The activities included in this year’s Taipei Culture Passport (台北文化護照) are designed to engage all of your senses.
Organized by South Village (南村落) and the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs (台北市文化局), the Culture Passport features 108 events through Sept. 23. This year’s theme is “eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, feet: activities for six senses” (眼,耳,鼻,口,手,腳,六感大活動).
“We want to show people how they can get in touch with culture in their daily lives,” said Lulu Han (韓良露), the head of South Village, at a press conference on Monday at the Lin Yutang House (林語堂故居) on Yangmingshan (陽明山). (The writer’s former residence will host several events.)
Photo Courtesy of South Village
The Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs began distributing the Culture Passport in 2004 as a brochure that listed notable stores, galleries and events. Four years later, South Village, an arts and culture center, revamped the publication and turned it into a lushly illustrated tabloid-sized magazine packed with color photos, hand-drawn maps and information, making it a valuable reference on its own.
For the nose and mouth, there are plenty of cooking lessons, tastings and tantalizing activities, like a June 11 tour of classic Taiwanese snack purveyors in the Monga (艋舺) historical district. Eyes and ears can take in music and theater performances, while walking tours of different historic neighborhoods, markets and parks will engage all of your senses. Several will be led by well-known nature writer Liu Ka-shiang (劉克襄), a frequent South Village collaborator.
The Culture Passport also puts an emphasis on independently run cafes and stores. These include the antique-filled Formosa Vintage Museum Cafe (秋惠文庫) and Yetang (冶堂) teahouse, both of which are located in former residences near Yongkang Street (永康街). A tour of the Gongguan (公館) neighborhood on May 29 includes stops at small bookstores like the feminist-oriented Formbooks (女書店) and Gingin’s (晶晶書庫), which specializes in gay and lesbian literature and films.
Photo Courtesy of South illage
Culture passport events
Culture Passports can be picked up at South Village, 10, Ln 80, Shida Rd, Taipei City, (台北市師大路80巷10號), the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs, 4F, 1 Shifu Rd, Taipei City, (台北市市府路1號4樓), at tourist information centers, and at various cultural sites around the city. It can also be found online or downloaded in a .PDF file at culturepassport.culture.gov.tw. Call (02) 8369-2963 for more information. The Culture Passport is available in Chinese only.
Read on for a sampling of Culture Passport events this month. All activities are conducted in Mandarin and have limited space available, so make sure to reserve a spot.
Photo Courtesy of South Village
Sunday
Zither historian and musician Yuan Jung-ping (袁中平) performs at the Lin Yutang House (林語堂故居), at 141 Yangde Boulevard Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市仰德大道二段141號).
■ From 3pm to 4:30 pm
■ Tickets are free, but the audience is limited to 30 people. Call (02) 8369-2963 to reserve a place
Wednesday
Make vegetarian runbing (潤餅) with Hu Hsiao-chen (胡筱貞), the co-owner of Hui Liu (回留) restaurant, which specializes in seasonal organic ingredients.
■ From 7pm to 8:30pm at Hui Liu, 9, Lane 31, Yongkang St, Taipei City (台北市永康街31巷9號)
■ Admission is NT$600 and limited to 40 people. For more information, call South Village at (02) 8369-2963
April 15 to April 17
Taiwan history buff and owner of Formosa Vintage Museum Cafe (秋惠文庫) Lin Yu-fang (林于昉) introduces historical artifacts from his collection.
■ Formosa Vintage Museum Cafe at 3F, 178, Xinyi Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市信義路二段178號3樓) at 8pm on April 15, 3pm on April 16 and 3pm on April 17
■ Admission is free, but each event is limited to 30 people. Call (02) 8369-2963 to reserve a place
April 23
Nature writer Liu Ka-shiang (劉克襄) leads a walking tour of the Kuandu wetlands (關渡沼澤).
■ Starts at 10:30am on April 23 at a to-be-determined meeting point, ends at noon
■ Tickets are free, but each walk is limited to 40 people. Call (02) 8369-2963 to reserve a place
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist
A fossil jawbone found by a British girl and her father on a beach in Somerset, England belongs to a gigantic marine reptile dating to 202 million years ago that appears to have been among the largest animals ever on Earth. Researchers said on Wednesday the bone, called a surangular, was from a type of ocean-going reptile called an ichthyosaur. Based on its dimensions compared to the same bone in closely related ichthyosaurs, the researchers estimated that the Triassic Period creature, which they named Ichthyotitan severnensis, was between 22-26 meters long. That would make it perhaps the largest-known marine reptile and would