The renovation of Ximending's Red House (
However, a recent experimental two-day "fashion market festival" launched by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs last month in the Red House attracted more than 20,000 visitors and created revenues of NT$1 million (US$30,000), exciting city officials and inspiring them to try to revive the area by hosting a regular weekend fashion market and making it an urban hub for creativity and innovation.
A test-run period for the weekend fashion market in the Red House will be launched on Saturday and every weekend until November with hundreds of booths selling products from handmade accessories and T-shirts to art pieces. The market will also feature a bookstore, cafe and music performances, the department said.
"Setting up the fashion market in the historical Red House is a combination of new and old, and we believe the market will bring the area alive and make Taipei a more innovative city," department Commissioner Lee Yong-ping (李永萍) said on Friday during a meeting with local community and business representatives regarding the renovation project.
Targeting younger generations and tourists, the department will also seek out private businesses to open stores in the north and south plazas around the Red House after the test-run period to make the area another popular tourist attraction in the city, Lee said.
Lee said that multiple operation sectors should be blamed for the failed Ximen market renovation efforts in the past. As the city government authorized the department to take full charge of the operation of the area since last month, Lee expressed confidence on the success of the renovation, as the fashion markets expected to attract younger crowds in Ximending, a popular gathering area for teenagers.
Welcoming the department's plan, Sheng Wen-wen (
Local borough chief Kao Tieng-fu (
"The Ximen market is the oldest existing traditional market in the city. We hope the fashion market will still carry the historical footprints of Ximending, instead of a place where teenagers shop and leave," Huang said.
The Red House is an octagonal structure built of red brick in 1908. Originally called the "Octagon Market," it was the neighborhood market of the Ximen area and later home to a previous "Red Theater." In 1997, it was declared a Class 3 historical site by the department, and was later designated to be used as a venue for spoken-word and vocal performances starting in 2002 when former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) administration initiated a renovation project.
In addition to boosting business in the area, Lee said the project also aimed at providing a permanent location for young designers and encouraging the cultural industry through relaxing regulations and opening up municipal space for establishing fashion markets.
Before the establishment of a regular fashion market in Ximending, there have been many similar markets held around the city in recent years, including Huashan Art District, Taipei Cinema Park and the Eslite Bookstore's Dunnan branch.
CAMPO, a civil association dedicated to organizing art and fashion markets around the country, lauded the department's efforts to find stable locations for designers to showcase their creativity, but called on the department to provide long-term assistance, as it would take a long time for designers selling products at booths to establish their own brands.
Lee said the department will have an evaluation mechanism to ensure the quality of the booths, and is seeking to open more municipal spaces to set up regular fashion markets in the future to encourage the cultural and arts industry.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had