Solo jaunts, both visited with permission/legally.
What's the story?
I was going to post this after doing more exploring, but looking back at my photos I think these deserve their own mini-report for reasons I'll explain later. I had a free Friday as it was Mid Autumn Festival, a public holiday, so I decided to go out and look at some sites which hadn't been discovered by anyone to my knowledge, let alone explored. I looked at the iconic, long-derelict railway grain silo in Yuanlin having found access two months ago, but sadly I had now missed my chance as the silo is now watched by CCTV on all four corners and now has stickers from a major security company I had a run in with before... I still have it bookmarked for a permission visit if at all possible.
So I headed to a cinema in Caotun, and it looked as if access was either difficult or effectively impossible. This is because the way in which the cinema is designed, it was a single-screen cinema built above shops on the ground floor, all of which are now fully occupied. The single screen takes up the 1st and 2nd floors above and appears to be quite large. On the alleyway side, there are single-floor residences, but these appear to be partially derelict now.
Whilst looking for a way into the cinema on the market street, a man with a clothing shop and dried fruit stall outside watched me with suspicious eyes as I prowled around the area I correctly believed to be the original entrance to the cinema. To put him at ease, I walked over to his stall and bought some of his fruit, then began a chat with him, questioning him about the cinema above. From our brief conversation, he told me he remembered going to the cinema in his younger years, and that it had now been closed for more than 30 years. Next to his stall, he pointed to what was a very narrow entrance blocked by a tall door, behind which was a single door into the cinema. Given that urbex doesn't exist as a concept to regular people here I was brazen enough to ask him whether there was a way in, possibly from his shop, to which he said no and that he hadn't been in since it closed. To my amazement however, he told me to go into his store, and behind some clothes hanging on the wall was the original ticket booth with its schedule board still in place! The man and his clothing shop can be seen in this news report here.
I then proceeded to the back of the cinema, finding the original fire exit. Now I cannot say too much, but it's a good idea that I didn't make an attempt to get in, for reasons I will explain later. I also got questioned by two residents, being a foreigner in a dense, narrow alleyway looking confused. I denied there was an issue to the woman, but then her husband came over to ask me if I was looking for anyone. This time I was honest and asked him what he knew about the cinema opposite his residence. He said the ground floor residences were occupied, but the cinema above was completely abandoned. Like the man at the front, he'd not been in before and had no idea if or where there was a way into the cinema, but so that he didn't suspect me of intent to commit criminal activity I showed him some of my pictures of other derelict cinemas in Taiwan which put him at ease.
The lights are on, but nobody's home...
Considering it a fail or a midnight job, I left and headed south for Nantou to look at a newly-disused hospital. Driving in to a car park with a handful of cars and scooters parked up, this looked promising... but my nerves got the better of me. Outside was a desk and chair, plus a baby incubator, suggesting the place was being emptied and watched by security (although there were no warning signs). One door was unlocked, and I peer inside and nobody is there... but then the lights are on. Given that two scooters were parked directly outside, I swore to god that somebody was inside lurking. I walked down the side and saw that no effort was made to secure the place, and the cameras had been turned off, but I was simply too scared to go inside. Next to the reception desk was a massive pile of hospital linen, and on top was some cardboard on which written in marker read "strictly do not enter". I will do it eventually, but not alone!
廣成社區公園/Guangcheng Community Park
For the distance I drove to get here it was far too small, but like I have always said if there's an itch big or small, I'll scratch it no matter what. I expected a tiny circular railway which was built around a mound, but compared to pictures from as recently as 2022, the place has since fallen into complete disuse and is now effectively derelict. Because it's just a local park, there's no history to it whatsoever, and I can't tell you anything about it. I did notice that the small passenger train built by the sugar corporation has since been removed, and that's all I know. All that remains is a tank, a jetfighter and a Japanese-built sugar loco with some flat wagons behind it.
At this point I headed back to the cinema holding out hope for a second chance, because it was en-route back to Yuanlin where I'd rented the scooter from that day. Lady luck shined her golden light upon me, and I discovered something magnificent.
東亞戲院/Dongya cinema
External photo taken from a news report.
