The Zhongshan underground mall connected to the Taipei MRT system is not affected by the weather, it’s cool in summer and warm in winter, and a good destination whether it rains or shines. It has become a favorite spot among office workers who need to do some power walking during the lunch break as well as for both six-year- and 70-year-olds.
Located between the Taipei Main Station and the Shuanglian Station stops on the Danshui MRT line, the Zhongshan underground mall is 815m long, and during lunch hours, more and more white-collar workers go there to walk and stay in shape. Some people even go there from Shilin to enjoy themselves during their lunch break.
Luo Chia-yeh, who has been power walking in the underground shopping mall for six months says it is difficult to find spaces to power walk in Taipei apart from parks or sports fields at schools. If you want to power walk along the sidewalk, you will have to stop for red lights at crossings, and neither scooter nor bicycle riders pay much attention to pedestrians, which makes the underground mall safer. More important, the underground mall is immune to the weather. You can easily do some power walking there even if there is a typhoon.
Ms Hsieh, who works close to the Zhongshan MRT station, says she once read a magazine interview with former vice president Lien Chan’s wife Lien Fang-yu. In the interview, Lien Fang-yu revealed that the trick to maintaining your figure was not to go to the gym, but to walk in the underground mall. Out of curiosity, Hsieh one day spent her lunch in the mall and to her surprise discovered that lots of people go for a walk there, and that was why she started power walking.
She thinks it’s not only safe to walk in the underground mall, but there are also air conditioners so you don’t have to worry that you will start sweating all over. Also, the distance can be covered in half a lunch break, so there is plenty of time.
And it is not only working people that will walk in the underground mall. Young hip-hop dancers gather at the Jazz Square between the Zhongshan and Shuanglian MRT stops. There are large mirrors on every wall, and in the center, a dance stage has been set up so that no matter when you go there, there will always be people there dancing.
Senior high school student Hsiao B says the good thing about the underground mall is that you don’t have to worry about typhoons or rain, and you don’t have to be afraid of sweating in the scorching sun. This is a reason more and more young people gather there to dance and practice their moves.
In addition, because there are tables and chairs and air conditioning, the Zhongshan underground mall has also become a meeting point for elderly people. Mrs. Yang, who lives close to Shuanglian station says that rather than consuming electricity back home, she will go with her neighbors to the mall to shoot the breeze or while away the afternoons reading the paper or playing chess.
(TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON, LIBERTY TIMES)
台北捷運中山地下街不受天候影響，夏涼冬暖、晴雨皆宜，不僅成為上班族中午熱門的健走場所，也成為五、六歲小朋友到六、七十歲老人家的最愛。
位於捷運台北車站至雙連站間的捷運中山地下街，全長八一五公尺，中午會看到越來越多白領階級，為維持身材，大步往前走，甚至還有人專程搭捷運從士林到中山地下街，只為了中午「樂活」一下。
在地下街健走已經快半年的羅家業說，在台北都會區想要健走，除了大型公園或學校運動場，幾乎找不到適當的健走路線，若是沿著馬路人行道健走，不僅到路口碰上紅燈就得停下腳步，而且機車、自行車騎士都不太尊重行人，地下街寬敞又很安全，更重要是不受氣候影響，即使是刮颱風，在裡面健走完全不受影響。
在捷運中山站附近上班的謝小姐說，有次在雜誌看到前副總統連戰妻子連方瑀受訪透露，維持身材秘訣不是上健身房，而是到地下街「散步」，有天中午好奇到地下街走走，才發現怎麼有這麼多人都在「散步」，因此開始健走。
她認為，在地下街健走不僅安全，又有冷氣吹不用擔心滿頭大汗，而且路程僅佔中午休息時間的一半，非常充裕。
不僅是上班族會利用地下街健走，捷運中山及雙連站間的爵士廣場，也是年輕人「尬舞」的地點，四周牆面掛滿落地的大鏡子，中間還搭建一座專業舞台，無論何時，都可以看到熱情舞動的身影。
高中生「小B」說，地下街好處是不用擔心颳風下雨，也不怕頂著烈日曬得滿頭大汗，因此有愈來愈多年輕人聚集跳舞，相互切磋舞技。
此外，中山地下街也因為擺放桌椅，又有冷氣可吹，成了老人家聚會場所。住在雙連站附近的楊老太太說，與其在家裡用電，不如約鄰居結伴到地下街「開講」，或是帶著報紙、象棋，消磨下午時光。
（自由時報記者洪敏隆）
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