Xiluo is a small historic town on the south bank of the Zhuóshuǐ River 濁水溪 in Yunlin. It emerged as an important center of trade in central Taiwan during the Qing dynasty era and continued to prosper into the early 20th century under Japanese colonial rule. Disaster struck in 1935 when the devastating Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake ripped through north-central Taiwan, reducing much of Xiluo to rubble. Colonial authorities and the local gentry worked together to rebuild, taking the opportunity to completely remodel the main commercial thoroughfares with an intriguing blend of influences from Baroque Revival, Art Deco, and Modernist architecture. A short stroll down Yánpíng Old Street 延平老街 reveals that many of these unique shophouses and commercial buildings remain standing today.
Many “old streets” in Taiwan have the contrived carnivalesque atmosphere of a night market—which, although fun at times, tends to obscure whatever sense of history might be experienced in a given place. It is difficult to get lost in a moment when you’re surrounded by vendors hawking snacks and souvenirs but sleepy Xiluo appears to have done little to attract this sort of mass tourism. In fact, apart from some inoffensive shops located in the renovated East Market 東市場 (built in the 1950s, despite appearances, and recently revitalized) there is little to suggest that anything has changed in decades.
Yanping Old Street feels genuinely old but also rather well-kept. What restoration work has been done is unobtrusive and many of the gorgeous shophouses lining the main street1 are still occupied even if the shops on the ground floor are no longer in business. By my standards this is easily one of the finest old streets in the country—and I’ve visited dozens. If you appreciate Taiwanese history and architecture then Xiluo absolutely has to be on your list.
What explains Xiluo’s unusual state of preservation? We can look to Lukang, a historic town in neighbouring Changhua, for some answers. Xiluo and Lukang share several traits: both prospered in the late Qing dynasty era; both were bypassed when the Japanese routed the Western Trunk Line 縱貫線 to the east; both are former ports, though Lukang’s harbour silted up and Xiluo’s riverside docks became less important as road and railway transportation networks improved. The completion of the Xiluo Bridge 西螺大橋 in 1952 ushered in several more decades of prosperity without upsetting the careful balance of tradition and modernity still evident today.
Apart from the shophouses on the main thoroughfare one will find several other buildings of interest along the streets and laneways extending in both directions. Derelict mansions can be found to the north; one of these is faintly visible from an overgrown backyard while the other has been stripped down to a rugged reinforced concrete skeleton.
Just south of the East Market one will find the remarkable Xiluo Theater 西螺大戲院, one of the very last of Taiwan’s remaining Japanese colonial era movie theaters, and a row of abandoned Japanese shophouses with original wood exteriors on Shìhòu Street 市後街 (now demolished). If you’re interested in Taiwanese cinema it is absolutely essential that you undertake a pilgrimage to this rare and special theater; it has been designated a heritage property but its future is uncertain. Xiluo was also home to Yuandong Theater 遠東戲院 (now vanished) and Yisheng Theater 一生戲院.
This post was originally published in September 2014 and focused exclusively on the shophouses of Yanping Old Street. I returned twice more in 2017/2018 and completely revised this post with many more photos and information. As such, I’ve bumped the date on this post and given it a more general name, aligning it with my series of postcards from Taiwan.
Many more photos from Xiluo and Yanping Old Street can be found in the Chinese language blogosphere here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
- Initially I struggled to identify specific buildings in these photos but had some luck raiding this school project, Girl Meets Formosa, and especially Just A Balcony (with specific links in the text). ↩
Great (updated) post about my wife’s hometown! I also hope Yanping Road doesn’t become yet another “old street”. Except for the sidewalk, it hasn’t changed all that much since my first visits to Xiluo in the early Oughts (or is it Aughts?).
Thank you very much for your record of land in Taiwan
Figured out the name of the shophouse. It is 興隆商店 (xing1 long2 shang1 dian4) and currently it is a beauty salon 麗華美容院 (li4 hua2 mei3 rong2 yuan4). Hope this helps! Visited Xiluo in September this year and I too, hope Xiluo stays this way. Beautiful pictures you have there, hope tourists will continue to visit and may more people realize the beauty of this old town.
Chirleen,
Singapore