Euphorigenic Landscapes — Issue 1.0 Sören Schöbel, Daniel Czechowski (Ed.) (Schriftenreihe - LAREG, Bd

URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES

Euphorigenic Landscapes — issue 1.0 Sören Schöbel, Daniel Czechowski (Ed.) (Schriftenreihe - LAREG, Bd. 12/ Monograph Series - Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Open Space, Vol. 12)

LAREG TAIPEI 25°02′N 121°38′E

SIZE 271.80 KM2 POPULATION 2,618,772 DENSITY 9,600/KM2 ELEVATION 10 M TIME ZONE CHINA STANDARD (UTC+8) URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 204

TAIPEI LANDSCAPE mainland of China. The city is a mix- Yulang Zeng ture of modernity and tradition. The construction of the city is always going on and new history of urban life is Taipei is the “pre-eminent district” of being overwritten, supporting its users Taiwan, with the dream of being an with convenient and fast changing im- “international metropolis”. Since the ages of urban life, and this means there 1970s, Taipei has changed a lot due is no “eternal” here（舒国治，2010）. to its fast economic growth and urban construction. The old image of a THE LEVEL OF REGIONAL CULTURES “watertown” with alleys and channels AND NATURAL MORPHOLOGIES — disappeared, while filled in “urban for- A CITY ON DISSIMILAR LANDFORM est” with many concrete buildings. In Taipei, as the name implies, is the city Chinese, the traditional phrase “Moral- located in the north of Taiwan [“pei” ity as noble as water” is used to praise means “north” in Chinese]. Due to the the best personality since water has the reclaiming of Han Chinese and the tea character to favour all without caring trading business on Danshui River, about fame and fortune. This phrase ex- this region became the third important presses the respect for water. A city with commercial region in Taiwan from the water is always regarded to be livable, 18th to 19th century. There is a local whereas Taipei undergoes a process of proverb that says “first Tannan, second abandoning this quality and its con- Lugang, third Monga”1[一府二鹿三 nection with water. The urbanization 艋舺] to describe the city status by the “has changed the watertown into dry end of Qing dynasty, Monga represent- land, pouring down the last fleet wa- ing Taipei. Since the end of the 19th ter off the basin”（舒国治， 2010）. century, with the ad-vantage of being a Compared with the central and south- political centre, Taipei has become the ern regions, nowadays Taipei is always most prosperous region in Taiwan and complained about its ruthless compe- this condition continues till today. tition and tremendous pressure in ur- Due to its highly developed com- ban life. Although having the common merce and prosperous culture, Taipei disadvantages of modern cities such as gets great attention from the Chinese traffic congestion, high housing prices society. Now over 80 percent of the and air pollution, it is still attractive for population is engaged in the service youths in Taiwan and tourists from the industry. The city is willing to accept URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 205 and transmit the latest technology and ment of the Yangmingshan National lifestyle from Europe, America and Ja- Park. Compared to its highest peak pan. Lately, the government pays great over 1000 meters and volcanic steam attention to construct a “livable city” underground, the low-lying hilly ter- which expresses itself as a multicul- rains bordering the Taipei Basin in east tural metropolis. The well-served pub- and south direction appear tender and lic facilities and social welfare ensure more mild. Danshui River flows on the convenience of living. The lifestyle the western side of the Taipei Basin, of “LOHAS” [乐活] and “sustainable” it is also the natural borderline of the have become the newest label of Taipei, administrative division between cit- although they are not the unique ideas ies. The earliest two flourishing settle- from the island. Here, both the urban ments, Monga and Dadaocheng, were form and the attitude of life are always located on the right side of the river. changing. Keelung River goes through the north Taipei is a basin surrounded by moun- of the basin with many curves, and tains and rivers, and the natural land- other smaller rivers which also origi- scape shows great spatial-temporal dif- nate from the surrounding mountains ference2. The contrasting geographical have a closer intertwining with land. features arise from the appearance of After going across the edge of the ba- the island: Taiwan was formed by one sin or flowing through a small district, tectonic plate sliding under the other, they run into Danshui River or Keelung so it owns undulating mountain ranges River, and finally flow into the Taiwan in south-north direction and an end- Strait at the northern tip of the island. less coastline. The geological struc- Geological movements shaped the sur- ture of Taiwan is young and active, it rounding mountains of Taipei, while is a continuous formation process of rivers formed the basin plain. Finally, new terrain till today. This means that, the actions of human being reshape the comparing with other nations who live morphologies of the land in every pos- in the stable continental plates, the sible area. residents on this island will experience more earthquakes, landslides and other THE LEVEL OF EVERYDAY LIFE — disasters during their life. LOVE AND HATE FOR CONVENIENT The main parts of the Datun volcano URBAN LIFE range, which are located in the north Taipei often appears in movies. Through of Taipei Basin, are under the manage- the artist’s lens, the true city feature and URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 206

