The opening of a general store may not ordinarily warrant a mention in the newspaper, but the Treasure Hive, which opened its doors to the public at Treasure Hill last Sunday is part juice bar, part performance space, part soup kitchen, part grocery store, part local pub.
But it's mostly the latest chapter in the half-century saga that has seen Treasure Hill go from an anti-aircraft installation to an art installation.
"It's great to see somebody doing something here that is going to stay and to see this area revitalizing," said Yeh Wei-li (
PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES
Treasure Hill got its start when the soldiers of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) came to Taiwan.
The area was fortified and designed to protect the city's southwestern side from a Communist air attack. The soldiers stationed there built homes next to the guns they manned and married local girls.
By the time the guns were eventually removed, the area had become home and the soldiers stayed. Now there are ongoing plans to turn several of Treasure Hill's dilapidated structures into facilities that will host an artist-in-residence program.
Treasure Hive, located at the front of the community by a bicycle path that runs along much of the Danshui River, could be considered the first of the structures in the new artist community. Its proprietor, Mina Chin (覃敏怡), says she'll host weekly music performances on the lawn adjacent the store, will serve up a soup of the day, and plans to offer a variety of staple goods which she'll deliver to elderly locals.
The Treasure Hive is at 3, Alley 16, Ln 230, Dingzhou Rd, Sec. 3, Taipei (
What was the population of Taiwan when the first Negritos arrived? In 500BC? The 1st century? The 18th? These questions are important, because they can contextualize the number of babies born last month, 6,523, to all the people on Taiwan, indigenous and colonial alike. That figure represents a year on year drop of 3,884 babies, prefiguring total births under 90,000 for the year. It also represents the 26th straight month of deaths exceeding births. Why isn’t this a bigger crisis? Because we don’t experience it. Instead, what we experience is a growing and more diverse population. POPULATION What is Taiwan’s actual population?
After Jurassic Park premiered in 1993, people began to ask if scientists could really bring long-lost species back from extinction, just like in the hit movie. The idea has triggered “de-extinction” debates in several countries, including Taiwan, where the focus has been on the Formosan clouded leopard (designated after 1917 as Neofelis nebulosa brachyura). National Taiwan Museum’s (NTM) Web site describes the Formosan clouded leopard as “a subspecies endemic to Taiwan…it reaches a body length of 0.6m to 1.2m and tail length of 0.7m to 0.9m and weighs between 15kg and 30kg. It is entirely covered with beautiful cloud-like spots
For the past five years, Sammy Jou (周祥敏) has climbed Kinmen’s highest peak, Taiwu Mountain (太武山) at 6am before heading to work. In the winter, it’s dark when he sets out but even at this hour, other climbers are already coming down the mountain. All of this is a big change from Jou’s childhood during the Martial Law period, when the military requisitioned the mountain for strategic purposes and most of it was off-limits. Back then, only two mountain trails were open, and they were open only during special occasions, such as for prayers to one’s ancestors during Lunar New Year.
March 23 to March 29 Kao Chang (高長) set strict rules for his descendants: women were to learn music or cooking, and the men medicine or theology. No matter what life path they chose, they were to use their skills in service of the Presbyterian Church and society. As a result, musical ability — particularly in Western instruments — was almost expected among the Kao women, and even those who married into the family often had musical training. Although the men did not typically play instruments, they played a supporting role, helping to organize music programs such as children’s orchestras, writes
RSS