Huashan Creative Park 華山1914文創園區, Taipei
Huashan Creative Park is the cultural center for not only Taipei, but for the country of Taiwan as well. With the combination of art and food, the park provides a historic setting.
Built by the Japanese in the early part of the 20th century, Huashan was originally a wine factory, till its relocation in the 80′s. For the better part of a decade, it was an abandoned site, as well as an eye sore in the middle of Taipei. A theatrical troupe unofficially rezoned the site for themselves as a performance venue, till authorities halted them (to make sure no one would get hurt in the run down buildings). The Association of Culture Environment Reform Taiwan, in 1999, began to official restore the site into an artists mecca. In 2007, the Taiwan Cultural-Creative Development Co. Ltd, took over to open and operate the center with shops, galleries, and restaurants. Today thousands of visitors dine, attend shows, and patronize the shops each week.
The restaurants you find at the Huashan 1914, the official name, are unique non-chain restaurants. On my visit, with fellow blogger Petite Elaine on the Taipei’s Home Hotel tour, we had 青葉新樂園 Green Leaf Restaurant. The lunch was especially exciting for me to sample some of Taiwan’s favorite street snacks. Taiwan is known for their great street food. The egg oyster, the steamed glutinous rice ball, and the rice noodle dishes are some of my favorites we had. This restaurant is one of the finer restaurants in Taipei that feature this type of fare.
At 1914Furnifood (家傢酒), this combination cafe/boutique features crafts and furniture pieces from Taiwanese artisans designers. Home Hotel features furniture from some of this collection.
As we browsed the other little cafes and restaurants, including A Little Tea House (一間茶屋) and Al Cicchetto 義麵坊小酒館, I imagined how other cities around the world have created similar sites – with Los Angeles’ 3rd Street Promenade and Shanghai’s Tianzifang 田子坊.
What makes Huashan different is the large spaces for artists. I was fascinated by the first gallery that we went to with the Hand standing man. This guy self took camera portraits of himself hand standing in various picturesque and famous locales all around Taiwan. He would set up a camera then run over to a spot and do a hand stand while the camera (with timer) took the shot. He did this for over a hundred different spots. I never knew some of the mastery and beauty of Taiwan, till I saw his footage. Plus, the story about how his humble parents, who support his idea, spoke how they were happy that he was able to live his dream.
Dreams is multi-artist exhibit featuring different mediums with photography, fashion, music, design, and style. Housed in a large two story building, each of the artists was able to capture their expression in their own way. I was particularly interested in 王建揚’s photography with the colors, setting, and of course the naked girls.
The site features restored factory buildings that now are home of large gallery spaces for both performance art and display art. You can see railroad ties that linked each of the buildings. The thick walls of each building remind us of a time, of a past generation that is getting a new lease on life. Smoke stacks give way to the digital age and the clanging factories are out sounded by cheers of the new millennia. Huashan represents the new Taiwan, whilst invigorating the relic past.
Links Facebook Listing, A Wretch Blog, KichKiean Art Blog, Wind989, JP Wu’s Blog, My Moleskin, CCA listing, Culture.TW, Contouring Life, Taiwan Nights, Skyscraper City,Taiwan Fun, Sino Tour
Rating 3 Pigs
