City promotes Tatong's architectural treasures

Walking down Kueite Street in Taipei City's Tatong District, Chen Chun-hui (陳春慧) said that she remembers vividly what the area was like 53 years ago when she lived there as a little girl.

"I remember a lot of tea shops sun dried their tea along the street during the winter. And my father loved to take us to the Bolero down on Minsheng West Road," she said.

Bolero was the city's first Western restaurant and a favorite hang-out for young people, especially lovers, during the 1950s and 1960s.

Chen said that she even had a blind date at the restaurant.

"I remember I couldn't wait for the date to be over because the guy I was dating was damn ugly," she said, chuckling.

Chen was one of about 300 city residents attending a one-hour tour of the 10 historic architectural sites located in Tatong District yesterday afternoon. The event was organized by the city's cultural affairs bureau in a bid to educate the public about the rich culture and history of the area.

"The Tatong District, or better known as Tataocheng in the past, is the second-oldest area of Taipei City, following the Wan-hua District, or Mangka," said Lu Chun-che (呂俊哲), a division chief of the cultural affairs bureau. Lu made the statement at the starting point of the tour, a national historic relic -- the Hsiahai Temple of the City God on Tihua Street.

The tour of the 10 selected historic sites are the result of last Sunday's evaluation meeting organized by the bureau and attended by academics, historians and architects. It was part of the city's efforts to survey potential historic architectural sites located in the city's 12 districts.

The 10 selections include churches, temples, schools, houses and stores which are rich in history and culture and have well-preserved facades.

The bureau plans to spend NT$3 million on the survey and evaluation project and complete it by the end of next year.

Chuang Yung-ming (莊永明), the tour guide for yesterday's activity and vice chairman of the municipal Historical Research Commission, said that most people hesitate to have their buildings designated as a cultural architectural site because they believe the designation might mean no alteration to the building is allowed.

"We're sometimes shooed away or have fruit nuts thrown at us while guiding the tour of the buildings," Chuang said, adding that a historic relic and historic architectural site are two different things.

The legislature passed an amendment to the Cultural Heritage Preservation Law last year to protect historic architecture. No specific procedures or criteria, however, are stipulated in the measure for local governments to follow.

In short, no one can touch any part of a historic relic, while the alteration of historic architecture is allowed.

In addition, the owner of a designated historic architectural site is responsible for house and property taxes, while that of a designated historic relic is eligible for the exemption of the two taxes.

Lu said that the bureau would like to see the owners of potential historic architectural sites more keen on having their buildings designated as such, because they want to preserve the legacy of their ancestors.

"I'm personally against any monetary or other kinds of incentives," Lu said.

Watching the three-story building of the family house of a late tea merchant, Chen Tien-lai (陳天來), on Kueite Street, Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬), another participant in the event, said that she came here for sentimental reasons.