the impressionistic everyday life are study solely, as if there is nothing else represented. Participators in the city important in the whole world; while and spectators from the outside are under neon lights in the loud and able to feel the coexisting beauty and crowded night market he shares deli- cruelty of the city. cious and cheap snacks with his best There are enough work opportunities friend, enjoying daily life together. with challenge in Taipei, that’s why Meeting demands of both spiritu-al youths both love and hate the city. In needs and tasteable appetites, nightlife 2008, the movie “Cape No. 7” became in Taipei is the charm of the city. one of the top-grossing films in Taiwan’s An overview of Taipei Basin via Google cinematic history. In the opening scene, Maps demonstratesthe contrast. The the leading actor fails in his music ca- high-density urban area is totally dif- reer in Taipei. Unwillingly, he has to go ferent from the surrounding mountains back to his hometown, a small village which are covered by evergreen trees. located in the south coast, on his mo- In the city area, the urban blocks are di- torcycle. Before leaving, he just breaks vided by different road sys-tems, turn- his guitar into pieces while hardly curs- ing the neighbourhoods into irregular ing Taipei. Here, the city is depicted as a shape. The arrangement of modernist dreaming place, where this young man building boxes with different heights pursues his future, but turns out to be a follows the direction of surrounding nightmare in the end. This crowded city roads and streets. Different colours of has the temptation of opportunity and the retrofitting roofs first eliminate the the despair of failure together. overall order and then create a texture But if one forgets the troubles in work- of collage. The firebreak alleys inside ing during the daytime for subsist- the blocks are narrow and always full ence, one will find the fun of living in of illegal rooms and temporarily park- Taipei which is always full of people ing motorcycles, so for citizens who live and wherethe liveliness lasts until the here it is hard to find a place to enjoy early morning. The movie “Au Revoir landscape nearby. The crowded states Taipei” illustrates the great dissimilari- of city residence are serious in many re- ties between two urban locations: the gions of the basin that have been devel- bookstore and the night market. In the oped for a long time. The overcrowded warmly illuminated Eslite Bookstore city residences are a serious problem in [诚品书店] with elegant atmosphere, many regions of the basin … the main actor focuses on his French However, walking on a normal street or URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 207 alley in Taipei, one can feel the interest- disasters and accustomed to repairing ing atmosphere of city life immediately. the city continuously. After the experi- The grocery stores and restaurants are ence of the large earthquake in 1999, operating along the streets, working the Taipei citizens hardly pay attention well on meeting most needs of resi- to minor earth shakes. However, they dents’ daily life. Sign-boards, awnings, are enough to make international tour- sunshades, and neon signs are designed ists from the European continent feel and manufactured by local business- uneasy, and the accustomed attitude men. Coupled with motorcycles which of local people makes them even more are almost everywhere, they work to- astonished. The typhoon usually makes gether to form the streetscape of Taipei. landfall from July to September every Motorcycling serves the daily traffic life year. The heavy rain and strong wind of local people well. In “Au Revoir Tai- temporarily disturb the regular routine pei”, the image of the main actor driv- of inhabitants’ work and study, but daily ing his motorcycle through the streets life never stops. Instead, the typhoon at night appears again and again, prov- seasons create opportunities for the cit- ing that the motorcycle is just a com- izens to stay at home and rest or even go mon tool for locals. The parking spaces outside. The special rainy climate has provided by the government cannot formed a lot of arcades along the streets support the large number of users, in the traditional neighbourhoods of therefore streets directly work as park- Taipei. The arcades are good at keep- ing space. Streets and alleys painted ing the pedestrians out of sun exposure white designate parking spaces, yellow and downpour, and only belong to the marks forbidden areas , thus Taipei be- walkers. At the same time the streets of comes a huge motorcycle parking lot. the city get two levels of façade. Nature has created the primary land- During the past hundred years, Tai- scape and topography of Taipei and pei has changed from an agricultural continues to show its power. Till today, plain to a concrete jungle, and artificial by means of the annual typhoon and constructions made everyday life and frequent earthquakes, natural power landscape in a condition of isolation. demonstrates its impact on citizens’ live. But please do not forget that it is a place The perennial struggle and co-existence with unique geographical location and with the forces of nature has formed a abundant landscape morphologies. special type of habit. Local people have a calm manner when facing natural URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 208

