$50 per adult). Visitors are handed hard hats and asked to sign disclaimers before they enter, but if anything the tunnel feels too safe. As a depiction of mining conditions – wax figures shovel, drill, and submit to searches when leaving the mine – it seems somewhat sanitized. This is not a criticism that can be made of the new Coal-Mine Ecological Park in Houtong, a tiny riverside town squeezed between forest-covered hills. Gold was discovered here in 1893 and coal mining began a few years later. Soon 6,000 people were living in Houtong. The town's last mine closed in 1990 and the population now stands at around 500. (Coal mining in Taiwan ceased altogether in 2001, and the island now imports more coal each month – five to six million tonnes – than its mines produced in all of 1968, the industry's peak year.) Houtong is on the Taipei-Yilan line, and if you arrive by train, head first for the nearby Vision Hall. Pick up a leaflet, then go over to the twisted remains of the Coal Preparation Plant. Visitors to the Coal-Mine Ecological Park, like those to the Gold Ecological Park, should be prepared to walk. A good short hike is from the Coal Preparation Plant across the river, and then upstream to the entrance of Fuxing Pit. This involves going through a poorly lit 30-meter-long tunnel, but the other side offers good views of the river. The mining railroad that used to run parallel to the road and through the tunnel is now mostly hidden by foliage or buried under asphalt. On the way to the pit, you will pass the U.S. Aid House, a set of one-and-a-half story miners' homes built with American government money in 1957. Returning to the more populated side of the river, make a point of getting to the Geology House and the Commemorative House of Miners, two side-by-side exhibition halls. The former goes into absorbing depth about all aspects of the area's natural environment. The latter is full of gritty details about miners' lives, and reveals that – because of the Chinese aversion to the number four, which sounds like the word for death – tunnels were numbered one through three, three-and-a-half, five, six and so on. Like the men who dug coal from Houtong's hills, New Taipei City is hardworking and unpretentious. For better or worse, it is also diverse, colorful and loud. But it is in places like Houtong and Jinguashi, where movement has all but ground to a halt, that it is most captivating. |
