The shrinking capital of a stagnating county, Pingtung City (屏東市) hasn’t found its way on to any kind of top 10 tourist attractions list.
Foreign visitors spending a few weeks in Taiwan — remember them? — aren’t likely to set foot in the city. Silver-haired culture vultures and beach-bound backpackers zip through Pingtung City by express train, or bypass it on Freeway 3. The popularity of Kenting National Park and nearby Aboriginal villages doesn’t seem to generate way-station business for the seat of the county government.
However, facets of this municipality of about 197,000 (down 9 percent in the past 15 years) will intrigue hardcore Taiwanophiles.
Photo: Yeh Yung-chien, Taipei Times
The city’s most photogenic neighborhood is an extension of the 101-year-old air force base west of downtown Pingtung.
VIP ZONE
What was known for much of the postwar period as Shengli New Village (勝利新村) is now promoted as VIP Zone (勝利星村創意生活園區). For decades, senior air force offices and their families were housed in this leafy cantonment 950m north of Pingtung Railway Station.
Photo: Steven Crook
By mid-20th century standards, the homes are quite spacious. By 21st century standards, many have yards only millionaires can afford.
Part of the neighborhood has been cleared for redevelopment, but dozens of pre and postwar houses have been preserved in the vicinity of Jhongshan Road (中山路), Cingdao Street (青島街), and Chongcing Road (重慶路). The last of these street names honors the temporary capital of Nationalist China during World War II.
No 61 Jhongshan Road, built in 1937 for a Japanese squadron commander, is notable for its association with General Sun Li-jen (孫立人, 1900-1990), a US-educated military leader hailed as the “Rommel of the East” during World War II.
Photo: Steven Crook
Sun lived there some years after he’d won fame by fighting the Japanese in Burma, and just before his disastrous falling out with Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石). Between 1955 and 1988, he was kept under virtual house arrest in Taichung.
Like similarly historic government-owned neighborhoods in other cities — Chiayi’s Hinoki Village (檜意森活村) comes to mind — the authorities are trying to turn VIP Zone in a cultural/creative industries cluster.
In 2019, when the Taiwan Design Expo was held at Taisugar Civic Park (台糖縣民公園) on the southern outskirts of Pingtung City, VIP Zone served as a satellite venue.
Photo: Steven Crook
Turnover among VIP Zone’s eateries and art galleries seems quite high, judging by the changes I noticed between my first visit and my most recent nosing around. The eye-catching “Flying Tigers” themed restaurant I saw in 2017 is no more, but that’s not to say the neighborhood lacks color.
The mural of a tank smashing through a wall impressed me. I had mixed feelings, however, about the fiberglass depiction of Chiang Kai-shek as a schoolboy in short pants. How would you feel if members of your family had been imprisoned or murdered by Chiang’s regime?
DONGSHAN TEMPLE
Photo: Steven Crook
Located just east of VIP Zone at No 6, Suide Lane, Jhongsiao Road (忠孝路修德巷), Dongshan Temple (東山寺) is a high-security Buddhist outpost.
Well before the recent wave of COVID-19 community transmission, razor wire kept unwelcome visitors out of the compound and the temple’s parking lot. When I arrived, well before level 3 restrictions were imposed, most of the entrances were blocked by rolling steel doors. Yet once I’d found a way in, I was warmly greeted by a janitor.
I spent several minutes absorbing a circular visual depiction of the Ten Realms (十界) of Buddhism. At the top, naturally, are the elevated realms, including Buddhahood and the state attained by bodhisattvas. At the very bottom are, from left to right, the realms of beasts (which here include snakes, insects and fish), hungry spirits and hell dwellers.
Photo: Steven Crook
If graphic illustrations of the tortures which await hellbound wrongdoers inspire you to engage in self-cultivation, you’re in luck.
PINGTUNG LIBRARY
Those who live in or visit Pingtung are able to enjoy one of Taiwan’s most attractive libraries. Between 2018 and 2020, Pingtung County Cultural Affairs Bureau Library (屏東縣立圖書館總館) was tastefully made over. Glimpsed through the camphor trees that shade Millennium Park (千禧公園), its remodeled exterior looks both contemporary and elegant.
Photo: Steven Crook
Seating capacity has been greatly expanded, and the book collection has tripled in size. On the fourth floor, there’s a reading area decorated with Paiwan tribal motifs.
If you plan to hoof it from VIP Zone to the library (it’ll take you about half an hour), or from the train/bus hub, you might as well stop at A-Hou East Gate (阿猴城東門), a photogenic remnant that dates from around 1836.
Like several other settlements in Taiwan’s western half, Pingtung — then known as A-Hou (阿猴) or Yahou (雅猴) — was protected from irate Aborigines and rebel armies by a permanent barricade. During the first half of the 1895-1945 period of Japanese colonial rule, the entire wall, and every gate except this one, were demolished so urban planners could straighten and widen the city’s streets.
The East Gate has obviously been repaired a few times. It looks a bit too perfect to be convincing, yet it’s an appealing little landmark. Relics like the gate, public facilities like the library, and repurposed dormitories like those in VIP ZONE: A lack of tourists is no reason why the good people of Pingtung City shouldn’t have nice things.
Steven Crook has been writing about travel, culture and business in Taiwan since 1996. He is the author of Taiwan: The Bradt Travel Guide and co-author of A Culinary History of Taipei: Beyond Pork and Ponlai.
GETTING THERE
>> More than 90 trains link Kaohsiung with Pingtung each day. Travel time varies from 19 minutes to 34 minutes; one-way fares range between NT$31 and NT$48. If you’re coming from north or central Taiwan, consider taking a bus. From Taichung, journey time is around three-and-a-quarter hours; regular fare costs NT$370.
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