The creation of the Taipei Expo Park following on from the Taipei International Flora Exposition in 2010 and 2011, and the redevelopment of the area surrounding Zhongshan Soccer Stadium (中山足球場) and Yuanshan MRT Station (圓山捷運站), made available the kind of wide open urban space that is relatively rare in overcrowded Taipei. For architect Eugene Yeh (葉裕清), it was the opportunity to do something different, and late last year he began plans to establish Maji Maji Square (Maji Maji 集食行樂), an unconventional collection of shops and restaurants that he hopes will increase the leisure options available to Taipei residents. Maji Maji Square officially opened at the beginning of last month.
Maji Maji is located in a large covered area on the eastern face of the Zhongshan Soccer Stadium, facing — but slightly obscured from — the bustling traffic of Zhongshan North Road Sec 6. Last year, Yeh saw in this space a chance to build the kind of market that he had seen during his travels around the world.
“I’ve been traveling around the world since I was 11 years old. I am now 52 years old. I’ve been thinking all the time of bringing some brilliant ideas from all my traveling experiences back to Taiwan. … The idea for Maji Maji came from so many corners of the world including a street in Tokyo, a market in Madrid, a food court in Paris, a market in New York City,” said Yeh in a phone interview with the Taipei Times.
Photo: Ian Bartholomew, Taipei Times
“When I looked at the location last year, I could see it had potential. It is not such a popular location at the moment, but it is close to the MRT. We wanted to do something to upgrade the Flower Expo food court to make it more attractive. … I believe that this kind of combination [of shops] is not easy to find in Taipei at the moment, but this kind of market square is quite common overseas, and I think Taipei people will love it.”
The space, originally built as part of the Taipei International Flora Exposition, has a high ceiling to protect against rain, but Yeh recognizes that it is far from perfect, especially for heat-shy Taipei shoppers. “We have actually had a lot of complaints that it is too hot there and that there is not enough parking,” Yeh said. “We also understand that if the space could be air conditioned, then it would not really fit in with our idea [of creating an outdoor market]. I want to tell people that this is not perfect, but this is a kind of more natural style. I actually live in Bangkok, which is much hotter than Taipei, but in Bangkok there are many outdoor spaces that attract a lot of people. So we need to try [in Taipei].”
According to Jay Tian (田澧杰), marketing manager for Maji Maji Square, the area rented by Yeh and his partners covers nearly 10,000 square meters and has a total of 85 shops and booths, 50 of which are already occupied. These range from small food court style stalls with outdoor seating, to chic establishments such as Trio Wine, a trendy wine bar that is a side project of the hugely popular Trio Cafe located in Huashan 1914 Creative Park.
Photo: Ian Bartholomew, Taipei Times
Artisanal deli
Yeh takes an active part in the selection of shops that he wants to participate in Maji Maji Square so as to build up something unique. The centerpiece of the square is the Maji Maji Deli, which brings together a wide range of locally produced artisanal foods. “I wanted to bring together the food that I love,” said Yeh, who is a passionate cook and gourmet. There are some similarities with upmarket supermarkets such as Breeze Center, but with an emphasis on local produce.
“My first step is to have the produce of local farmers in my market,” Yeh said. “Then I want to start importing unique food from other parts of the world. … I like to make a space for all the food I like, where it can be found together. It is a very personal project in my mind, but I want to share these things with people who like to cook at home.”
Photo: Ian Bartholomew, Taipei Times
In addition to the food court and the deli, a number of upmarket restaurants have set up shop in Maji Maji, and there is a central area for selling arts and crafts. Tian said that when choosing businesses to come in on the Maji Maji project, he is looking for creative endeavors that are not just clones of what can be found elsewhere. “I don’t want things that can be found in big department stores. I want Maji Maji to be a place where people come in search of surprises,” Yeh said.
Yeh said that despite the need for further fine-tuning, he believes that he has realized his original conception. “When I see people come to explore Maji Maji with their families and friends, I feel ‘this is what I want,’” Yeh said. “We also see a potential to expand this idea to other parts of the island.”
Adding to the street market atmosphere, Maji Maji plays host to small outdoor concerts over the weekend, with information posted on its Facebook page.
Photo: Ian Bartholomew, Taipei Times
Sept. 21 to Sept. 27 When the Shah of Iran became the Grand Hotel’s (圓山大飯店) first head-of-state guest in 1958, it was hardly the landmark it is known as today. A Chinese-style, two-story structure with just 36 rooms built on the former site of the Taipei Shinto Shrine, the hotel was still referred to as its original name, the Taiwan Hotel (台灣大飯店), in an official newsreel detailing Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s visit. The video lavished praise on the hotel, pointing out its “beautiful architecture and magnificent appearance” and noting that it had just been renovated. After being greeted personally by then-president
The one-day trip begins at the geographical center of Taiwan: Puli Township’s (埔里) Hutou Mountain Geographic Center of Taiwan Monument (臺灣地理中心碑), embedded at the foot of Nantou County’s dense forested slopes. It sits entrenched in forest vegetation amid the tall, spindly bodies and spiky heads of the betel nut trees; the air is cool, and its surroundings are mostly silent save the sounds of late-season cicadas. Roughly two minutes from the first destination, and after a bend in Yongfeng Road (永豐路), there’s a glimpse of a resplendent golden dome on the horizon. It’s the cap of the 135m-tall main building of the
For a small nation, Taiwan has an unusually long list of territorial disputes. In part or in whole, it has disputes over the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. It also has another territorial dispute with Vietnam over the Paracel Islands, and with Japan over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyutai Islands, 釣魚台). Of course, the biggest territorial disputes are with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which not only claims all of the above, but also Pratas Island (Dongsha, 東沙島), Kinmen, Penghu and all of Taiwan itself. This creates considerable headaches politically for the government, especially
Two years ago, the music came to an abrupt halt at one of Taiwan’s largest independent music festivals. The problem: a single noise complaint. The DJ’s high-energy tunes had exceeded the allowed sound limit. As per regulation, the performance took a several-minute pause and then continued, this time at a slightly lower decibel. And then last year, the same event, Compass Taichung International Food and Music Festival, was unexpectedly canceled due to sponsorship issues. Such are the woes of trying to organize outdoor music festivals these days. “It makes it so much harder to put on a festival,” said Courtney Donovan Smith, co-publisher
RSS