Tag: Art

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Street Art @ 淡水老街 Tamsui Old Street ~ love it!

Catherine Lee

Discovered some wonderful new (to me, that is) street art on the walls of Tamsui Old Street area 淡水老街 today ~ including this one of Dr. George Mackay, first Presbyterian missionary to northern Taiwan (1844-1901), who arrived in Tamsui in 1872 and stayed here more or less until he died.  Early photos show him going off on trips armed with dentist equipment for pulling out teeth, and Bibles to share the Gospel… wonder what he’s think of this painting done in his honour? Then up behind the famous Matzu Temple are some steps and walls painted with famous local scenes….. … Continue reading Street Art @ 淡水老街 Tamsui Old Street ~ love it!

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Street Art @ Ximending 西門町, Taipei

Catherine Lee

Ximending has long been THE trendiest area of Taipei for night life and street fashion ~ and of course Street Art.  I was there yesterday checking it out…. Just outside the main shopping area, down the back alleys of Kunming Street ~ and the walls are covered in graffiti of every kind.  Sometimes it’s just a section of the wall…. And sometimes the whole length of the wall…. It’s constantly changing, there’s new stuff appearing all the time, so what was there last year may have long gone by the time you get to go there again. Actually, I’m very … Continue reading Street Art @ Ximending 西門町, Taipei

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Ju Ming Sculpture Park and Museum 朱銘美術館, Jinshan, Taipei

Catherine Lee

A sunny Saturday afternoon in September and what better place to go than Ju Ming Sculpture Park, officially known as Ju Ming Museum and only 20 km from here round the northern coast, with stunning views over the sea and mountains.   This was the main entrance today… My first visit there was in November 2016 (see my blog post here) ~ and I was very impressed.  It houses all the incredible art work of Ju Ming 朱銘, the world famous Taiwanese sculptor, born in Miaoli, Taiwan in 1938. The park is big – and on a sunny day, it’s a bit … Continue reading Ju Ming Sculpture Park and Museum 朱銘美術館, Jinshan, Taipei

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Rainbow Grandpa and his Beautiful Rainbow Village 彩虹眷村!

Catherine Lee

Rainbow Village 彩虹眷村 on the outskirts of Taichung is such an amazing place – it’s easily the most attractive set of buildings in the whole of Taichung ~ YES! It’s the last remaining few houses of a Veterans Village, built for the old soldiers and their families who came to Taiwan after 1949. Most the houses are already gone, demolished and the land redeveloped, but old Mr. Huang (Huang Yong-Fu 黃永阜), known as ‘Rainbow Grandpa’ (彩虹爺爺), was not letting that happen to his village. Now aged 95, he decided to start painting the remaining houses a few years ago, and … Continue reading Rainbow Grandpa and his Beautiful Rainbow Village 彩虹眷村!

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Rixing Type Foundry 日星鑄字行 ~ the last Traditional Chinese Character Letterpress in Taiwan

Catherine Lee

Down a tiny little backstreet in Taipei City surrounded by hardware stores is just what you don’t expect to find ~ a shop full of rows and rows of tiny little Chinese characters! This article titled, “6 Things You Didn’t Know About Rixing Type Foundry, The Last Traditional Chinese Letterpress In Taiwan” on the City 543 website says, “The Rixing Type Foundry (日星鑄字行) is home to the last remaining collection of traditional Chinese movable type character moulds in the world, plying its trade for more than four decades with techniques that have been recognized since the Song Dynasty in 1040s… … Continue reading Rixing Type Foundry 日星鑄字行 ~ the last Traditional Chinese Character Letterpress in Taiwan

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Old and the New, Ancient and Modern ~ Welcome to Changhua 彰化!

Catherine Lee

Changhua is at the heart of rural Taiwan.  Honest, it don’t get much more rural than Changhua!  It’s just south of Taichung, so it’s the beginning of southern Taiwan.  Flat farmland stretches for miles from the coast inland – with rice and fruit growing, and wind farms galore. Last Saturday, my good friend En-Yu (Rebecca) and her daughter took me around Changhua City and Changhua County for the day.  It’s a real mix of old and new, ancient and modern – all mixed up, like this old house with painted wall… Pride of place goes to the Changhua Roundhouse, mentioned … Continue reading Old and the New, Ancient and Modern ~ Welcome to Changhua 彰化!

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Tamsui Treasures!

Catherine Lee

Bright orange U-bikes have arrived in Tamsui, and not just down by the river, but up in northern Tamsui, by the sports centre and Carrefour ~ yippee!  So a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon is riding around on a u-bike, exploring some of the places in Tamsui that are more difficult to get to – and the sports center is a good place to start. Well, it is for me, cos it’s the nearest to Sanzhi! First stop is the Cheng’s Old Residence, which is a traditional old Taiwanese house, around 3 sides of a courtyard, probably built … Continue reading Tamsui Treasures!

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Happy Dragon Boat Festival 2017 @ Taipei!

Catherine Lee

It was all happening at Dazhi Riverside in Taipei this morning ~ the final day of 3 days of Dragon Boat Competitions!  The sun was out, the weather was warm, and everyone was rowing hard! In good weather, and with plenty of time, the best way for me to get to Dazhi Riverside from here is by U-bike from Tamsui, and so off I set!  Before 7:00 am too, while the weather was still cooler.  It took maybe 90 minutes of slow riding, enjoying the scenery… First stop though was the graffiti wall along by the riverside near to the … Continue reading Happy Dragon Boat Festival 2017 @ Taipei!

St. John's University, Taiwan3 Comments

50th Anniversary Celebrations @ St. John’s University, Taiwan 聖約翰科技大學50週年校慶!

Catherine Lee

An amazing week of 50th anniversary celebrations ~ and many many congratulations to St. John’s University.  This is the grand blowing out of the candles and cutting of the cake! But first a bit of history…. ‘St. John’s University, Taiwan … Continue reading 50th Anniversary Celebrations @ St. John’s University, Taiwan 聖約翰科技大學50週年校慶!