Shimending (Hsimending) shopping district (click here) located in southwest Taipei was and still is a bustling, crowded, and exciting marketplace. Shimending had everything including street vendors, shops, department stores, hotels, electronics stores, movie theaters, and great restaurants. At night Shimending was a spectacle of lights and colorful neon signs.
(1.) The 1970 photo of the Shimending traffic circle shown below (Photo 1.-far left) appeared on the front page (click here) of the January 01, 2011 edition of the "Apple Daily Taiwan" (click here), Taiwan's leading newspaper. The 1970 Shimending photo shown on the newpaper's front page above was featured in an article about Shimending and what it looked like 40 years ago. The DawgFlight.com website was credited in the article for the photo. (Apple Daily image added 1.11.11)
(2.) Shimending traffic circle ("Ximen Circle") today. Photo taken on February 26, 2011 of the traffic circle in Shimending pictured in the 1970 photo in the Apple Daily article on left. The shot was taken at the same location with the same view and buildings shown in the 1970 and 1972 photos posted below (photos 2. and 5.) of the traffic circle.
(3. & 4.) March 2011 shots of the buildings shown in the previous photo taken a couple of weeks earlier. "The King's Speech", 2011 Academy Award winner, was playing in the Shimending movie theaters at that time as shown on the building's billboard.
(TOP ROW ABOVE)
-Four sequential 1970 shots taken walking counterclockwise around the perimeter of the Shimending traffic circle ("Ximen Circle") located at old Hsi Ning S. Road and Chung Hua Road.
1.) The pedestrian bridge (right) and Oversea Chinese Emporium Ltd.(far left) located further around the traffic circle. A Haggler's Row building (large red "National" sign on top) and its shops are on the right behind the pedestrian bridge.
2.) Oversea Chinese Emporium Ltd. and theater ((bldg. left center). Note: See the 2011 shot above taken at the same location with the same view and buildings.
3.) Another shot of the Overseas Chinese Emporium Ltd. (sign on lower right corner of bldg.) and theater continuing counterclockwise around the traffic circle. A tower is shown in front of the building on the left. The clock on the right was located in the traffic circle's central plaza area and was surrounded by pools and fountains (see photo below).
4.) Looking back at the traffic circle and pedestrian bridge in the opposite (clockwise) direction. The green building on the far left of the photo had restaurants on every floor that were known for great Chinese banquets, Peking Duck, and exotic foods.
(BOTTOM ROW ABOVE)
-Two sequential 1972 photos of the "Ximen Circle". The first shot is looking left from its perimeter. The second shot is looking back to the right from the traffic circle's center area.
6.) 1972 shot of the same location and view of the traffic circle as in photo no. (1.) above taken two years earlier in 1970.
NOTE: Compare this 1972 photo with the 2011 photo at the top of the page taken at the same location with the same view and buildings.
7.) 1972 shot of the same view and location as in photo no. (4.) above taken two years earlier in 1970. Note the passenger train passing under the pedestrian bridge in the background.
(1.) Circa 1970 shot of the Shimending traffic circle, tower (left), and surrounding buildings.
(2.) 1970 shot of the Shimending traffic circle's central plaza, clock (left), fountains, tower (far right), and buildings (background) around the traffic circle's perimeter.
The "RC Cola" sign (far left) and the "Green Oil" sign (center background) in the photo are also shown in the night photos below.
(3.) 1971 Double Ten Day photo (10-10-1971) of the plaza and fountain shown in the previous photo.
(4. & 5.) Pedestrian bridge from Chien Sing movie theater 1970.
(1.-above) 1959 photo of the old Haggler's Row area and its shops prior to the completion and opening of the eight new Haggler's Row buildings in 1961 as shown in the next photos. As described by Dennis Conklin (Shulinkou '59-'61): "...This was Hagglers' Row ("Chung Hua Lu") in 1959. Its days were numbered when the picture was taken. Barely visible behind the godowns are the gray concrete buildings being constructed (see next photo) to replace everything you see in the foreground. The "new" buildings are all gone today, replaced by a third generation of modern structures."
(2.) Circa 1961 aerial photo showing five of the eight new identical large buildings of the newly completed Haggler's Row in Shimending. The American embassy compound is located to the left of the traffic circle and first Haggler's Row building at top of the photo. NOTE: Haggler's Row with its eight buildings was completed and opened in 1961. It was demolished Oct. 20, 1992.
(Left Photo-Click to Enlarge) 1955 shot of the shops at old Hagglers Row. (Right Image) 1970s U.S. military handbook article on "Haggler's Alley (Row)".
(3.) 1962 shot looking north along Chung-Hua Road of the recently completed buildings on Haggler's Row.
(4.) 1971 shot of Haggler's Row with its eight buildings and myriad of storefronts and shops. The buildings also provided living quarters for the shop owners.
(5.) 1970 late afternoon shot (4:01 PM showing on clock in photo) of one of the eight Haggler's Row buildings on Chung-Hua Road.
(6.) 1970 night shot (7:44 PM showing on clock in photo) of the building in the previous photo.
1.) 1970 shot from walkway over Chung-Hua Road. The First Company Ltd. department store is the tall building with a red sign in the center of the photo. A Haggler's Row building and its shops are shown on the far left. The Armed Forces Network Taiwan-Radio (AFNT) station was located across the street from the First Company Ltd. in the Sugar Building.
2.) The same view as the previous photo taken at night in 1970. Shown are the First Co. Ltd. (right center), Haggler's Row building and shops (left), and the large Chien Sing (Hsin Sheng) movie theater (far right foreground).
3.) 1972 shot (same view as in photos 1. and 2.) of Chung-Hua Road and the Haggler's Row shops (left), Chien Sheng movie theater (right) and First Company Ltd. department store (center background).
4.) First Company Ltd. department store on Double Ten Day October 10, 1965.
5.) 1989 shot of Chung-Hua Road in Shimending taken from a pedestrian bridge. The shops of Haggler's Row are on the left.
(Card on Right-Click to Enlarge) 1970 card from a Tea Room located on Chung-Hwa Road in Shimending. Tea Rooms were popular destinations for Taiwanese teenagers and young adults.
1.) 1966 Shimending street scene and shops.
2.) Circa 1965 shot of Chung-Hau Road in Shimending and the shops of Haggler's Row (right and right background). An unidentified GI is shown sitting in the pedicab (foreground).
3.) 1966 view from the First Co. Ltd. department store (photos above) of Chung-Hua Road. The Chien Sing movie theater (next photo) is shown on the left. The shops along Haggler's Row are shown on the right.
4.) 1966 shot of the Chien Sing movie theater shown in the previous photo.
1.) Taipei Railway Station on Double Ten Day, October 10, 1971.
2.) Night shot of the Taipei Railway Station on Double Ten Day, October 10, 1976.
3.) Circa 1970 postcard of the downtown Taipei Railway Station.
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