The cinema is a total unknown, and one that few people are aware of, even locals. Only one urban explorer was aware of its existence, Spectral Codex. But he hadn't tried it. From what little information I've gathered, the cinema was opened in January 1968, and according to a rotting calendar in the ticket booth, closed on 1st March 1990 and has been kept hermetically sealed since then. There were news reports from 2017 in which reporters said the original projection equipment was still there completely intact, and that it could be reopened as a cinema since Caotun is quite a busy town but has no cinemas at all. Locals have called for it to reopen as well, however because it is family owned a consensus is required before any restoration works and reopening can begin.
A 33-year old time capsule
We, as urban explorers always fantasise about being the first to visit places that have been abandoned for as long as time itself, and that we are the very first people to step into these spaces for decades and decades. However, like the tomb of an Egyptian king these spaces have obviously seen people come and go during that time, people that have moved things, touched things and thus left their mark in the dust-ridden spaces. Mathematically speaking, the probability of any of us finding a site like this is just too low for us to realistically contemplate. This little gem, however is the closest I have ever been in my entire exploring tenure. As of 2022 if you look at Google Maps below, the only way into this space was up these stairs.
The space has now been converted to a tiny wine shop, and outside you can see a sign which on one side says the name of the wine store and the other side, the name of the original cinema. As I had implied before, I did think about accessing this illegally, however if I had done so I would have ended up in jail for attempted burglary because I'd have directly broken into a store!
When I went back the wine store was now open, and so I walked in and chatted with the server about the wine range they had. I wasn't going to buy anything, so eventually I had to confess, and I pointed to the two doors.
'I must confess, I'm a photographer. Can I ask, is that the cinema behind those two doors?‘
'Yeah, how do you know?
’I‘m a photographer that takes pictures of abandoned spaces. Can I go and take some pictures?'
'You can, but I'll need to ask my boss first. It's in total darkness, so you'll need a torch. Be careful.'
And so she called her boss for permission which was granted. A 13 year old boy then comes in from opposite the street and leads me upstairs. I notice a couple of old film posters on the wall, but I ignore these and walk upstairs into a dark, dusty tomb. The boy opens up a door, which is in total darkness and I'm overwhelmed. It's the projection room, immaculately frozen since March 1990.
The employees working for the wine store have walked up here to see this, but other than that virtually nobody has set foot in this space ever since it closed! I am literally the first person to go in as an urban explorer to photograph this space in its entire history! Even better, because the windows have been boarded up no light is able to penetrate this space which means the soft-porn posters and vintage movie posters remain pinned to the walls, undamaged by light radiation. A thick dust covers every wall and floor, signifying how secure it has been kept all these years.
Yes this is a small space, but on its own terms you can't use any other term except epic to describe what you see here. This is simply unprecedented, and to have been allowed inside to see this is a privilege I cannot be thankful enough for. In probability terms, this is as close to untouched for decades as any urban explorer could possibly reach.
The downside is that the auditorium is now completely sealed off to the outside world from within. All that I could see was this, taken through the projector hole. Note: 彩虹 - rainbow.
Below is cordoned off and I have no idea if any seating remains in the space. However if you look closely the original silver screen remains with an advert from Fujifilm on it, which reads quick colour printing in Chinese.
The rest of the space was completely empty, and the refreshments bar had been completely emptied.
The entrance to the screen, sealed from within. I will actually make enquiries to the owners at some point to see if there actually is a way into the auditorium, and if I'm granted access to it I will definitely post the pictures to it.
A photo of Jiang Jieshi in an empty room at the back.
Now I know this has been a long, verbose report, but it's justified. We all like to claim we've seen untouched time capsules which have been untouched by humans for decades, but this is never true. As I reiterate, this is as close as I have come to finding such a space in 15 years exploring. A message in Chinese for the wine store, if they read this: 十號酒窖你好，如果你念完文章我要說非常感謝你讓我探險這個真有特色的戲院！
As for you dear reader, thanks for looking, and if you take anything from this, it's to get off the tourist trail and keep doing in-depth, extensive research, in case you strike gold and find your own time capsule!
