tfac newsletter vol110
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HUAN MEI THEATRE, A NATIONAL TREASURE IN TAINAN CITY
Under the trend of 3-D technology in the movie industry, Chuan Mei Theatre located in
Tainan City still maintains its old theatrical style. Instead of computer-generated tickets
and high-end plush sofas, moviegoers are handed out hand-stamped paper tickets and
seated on traditional mental chairs, but the most eye-catching piece of nostalgic in this
theatre is the hand-painted movie poster, 3 square meters, hanging above the entrance.
Nowadays, the 61-year-old Yan Jhen-fa is the last practitioner who devoted himself to
the hand-painted poster which was once a popular artistic form in Taiwan.
Mr. Yan was sitting in his makeshift studio on the sidewalk in front of the theatre, working
on an action-packed posters advertising “World War Z”, on a weekday morning. “We
have to enlarge the painting from a smaller original, so you have to know how to scale
the picture and recognize the special features of the characters”, he explained.
Theatre owner Wu Jun-cheng said
that Mr. Yan making those posters as
advertisement is not really the trend
in movie industry, but it is pretty
worth paying Yan 20,000-30,000 NT
Dollars a month for hand-painting
two or three movie posters per week.
He said:”we think the oil paintings
bring a certain atmosphere to our
theatre, and Yan paints it so well that
we do not want to give up this
tradition.”
The posters and the theatre’s overall simplicity achieved great popularity.
“I took my children here to experience the atmosphere of old movie theatre,” said an
audience, Miss Chen. “For sure, there are many movie theatres that have better interior
designs, but the tickets are relatively expensive that it makes no sentimental value. Chuan
Mei Theatre, on the contrast, has quality but no luxury.”
In recent months, Mr. Yan’s artistic form has become dramatically popular throughout
Tainan, Taiwan’s oldest city. He now holds painting classes on weekend and attracts
more than 40 students. Even though he doubts that any of them will be able to follow his
steps and later become a full time painters specializing in making movie posters. While
he reflects on his 40-years-carrer: “It is a tough work and needs a lot of patience, but still,
I’m just glad to spread my love of painting to more and more people.”
DREAM MALL SET TO OPEN IN TAINAN, FALL 2014
Nanfun Dream Mall held a contract signing ceremony with retailers on the 30th of
September, and it is estimated to open in fall 2014.Other than shopping, its services will
also include hotels, movie theatres, modern restaurants, gyms, and supermarkets. It will
operate 24/7, 365/year and is expected to become a luminous pearl in Tainan
metropolitan area.
The first phase of development of Dream Mall covers an area of 285000 square ft., with a
total gross floor area of 1939349 square ft. The main buildings will be Nanfun Dream Mall,
Hotel Royal, and Headquarter of Tainan Spinning Co., Ltd. Moreover, the second phase
of development will cover an area of 487500 square ft. which will include a complex
development of other hotels, second shopping mall, and high-end condominiums.
“Nanfun Dream Mall will innovationalize the management model of shopping malls in
Taiwan. The mall will combine hotels, movie theatres, trendy restaurants, gyms,
supermarkets, independent elevators, and will be open 24/7 all year long.”, said Po-Ming
Hou, General Manager of Tainan Spinning Co., Ltd.
After its opening, the mall will also combine with a 523000 square ft. recreational park to
hold medium-large scale of events and will provide 5 main functions of shopping, eatery,
entertainment, recreation, and the arts. Brand stores, well-known restaurants, and unique
brands will be available on every floor to provide Tainan a new and exciting retail
destination and satisfy consumers’ needs.
BAIHE CULTURAL FESTIVAL HELD IN TAINAN UNTIL OCTOBER 19
This is the first year that Baihe integrates rural rejuvenation communities to launch a
cultural festival for four consecutive weeks. At the day of opening ceremony, the elders
of Pinpu lit torches from a hot spring, where natural gas is able to produce fire in the water,
and then they passed them to government officials and special guests. The torches were
transferred through the restored Guanziling’s ancient walkway to rural rejuvenation
communities. It is a symbol that the transmission of traditional culture passed down from
the elders to younger generation.
Baihe is a place where people can see kapok in the spring, lotus in the summer, cultural
festival in the autumn, and hot springs in the winter. With a wide variety of cultures,
including the life of rural and parade formation, Baihe culture festival is mutually
organized by local district office, the Siraya National Scenic Area Administration,
Department of Transportation, The Council of Agriculture, the Tourism Bureau and others
communities, said Lai, Ching-Te, Mayor of Tainan City.
The series of Baihe cultural activities
launch starting from the Moon
Festival, including the scented
sachets from the Hushan Community,
a bamboo handicraft festival at the
Dajhu Community, a lion dance
competition and a green-faced lion
mask exhibition respectively by the
Jhument and Jhaoan Communities,
an old traditional housing tour of
Ganjhai Community, and the
traditional ceremony of Pingpu in
Liuhe Community.
Mayor Lai invites everyone to participate Baihe cultural festival and has mentioned that
Hong Kong tourists especially fancy Tainan due to the fact that Hong Kong has lots of
residents crowded into a small area and they have a fast-paced daily life that is often
stressful; therefore, they like to come to Tainan and enjoy the slower pace of life, the
natural and astonishing landscapes and experiencing the life of rural community. He
hopes that the government and the district office will be able to work together for those
who are interested in experiencing and exploring Tainan’s unique local cultures, lively
parade formation and vivid lifestyle of rural villages.
SALTY PORRIDGE OF RICE
Salty porridge of rice is one of the common foods in Taiwan. In Tainan, it can be found
nearly everywhere in the city. In the ancient time, as the housewives were always busy
during their day works and lack of time preparing a full table of meals; therefore, they
found it convenient to prepare salty porridge of rice. It is easy to make salty porridge of
rice by just mixing all the ingredients together in a pot and waiting until it’s finished. In fact,
salty porridge of rice is abundant in various types of nutrition. It includes vegetables,
meats and also starch. Cabbages, carrots, mushrooms, garlic and green onion are
always the indispensable ingredients for salty porridge of rice.
People can also order different kinds of salty porridge of rice, such as one with maw, one
with fish sausages, one with narrow barred Spanish mackerel, one with milky fish, one with
oyster and the combined one. For the first-time taster, we suggest them to take the
combined one so that they can try all kinds of seafood. In addition, salty porridge of rice
could be not only your breakfast but also your lunch and dinner. Therefore, do not
hesitate to take a bowl of salty porridge of rice. With several chopped green onions and
shallot added, the flavor will absolutely be unforgettable.
Tainan Foreigner Assistance Center