A few posts over the year naturally on the centenary of the republic revolution of 1911 – Xinhai.
Taipei’s Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial House and gardens seemed a possibly interesting place to visit on a New Year weekend in this year of the centenary celebrations of the found of the Chinese Republic, Xinhai. Though ultimately not, as the house was shut fr the holidays. Actually of all the SYS venues I’ve visited in Taiwan, the excellent SYS heritage trail in Hong Kong and the mausoleum in Nanking this is perhaps the worst location…or maybe not.
The house and gardens sit slightly uncomfortably between Taipei’s impressive (though rather ugly) main railway station and the city’s ugly bus terminal (show me a city with a pretty bus terminal I admit). The whole small complex, including the little Japanese style SYS Memorial House, is overlooked by one of Taipei’s numerous overhead expressways.
But let’s look on the bright side. Dr. Sun was, of course, a massive fan and advocate of the railways and efficient public transportation. He did draw up elaborate plans for the development of China’s rail network, some of which a only coming to fruition now with the build out of high speed rail. So perhaps the good Dr’s. Spirit rather enjoys being in such close proximity to the hub of the RoC’s rail network and I expect he’d have really liked the THSR high speed train to Kaohsiung. Perhaps if his ghost is anywhere, it’s wandering the concourses of the railway station?
Taipei, where I am this week, naturally proved the best spot to pitch up in to see the start of 2011 – the hundredth anniversary of the Chinese republican revolution (Xinhai) in 1911, given that it is the Republic. The fireworks at new year are usually pretty spectacular and I usually get a good view from a rooftop in the elevated Tianmu district – but this year’s fireworks were exceptional with a special (and amazing) display specifically to celebrate the anniversary of the Republic. Along with the now traditional grand display at the Taipei 101 building and smaller explosions across the city Taipei is a good fireworks town. I’m sure the People’s Republic had a lot of fireworks too but I’m not standing out in the cold for even five minutes to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party!!
Xinhai is problematic for Peking for a whole host of obvious and not so obvious reasons (which I’ll hash up in future posts I expect as the year progresses) but is a bigger deal in Taiwan where there are obvious political reasons to celebrate and, there’s no getting away from it, the citizenry’s knowledge of the events of 1911 and Chinese history in general is obviously greater, more nuanced and more debated than in China where history is official state policy and not really up for public debate.
Anyway, back to Taipei – the Taipei Times this morning claims 800,000 people at the 101 – which seems a little inflationary to me (Hong Kong reported 400,000 at there display, London 250,000, so just shy of a million in a country of 23 million and a capital city of 3 million is a bit ambitious). Still, a great display and the words “100 ROC†were displayed on the top of the building at the end of the display.
Anyway, you can see Taipei ushering in the 100th anniversary of the ROC here.
And so to finish up my little Taipei weekend, some truly lovely structures to be found if you’re willing to put in the effort of a climb up a pretty steep hillside – the former US Military bungalows of Yangmingshan.
Get yourself up to the top of Yangmingshan – walk from Tianmu, don’t take the bus you lazy sods, and you’ll come up by the Chinese Culture University. Up there are some of the most amazing residences in Taipei – ones I’d actually love to live in and many of them are empty and falling apart while others appear lovingly tended. They’re the former bungalows of the US Military.
Many of the complex of bungalows are lived in and well tended – as above
Most of these bungalows were built in the 1950s and certainly have that feel – across Yangmingshan there are apparently about 220 of these bungalows – typically 1,420 sq feet in small clusters about 10 to 15 minutes apart to create small but inter-linked communities. Each have fireplaces (see below) as winters can be cool up on Yangmingshan and open yards around the detached properties.
and this one – in original whitewash
And they have a touch of the US-Army-Base-anywhere about them
However, they are generally well built of wood and brick and, in the main, are well maintained. However some are empty and a little ramshackle while some are almost totally obscured behind wildly overgrown yards and gardens surrounding them.
This shot of a currently empty bungalow shows you how roomy the places are
and, as you can see, real fireplaces to keep off the winter Yangmingshan chill
Some of the bungalows have obviously empty for some time and the foliage is reclaiming them
Here the garden has become so overgrown you can just see the rather dilapidated roof of the bungalow throw the greenery
Came across these pictures of Taipei in the 1950s the other day and, if you know Taipei at all, they are rather fascinating. They’re all from Life I think and give a marvellous sense of the early days of the ROC. Click here
Bit of a stupid post this – as it’s the artwork for an exhibition that is now over and I missed. But it was held at the Futai Street Mansion in Taipei that I posted about yesterday and it is quite pretty.
Interestingly the exhibition argued that the Cheng-Chong district of Taipei was once the most fashionable area of town and heavily influenced by Shanghainese who skipped out on communism, went to Taiwan and took their classy and sophisticated bourgeois Shanghai ways with them and decided that Mao could stick austerity and communism. The exhibition does rightly argue that the area around the Cheng-Chong district, and the Futai Street Mansion itself, do retain a certain feel of old Shanghai which is obviously getting harder and harder to find back in Shanghai itself as the bulldozers, dodgy property developers and historically ignorant grasping Party officials destroy the place. In fact it can only be a matter of a decade or so now before Futai Street might actually the only place people will have to go to find a taste of old Shanghai if the current Shanghai government has its way.
While Shanghainese who stayed in Shanghai soon found themselves having to live a lifestyle the Party and Mao determined for them and regulate their habits, clothing and activities accordingly, a Shanghainese community continued to exist and direct itself in Taipei for many decades after 1949. Qipaos, fans and strolling Cheng-Chong as opposed to Mao suits, queuing for cabbage and being hectored by ignorant cadres in Shanghai – you choose!
The Futai Street Mansion is one of the lesser known but actually rather interesting, though small, sites worth checking out in Taipei. Down on Yanping South Road and Bo-ai Road, just across from the North Gate (see my post on the Gate here) and the (also previously noted) Central Post Office. There’s not overly much inside (though it is free) but it is a rather nice building in one of the few remaining atmospheric areas of older Taipei.