THE LEVEL OF GLOBAL POWER AND Eastern Districts[东区] of the city be- AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS — THE came the new downtown, where a lot of “TOP-DOWN” CITY CONSTRUCTION department stores were operated. And DRIVEN BY POLITICAL AND COM- in recent years the Xinyi Planning Dis- MERCIAL INTERESTS trict[信义计划区] which works as the The city morphology of Taipei was first second centre of the city and is the most influenced by political power when it popular urban space in Taipei. was chosen to be the new prefectural The Xinyi Planning District was once capital by the end of Qing dynasty. called “Taipei Prairie” to criticize the There are great differences among the government’s disability in develop- three main settlements: Taipei walled ment. Maybe before the process of city, Monga and Dadaocheng. Monga urbanization, there really was prairie and Dadaocheng were earlier town- landscape at the foot of the surround- ships established for business and having mountains, but now it is changing ing grown by themselves, while the new to the most expensive urban function inner city was designed regularly and district in Taiwan. Regular road grids, only served the governor. These three large construction land, and huge vol- main districts were located along Dan- umes of buildings are all emphasizing shui River and coexisted as the most the modernity of this site. Although the prosperous western area in old days. main purpose of constructing this dis- With the people assembling, the area of trict is to establish a new commercial urbanization in Taipei sprawled rapidly and financial centre, the Xinyi Planning over the past half century. As a result, District now serves more as a synthesis for some Taipei residents the adminis- of exclusive residential district, large- trative district of Taipei means almost scale amusement and entertainment half of the whole island. Under the po- centres and big shopping malls. It is a litical encouragement and commercial new consumer space in the city. At the power, the urban space expanded from beginning of development, the govern- west to east, till the foothills and the ment insisted on strict rules of planning border of the mountains where con- and urban design, so the city texture struction is difficult. Prosperous busi- here is completely different from other ness districts also move along the city areas of the city. Simulating Manhat- developing route. It first located in Xi- tan, it succeeds in getting an image of menting [西门町] who presents the old an “international metropolis”, while shopping district in Monga. Then the contemporaneously it shows a lack of URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 209 local context and identity. Taipei 101 is new landmark a lot, the local residents decorated with the traditional symbol rarely buy the ticket which equals the of Ruyi [如意] on its façade to empha- price of four lunchboxes, and prefer to size its location, but still it is an out- use the shopping malls at the bottom of standing modernistic super skyscraper the building. On the last day of 2010, whose top floors always submerge in the new year’s firework lasting for about the clouds. three hundred seconds attracted nearly With the hope of “bringing Taipei to 70 million people in the Xinyi Planning the world”, Taipei 101 ranked officially District. The show made the skyscraper as the world’s tallest skyscraper for five look like a big firecracker, and this big years. This manmade mega-structure party demonstrates the old tradition helps the local Taipei residents accom- of setting firecrackers which dates back plish a great confidence. Attracting over 2000 years. The collective carnival worldwide attention and confirmation imitates the western way of celebration. is kind of exciting on the one hand, At this moment, political power and and a feeling of satisfaction for fighting everyday life are combined in Taipei. against the elements and conquering The change of highest prices for real es- nature on the other hand. Standing on tate shows the trace of urban develop- the flat Taipei plain, Taipei 101 seems ment and reflects the shift of value for lonely, even in the Xinyi Planning landscape. Yangmingshan was used to District where are more high build- represent a rich area for wealthy people, ings than in other districts. It can only since there was also located the palace match with Shin Kong Mitsukoshi3, of the president. It is aplace close to which is located in the old western natural beauty and far away from the district, with a height less than half of bustling city. The development in the Taipei 101. These two skyscrapers shape Xinyi Planning District led to a greater the skyline of Taipei. Tourists from density of exclusive resident buildings abroad are willing to go to the observa- than in other areas of the city. During tory of Taipei 101 to get an overview of the urbanization process, the citizens’ the city, with the main scenery of roofs aspiration for convenient modern lifep- in different colour and size. They can redominates the interest in ecology and receive a lot of information about ur- landscape. The latest news shows that ban fabric and landmarks, and can see the housing price along Keelung River the surrounding mountains far away on rises rapidly, due to the new riverside sunny days. Although approbating this park and landscape. People who can- URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 210

