Kuanghwa mirrors tech era's rise

"There's just no market in classic novels or weighty books of merit here anymore. I guess it all changed when computer stores opened upstairs and the age of visitors dropped radically," said bookstore owner Lee You-ming (李幼明), pointing to a pile of pornographic magazines.

"Until 10 years ago the basement was where you'd find elderly gentlemen sitting, reading magazines and chatting. Now I don't think the elderly would dare to come in here. And if they did, I don't think they'd like what they'd see."

Relocation?

The bottom has clearly fallen out of the secondhand book market and it probably won't be long before the roof comes down on Kuanghwa Market entirely, as Taipei City Government is considering plans to demolish the Kuanghwa Bridge.

The Taipei City Market Administration Department (台北市市場官理處) is currently looking into relocating the market to what is now the Hwashang Arts District (華山藝術特區). It is expected that the site, which sits at the corner of Pate East Road and Chunghsiao East Road, will be converted into a park with an underground shopping mall. And it's the mall that is being eyed as the possible home for Taipei's popular computer market.

According to a spokesperson for the department, no date has yet been set for the demolition of the road bridge, nor has a plan been finalized vis-a-vis the relocation of stores to Hwashang.

"I don't expect anything to happen for at least three years," Ko said of the relocation. "It will be nice to move to a newer and cleaner location, but as the government has yet to come to any decision about when and where we will be moving to, I'm certainly not holding my breath in anticipation of moving into the proposed underground shopping mall. After all, the market has prospered in these conditions for 30 years, and I think everyone is used to it, shoppers included."