Love and best wishes,
TBM x
What's the story?
I was going to post this after doing more exploring, but looking back at my photos I think these deserve their own mini-report for reasons I'll explain later. I had a free Friday as it was Mid Autumn Festival, a public holiday, so I decided to go out and look at some sites which hadn't been discovered by anyone to my knowledge, let alone explored. I looked at the iconic, long-derelict railway grain silo in Yuanlin having found access two months ago, but sadly I had now missed my chance as the silo is now watched by CCTV on all four corners and now has stickers from a major security company I had a run in with before... I still have it bookmarked for a permission visit if at all possible.
So I headed to a cinema in Caotun, and it looked as if access was either difficult or effectively impossible. This is because the way in which the cinema is designed, it was a single-screen cinema built above shops on the ground floor, all of which are now fully occupied. The single screen takes up the 1st and 2nd floors above and appears to be quite large. On the alleyway side, there are single-floor residences, but these appear to be partially derelict now.
Whilst looking for a way into the cinema on the market street, a man with a clothing shop and dried fruit stall outside watched me with suspicious eyes as I prowled around the area I correctly believed to be the original entrance to the cinema. To put him at ease, I walked over to his stall and bought some of his fruit, then began a chat with him, questioning him about the cinema above. From our brief conversation, he told me he remembered going to the cinema in his younger years, and that it had now been closed for more than 30 years. Next to his stall, he pointed to what was a very narrow entrance blocked by a tall door, behind which was a single door into the cinema. Given that urbex doesn't exist as a concept to regular people here I was brazen enough to ask him whether there was a way in, possibly from his shop, to which he said no and that he hadn't been in since it closed. To my amazement however, he told me to go into his store, and behind some clothes hanging on the wall was the original ticket booth with its schedule board still in place! The man and his clothing shop can be seen in this news report here.
I then proceeded to the back of the cinema, finding the original fire exit. Now I cannot say too much, but it's a good idea that I didn't make an attempt to get in, for reasons I will explain later. I also got questioned by two residents, being a foreigner in a dense, narrow alleyway looking confused. I denied there was an issue to the woman, but then her husband came over to ask me if I was looking for anyone. This time I was honest and asked him what he knew about the cinema opposite his residence. He said the ground floor residences were occupied, but the cinema above was completely abandoned. Like the man at the front, he'd not been in before and had no idea if or where there was a way into the cinema, but so that he didn't suspect me of intent to commit criminal activity I showed him some of my pictures of other derelict cinemas in Taiwan which put him at ease.
The lights are on, but nobody's home...
Considering it a fail or a midnight job, I left and headed south for Nantou to look at a newly-disused hospital. Driving in to a car park with a handful of cars and scooters parked up, this looked promising... but my nerves got the better of me. Outside was a desk and chair, plus a baby incubator, suggesting the place was being emptied and watched by security (although there were no warning signs). One door was unlocked, and I peer inside and nobody is there... but then the lights are on. Given that two scooters were parked directly outside, I swore to god that somebody was inside lurking. I walked down the side and saw that no effort was made to secure the place, and the cameras had been turned off, but I was simply too scared to go inside. Next to the reception desk was a massive pile of hospital linen, and on top was some cardboard on which written in marker read "strictly do not enter". I will do it eventually, but not alone!
廣成社區公園/Guangcheng Community Park
For the distance I drove to get here it was far too small, but like I have always said if there's an itch big or small, I'll scratch it no matter what. I expected a tiny circular railway which was built around a mound, but compared to pictures from as recently as 2022, the place has since fallen into complete disuse and is now effectively derelict. Because it's just a local park, there's no history to it whatsoever, and I can't tell you anything about it. I did notice that the small passenger train built by the sugar corporation has since been removed, and that's all I know. All that remains is a tank, a jetfighter and a Japanese-built sugar loco with some flat wagons behind it.
At this point I headed back to the cinema holding out hope for a second chance, because it was en-route back to Yuanlin where I'd rented the scooter from that day. Lady luck shined her golden light upon me, and I discovered something magnificent.
東亞戲院/Dongya cinema
External photo taken from a news report.