not afford a house in Yangmingshan the express-ways are overhead, working also could hold landscape, although together to satisfy the needs of crossing the ownership means to overlook the the city rapidly. Rail and high-speed rail landscape far from a window instead systems link Taipei with other cities on of staying inside the riverside park. the island. The construction of the Tai- The orientation of taste for landscape pei Rapid Transit System (MRT) eases changes from natural to artifical, and traffic congestion on the ground, and then man-made natural. It suggests that it offers convenient inner city traffic to the value of landscape in citizens’ daily the urban residents. At the beginning, life is confirmed again. the construc-tion has been subject to The infrastructure systems set up by the a lot of criticism, but now local people political power are used for the city’s are proud of its cleanness and efficiency. form and regular operation. The con- On the north side of Keelung River, the struction of railway and road systems topography is more varying because it that started by the end of Qing dy- is close to the foothill of Yangmingshan nasty marks the beginning of Taipei’s district. The city fabric there follows the modernization. The following Japanese order of mountains and rivers, present- rulers and Chinese Nationalist Party ing an intertextural configuration with governor did a lot to accomplish the natural land-form. There, the Hi-tech infrastructure systems, in order to meet Promotion Center in Neihu, Guandu the transportation needs for passengers Nature Park and Beitou district organ- and goods. ize its surrounding area separately with On the south of Keelung River, the flat their own development planning. topography made the city a white paper The infrastructure systems reorganize and easy to construct. The infrastruc- the structure of the city with its own ture systems were established rapidly operating rule, at the same time they and well without considering too much separate the original living space. For the natural landform. The city road net- example, the over-bridge of express- work with Baroque style was planned in ways and MRT made the open space of the Japanese colonial period, and is re- the inner city more fragmented, mean- sponsible for inner city traffic. Some of while the grey spaces under the over- the roads just covered the Liugongjun4 head undermine the quality of city life [瑠公圳], which used to work as the ir- because of its darkness and danger, and rigation system in the agricultural so- then they are asked to redesign and re- ciety. Freeways lay along the rivers and construction. The flower and jade mar- URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 211 kets under Jianguo Road are good ex- opment, in order to offer a better city amples that use the daily life to improve environment, and then improve its the space quality under the overheads. competition ability in the world mar- But mostly, the big shadow of the over- ket. Every customer space in the city head and the resting taxi drivers just is full of people. However, citizens are make the walkers go faster. relatively alienated from landscape. Henri Lefèvbre worried about modern cities formed by great political power THE MEDIATING LEVEL — LIFESTYLE lacking the connection with everyday CONSISTS OF LAND, WATER, MOUN- life and then losing their local cultural TAINS AND HUMANS context, while the persons living in As the mediating level, city and land- these cities are under invisible control, scape are expected to connect the tending to be devoid of freedom. The everyday life and global power, and to urbanization of Taipei is a process of reduce the social contradictions emerg- abandon and of losing its own charac- ing in cities because of modernization ter. But the broad building mode with and industrialization. For Taipei, the the mixed use of residence and com- mediating level supported by a special merce makes sure that human activities landform and landscape has another can appear anytime at every corner of two roles. One is searching future ori- the city. This phenomenon makes the entation for the region, the other is re- city residents believe in their own lib- leasing the impact from natural power erty and the vitality of the city. In the to urban everyday life. The fabric of Eastern Districts and the Xinyi Plan- streets, green space and water makes ning District, groups of youths who up the mediating level inside the city, are preparing to enter anightclub even the surrounding mountains constitute emerge at midnight. The night mar- it outside. kets located separately in the city are With its warm and humid climate, the always bustling and crowded. Whereas streets of Taipei are almost all lined with the office area in the Hi-tech Promo- shady trees. Except the sunny sum- tion Center in Neihu on the north of mer days and rainy typhoon days, it is Keelung River seems to be a dead city good to walk on the streets. The variety with so many empty streets and roads at shops along the streets increase the fun night and at weekends. of walking. The arcade is a complemen- Up to now, Taipei is still in the process tary space of open street, especially on of top-down construction and redevel- bad weather days. But the fast speed of URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 212

