For 65-year-old historian and Taipei resident Chuang Yung-ming (莊永明), the rapid development and transformation of Taipei City throughout the years is best observed in bus tickets.
In the 1940s, when there was only one city government-run bus company, "bus ladies" on the bus would punch passengers' tickets, and the tickets had ads or route maps on the back, said Chuang, a committee member at the Taipei City Archive.
Long before Taipei Smart Card Corp began selling IC tokens at MRT stations this year, Taipei city's first air-conditioned bus "Tzu Chiang Bus" (
PHOTO: LIN HSIU-TZU, TAIPEI TIMES
"It is the small things in daily life that truly document the development of the city," Chuang said, as he displayed his collection of municipal bus tickets dating back to the Japanese colonial period at an exhibition, which opened on Friday, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the city's elevation to the status of special municipality.
In light of Taipei's rapid development, the central government elevated the city to the status of special municipality on July 1, 1967.
Directly administered by the central government, Taipei's jurisdiction was expanded to 272km2 with the number of residents increasing to 1.45 million. In 1990, under mayor Wu Poh-hsiung (
Taipei covers an area of 271km2 and has a population of more than 2.6 million.
In the 40 years following its elevation, Taipei was governed by 12 mayors: Kao Yu-shu (
The mayorship was an appointed position from the moment it became a centrally administered municipality until 1994, when a public election was held. Chen became the first mayor since the city was granted Special Municipality Status to be directly elected by Taipei residents.
Having worked under five former mayor administrations, former Taipei City government secretariat Ma Cheng-feng (馬鎮方) said the city government renewed municipal development plans every six years and that he was glad to see the rapid developments in recent years.
Taipei resident Chuang Mei-feng (
"The MRT made my life so much easier and convenient," she said, but added that the expansion of the city also took away many old memories with the disappearance of Jiancheng Circle (
The circle, located at the intersection of Chongqing N Road and Nanjing W Road, was closed last July after a NT$200 million (US$6.17 million) reconstruction project initiated by the city government failed to attract sufficient crowds to regain market competitiveness.
Forty years ago, Mengjia (艋舺) and Dadaocheng (大稻埕) were the busiest sectors of the city, until the east district and Xinyi District gradually replaced them and became the business centers they are today.
Kao privatized bus companies during his term in 1968 to allow for further development.
The construction of the Feitsui Reservoir -- the source of Taipei's drinking water -- was completed under Lee's administration, while Huang established the city's biggest park, Taipei Daan Park, and the first MRT line, the Muzha line, in 1994.
Under the Chen administration, from 1994 to 1998, the Muzha line and the Tamsui Line began operation, and Taipei New Park was renamed Taipei 228 Memorial Park, while Jieshou Road became Ketagalan Boulevard.
During his term from 1998 until lat year, Ma Ying-jeou initiated the trash collection fee policy and established the Neihu Science Park and Nangang Software Park.
In a documentary produced by Taipei City Archives to commemorate the anniversary, Chen said his earliest memories of the city were characterized by his awe at the the city's energy and the smell of diesel oil from the buses.
"Taipei is constantly transforming, and I wanted Taipei to be a friendly city with plenty of opportunities and diversity," Chen said in the documentary.
Chuang Yung-ming said the greatest losses suffered by the city over the years were the human element and historical relics.
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