Solo jaunts.
So Chinese New Year just ended as I write this now. In recent years I've done very little exploring, mainly because of a focus on work and parenting, but after creating a map of sites I need to explore, in total around 25-30 sites, this really gave me the motivation to go out and do some stuff that I otherwise wouldn't have time to do. Many of these are sites that have been done before by other explorers, but as they say in Chinese: smelling something 100 times isn't as good as seeing it once. So with a last-minute plan, I made a list of sites I'd visit across three areas: Tainan, Taidong and Taibei. Many of these were successful jaunts, but sadly there were three failures: two ships and one cinema. As these sites probably don't warrant individual reports, I'll put them together in one thread and post each site one by one.
電姬戲院/Dianji Theater, Madou
This is probably the derelict cinema/theater that gets the most attention by far in media reports, probably because of its Japanese-style architecture. It's one of those cinemas built whilst Taiwan was under Japanese occupation, built in 1938 and screened black and white films mainly to Japanese customers. Over time it was also used to stage traditional puppet shows and dance performances, but over time as with other cinemas in the 1980s, customers declined and it was closed in 1987. In 2018 it was added to the heritage list, which means it is now protected from demolition, at least for the foreseeable future. In 2019, a survey was commissioned after it was damaged by a typhoon, but the contractor didn't get the memo and partially demolished the interior, removing all of the seating and the stage, leaving just a shell. In the same year, National Tainan University of the Arts got permission to remove the projectors and remaining film reels and take them to the university for restoration and preservation. But this wasn't easy; each projector weighs 100+ kilos, so they needed a crane to lift them out of the window!
The place today is absolutely rotten, as you can see, although thankfully the floors are concrete with wood below, meaning I was able to navigate it without experiencing much danger.
One really interesting feature of all old cinemas of the time, is that the ticket windows aren't much bigger than your hands!
The remains of the seating, all piled up at the side of the theater.
The remains of the projection room, with all artefacts now removed. I had an absolute heart attack getting here, because I had to climb round where the floor collapsed, with a 10cm-wide gap to place my feet and a railing to put my hand on... with my tripod and camera in my other hand!
The only remaining seating.
Immediately after I got back on my scooter and headed to another cinema in East Tainan... stay tuned for part 2.
So Chinese New Year just ended as I write this now. In recent years I've done very little exploring, mainly because of a focus on work and parenting, but after creating a map of sites I need to explore, in total around 25-30 sites, this really gave me the motivation to go out and do some stuff that I otherwise wouldn't have time to do. Many of these are sites that have been done before by other explorers, but as they say in Chinese: smelling something 100 times isn't as good as seeing it once. So with a last-minute plan, I made a list of sites I'd visit across three areas: Tainan, Taidong and Taibei. Many of these were successful jaunts, but sadly there were three failures: two ships and one cinema. As these sites probably don't warrant individual reports, I'll put them together in one thread and post each site one by one.
電姬戲院/Dianji Theater, Madou
This is probably the derelict cinema/theater that gets the most attention by far in media reports, probably because of its Japanese-style architecture. It's one of those cinemas built whilst Taiwan was under Japanese occupation, built in 1938 and screened black and white films mainly to Japanese customers. Over time it was also used to stage traditional puppet shows and dance performances, but over time as with other cinemas in the 1980s, customers declined and it was closed in 1987. In 2018 it was added to the heritage list, which means it is now protected from demolition, at least for the foreseeable future. In 2019, a survey was commissioned after it was damaged by a typhoon, but the contractor didn't get the memo and partially demolished the interior, removing all of the seating and the stage, leaving just a shell. In the same year, National Tainan University of the Arts got permission to remove the projectors and remaining film reels and take them to the university for restoration and preservation. But this wasn't easy; each projector weighs 100+ kilos, so they needed a crane to lift them out of the window!
The place today is absolutely rotten, as you can see, although thankfully the floors are concrete with wood below, meaning I was able to navigate it without experiencing much danger.
One really interesting feature of all old cinemas of the time, is that the ticket windows aren't much bigger than your hands!
The remains of the seating, all piled up at the side of the theater.
The remains of the projection room, with all artefacts now removed. I had an absolute heart attack getting here, because I had to climb round where the floor collapsed, with a 10cm-wide gap to place my feet and a railing to put my hand on... with my tripod and camera in my other hand!
The only remaining seating.
Immediately after I got back on my scooter and headed to another cinema in East Tainan... stay tuned for part 2.