city life makes the residents prefer taking air-condition offer cold wind and beau- the motorcyce, car and MRT to walk- tiful things. As a type of landscape in ing. The tourists love the experience of urban environment, the boulevard road walking in the streets of Taipei, and the system acts more in visual experience. writer could offer a list of “snacks, al- So if the boulevard road system wants leys and old books” in Taipei for sight- to work better in the mediating level, seeing（舒国治，2010）. In contrast, more connection with everyday life is local residents who are always busy on needed. working days only want to escape this The urban parks, green areas attached crowded city and drive to Yilan or other to huge public buildings and parkways surrounding suburbs on weekends. work together as a kind of fabric over- There are two boulevards going across lapping everyday life in the crowded the city. Renai Road in the horizontal city, and they offer the residents who direction goes across the main prosper- find it inconvenient to enter the moun- ous region of the city and connects the tain area a comfortable space to enjoy Presidential Office Building in the west leisure. These years, the government of the basin and Taipei City Hall in the pays great attention to construct bicy- east part; while in the vertical direction, cle paths along the riverside and streets. Dunhua North and South Road work as The bicycle paths cover the two boule- the central axes of the city, separating vards mentioned above, Daan park, the past busy district of Ximenting and Xinyi Planning District and National the current developing area of the Xinyi Taiwan University. These regions are Planning District. The two axes are not urban open space with a higher rate of visually strong on maps, but for lo- green and good traffic conditions, easy cal residents they are traditional green for the citizens to use. Interestingly, al- axes. The boulevards are cool and com- though there are a lot of good natural fortable in summer time, but the utili- landscape resources around the city, zation of the tree-lined walking paths the highest number of visitors appears inside is limited by the nearby motor in two political spaces: Chiang Kai- vehicles. There are not as many people shek Memorial Hall and National Dr. in Taipei as in Europe who jog in the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. The good city during the day time. Compared to usage condition of these two areas in- walking in the natural shadowed paths, dicates that once forgotten the purpose citizens prefer to use the commercial of showing political power, the urban streets with shops. These shops with open space with good traffic conditions URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 213 and land-scape can be the mediating scape in high density urban areas. It is a level in city. The local citizens love to fly way of using the existing infrastructure a kite, bask, and enjoy the city life here, as landscape element and expanding its even surrounded by high-rise build- ecological function. The case of Kee- ings. lung River is the failure of man-made However, the water system seems not effect on natural sources, and the new so easy to control. The straightened design mind in Liugongjun shows the project of Keelung River offered the change from admiring artificial con- city new land resources, but also caused structions to thinking about how to co- urban waterlog in large areas during exist with environment harmoniously. the typhoon season, and finally, a new The administration district of Taipei in- flood diversion channel was built to cludes the mountains and hills around drain the heavy rainwater. The land- the basin, but the central basin areas are scape of riverside parks along Keelung busier and more recognizable. The sur- River is well designed with many bicy- rounding mountains just wait peace- cle paths, with the hope of attracting fully to connect with human life. The more residents to use the water system. Yangmingshan region on the north of The dams along the river imply the the basin is an extremely good view- riverside parks which are also poten- point to observe Taipei. The texture of tial flood plains during the typhoon the city is drawn clearly by the lighting season. The landscape space here in at night during the whole year. The stu- fact works as a buffer area. It mitigates dents love to drive a motorcycle while the great impact from natural damage the workers may prefer the car to got power to everyday life. Liugongjun was to the mountain area in darkness. It is a man-made irrigation system cover- a common and popular kind of relaxa- ing great areas on the plain. During the tion. In contrast to the bustling noise urbanization of Taipei, the canals were in the city, the mountains are quiet and changed into sanitary sewers and al- stable. In the same site, the blossom most covered by roads or streets, so the viewing in spring offers the city resi- old system became latent. Lately, there dents, who spend most of their time in is a tendency to reestablish the water- the city “concrete jungle”, an opportuni- scape of Liugongjun in certain areas, ty to feel and get in contact with nature. in order to reconnect the human be- Large numbers of citizens would like ings and the water system. This change to gather around the bamboo lake on responds to the public’s desire of land- holidays to enjoy the harvest time once URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 214