The cinema is a total unknown, and one that few people are aware of, even locals. Only one urban explorer was aware of its existence, Spectral Codex. But he hadn't tried it. From what little information I've gathered, the cinema was opened in January 1968, and according to a rotting calendar in the ticket booth, closed on 1st March 1990 and has been kept hermetically sealed since then. There were news reports from 2017 in which reporters said the original projection equipment was still there completely intact, and that it could be reopened as a cinema since Caotun is quite a busy town but has no cinemas at all. Locals have called for it to reopen as well, however because it is family owned a consensus is required before any restoration works and reopening can begin.
A 33-year old time capsule
We, as urban explorers always fantasise about being the first to visit places that have been abandoned for as long as time itself, and that we are the very first people to step into these spaces for decades and decades. However, like the tomb of an Egyptian king these spaces have obviously seen people come and go during that time, people that have moved things, touched things and thus left their mark in the dust-ridden spaces. Mathematically speaking, the probability of any of us finding a site like this is just too low for us to realistically contemplate. This little gem, however is the closest I have ever been in my entire exploring tenure. As of 2022 if you look at Google Maps below, the only way into this space was up these stairs.
The space has now been converted to a tiny wine shop, and outside you can see a sign which on one side says the name of the wine store and the other side, the name of the original cinema. As I had implied before, I did think about accessing this illegally, however if I had done so I would have ended up in jail for attempted burglary because I'd have directly broken into a store!
When I went back the wine store was now open, and so I walked in and chatted with the server about the wine range they had. I wasn't going to buy anything, so eventually I had to confess, and I pointed to the two doors.
'I must confess, I'm a photographer. Can I ask, is that the cinema behind those two doors?‘
'Yeah, how do you know?
’I‘m a photographer that takes pictures of abandoned spaces. Can I go and take some pictures?'
'You can, but I'll need to ask my boss first. It's in total darkness, so you'll need a torch. Be careful.'
And so she called her boss for permission which was granted. A 13 year old boy then comes in from opposite the street and leads me upstairs. I notice a couple of old film posters on the wall, but I ignore these and walk upstairs into a dark, dusty tomb. The boy opens up a door, which is in total darkness and I'm overwhelmed. It's the projection room, immaculately frozen since March 1990.
The employees working for the wine store have walked up here to see this, but other than that virtually nobody has set foot in this space ever since it closed! I am literally the first person to go in as an urban explorer to photograph this space in its entire history! Even better, because the windows have been boarded up no light is able to penetrate this space which means the soft-porn posters and vintage movie posters remain pinned to the walls, undamaged by light radiation. A thick dust covers every wall and floor, signifying how secure it has been kept all these years.
Yes this is a small space, but on its own terms you can't use any other term except epic to describe what you see here. This is simply unprecedented, and to have been allowed inside to see this is a privilege I cannot be thankful enough for. In probability terms, this is as close to untouched for decades as any urban explorer could possibly reach.
The downside is that the auditorium is now completely sealed off to the outside world from within. All that I could see was this, taken through the projector hole. Note: 彩虹 - rainbow.
Below is cordoned off and I have no idea if any seating remains in the space. However if you look closely the original silver screen remains with an advert from Fujifilm on it, which reads quick colour printing in Chinese.
The rest of the space was completely empty, and the refreshments bar had been completely emptied.
The entrance to the screen, sealed from within. I will actually make enquiries to the owners at some point to see if there actually is a way into the auditorium, and if I'm granted access to it I will definitely post the pictures to it.
A photo of Jiang Jieshi in an empty room at the back.
Now I know this has been a long, verbose report, but it's justified. We all like to claim we've seen untouched time capsules which have been untouched by humans for decades, but this is never true. As I reiterate, this is as close as I have come to finding such a space in 15 years exploring. A message in Chinese for the wine store, if they read this: 十號酒窖你好，如果你念完文章我要說非常感謝你讓我探險這個真有特色的戲院！
As for you dear reader, thanks for looking, and if you take anything from this, it's to get off the tourist trail and keep doing in-depth, extensive research, in case you strike gold and find your own time capsule!
Love and best wishes,
TBM x
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