TOWN WANDERINGS
DALIN
Ten Trust Eyewear
Chinese medicine
Bicycling around Dalin
Alley near No. 63 Park
Barbizon ( 巴比松美食文化 ) No. 43, Ln. 63, Zhongshan Rd., Dalin Township, Chiayi County ( 嘉義縣大林鎮中山路 63 巷 43 號 )
Dalin Stinky Tofu ( 大林臭豆腐 ) No. 13, Zhongshan Rd., Dalin Township, Chiayi County ( 嘉義縣大林鎮中山路 13 號 )
Further on, the alley is lined with colorfully painted low walls. A charming maze of walkways and pavilions beautify No. 63 Park, which was once the site of a smelly, unsightly garbage dump and a few shabby houses. Through community efforts, the area was cleaned up and beautified with natural decorations, murals, garden art, and large stone bricks rescued by residents one-by-one from a stretch of the nearby main street before it was repaved with asphalt. At the far end of the park is a path connecting to Zhongshan Road, close to where Hsu’s Taicheng Traditional Chinese Medicine shop is located. He says that, to go with the times, he has shifted the store’s focus from healing to health maintenance. Visitors are treated to cups of the shop’s home brews, such as black bean tea with black sesame, fleeceflower root, and stevia, which helps maintain a healthy and shiny head of hair, as well as a roselle tea that soothes indigestion. Hsu has kept the storefront pretty much the same as in the old days, and points out that his medicine cabinet is likely over 100 years old, as his grandfather bought it second-hand. The real highlight here, however, is the traditional Chinese medicine museum next door, located in a 60-year-old residence. It’s filled with both traditional and modern medicine-related equipment that visitors can try, such as scales and grinders, and Hsu takes the time to explain the function of each piece. For those curious about more exotic medicinal matters, there are also displays of tiger and snake penises. Through glass openings in the wood floor, visitors can see the beautiful and intricate original floor tiles underneath. With up to 300 visitors a day, it makes sense to cover them up. The shop also has an array of fascinating antiques not related to pharmacopoeia, such as TV sets with dials and a working phonograph. Next door on Zhongshan Road is Ten Trust Eyewear, run by Chuang Han-lin, who returned home from Taipei to take over his father’s shop. 34
TRAVEL IN TAIWAN
Taicheng Traditional Chinese Medicine ( 泰成中藥行 ) No. 55-1, Zhongshan Rd., Dalin Township, Chiayi County ( 嘉義縣大林鎮中山路 55-1 號 ) (05) 265-2563
He hired a Taichung architect to transform the Japanese-era interior into a minimalist Scandinavian-style concrete-and-wood boutique that still retains much of its original, raw charm. The optometry-exam room is uniquely located – a glass enclosure beyond the wooden counter. The final stop on Hsu’s tour, and a true gem of this downtown area, is the painstakingly restored Wanguo Theater, which among other things features faded vintage posters on its facade and a board indicating ticket prices of NT$10 for adults and NT$6 for children.
“This was one of five theaters in town,” Hsu says. “It is a testament of how bustling Dalin used to be – today’s Chiayi City only has three.” After being closed down, the theater languished until it was chosen as a filming site for the 2016 Taiwan period-drama television series Abula. Anti-communist slogans and signs reminding people to speak Mandarin Chinese when using public transport take visitors back to its heyday. Wanguo Theater