every year. Although located in a natu- the connection between everyday life ral landscape park, the calla fields in the and landscape. Maokong district is a bamboo lake are planned and planted good place for leisure with drinking tea artificially. The tours during the calla and eating chicken food. After the set viewing are often coupled with boring up of the gondola lift system, there are waiting in line since there are too many more visitors going to this district for visitors. But the attraction of natural rest and enjoying the natural landscape. blossom viewing will never decrease. Although with a potential security risk Since the 1970s, a lot of sightseeing of debris flow, the basements of several footpaths have been established in the pillars are not totally stable, still a great mountains and hills around the basin, number of Taipei residents came to visit so that the citizens can make good use the Maokong Gondola after it was re- of the natural resources. Mountain stored. In such condition, the landscape trails were used by the local inhabitants experience is overlapped with the use of as the route of trading with citizens in a new transportation system, they stim- old days, but now they offer the op- ulate the local everyday life to behave portunities for citizens to go into na- against the enormous energy of nature. ture. The government encourages the In Taipei, city and landscape connect residents to climb the mountains on the gap between the everyday life level holidays, since citizens can get the op- and the global power level. Meanwhile, portunity to experience the change of they also mitigate the impact of natu- earth surface from flat plain to hilly ral forces on urban life. After the rapid mountains during the tour, and im- urbanization process which copies the prove physical fitness. Simultaneously, model of the Western world, Taipei they go through a kind of lifestyle that needs to think about how to support is close to nature, and the direct experi- and develop the city. The future pros- ence with a butterfly, firefly, waterfall, perity should have a closer relationship or volcano jet hole offers the visitors with landscape. fun and completely different landscape experiences compared to the urban ar- CONCLUSION: A CONSTANTLY tificial environment. CHANGING CITY Maokong Gondola [猫空缆车, Crystal The rapid changes of urban spatial Cabin telpher system in Maokong dis- structures and life in Taipei can be seen trict] is an example that infrastructure as a local living strategy in a land where in the the global power level promotes frequent natural disasters happen. URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 215

Here, the emergence of new concepts are the best representation of the mar- and high-tech products in the mall and ketplace atmosphere for local Taiwan delicious food in the restaurants and culture. However, they are evaluated night markets, work together to stimu- as “very European “ because of their late the daily consumption of urban “petit-bourgeois”5[小资] character. It residents, and they rapidly love the new denies the value of local landscape. and loathe the old. This kind of change constitutes the vitality of life in Taipei. Taipei used to accept the western sci- But the emerging new way of lifestyle entific knowledge and design concept made people dizzy, so they are not bent in an earlier age, but now it is facing on feeling the unique peace and special the replacement of the emerging cit- beauty of landscape. Compared with ies in mainland China. The temporary the direct lure and easily obtainable sat- advantages give the city still time to isfaction of creature comforts in the city think about the developing pattern for consumer space, the mediating level the future. It is impossible for the city should expand its territory to be more to copy the experience of advanced important in the citizens’ value system. countries totally again, so the deep de- Although the disadvantages of the velopment and revival of local natural Western modern urban planning meth- resources become a viable option, and ods have been reviewed and reflected, this requires a more close relationship the bad memory of backwardness in between everyday life and the mediat- technology and culture during the past ing level. The surrounding mountains century, and the spell of external pow- are important landscape resources who ers made Taiwan accept the foreign are never neglected. And the boule- values largely without any reservations vards, water ways and urban open space in the past. If it is possible to be in- should play more important roles in the volved in the global value system, then city, although over the past 40 years the copying and imitation of Western they have already been changed a lot. lifestyle is not bad. So Xinyi Planning In this rapid changing city, no matter District and Taipei 101 became the city good or bad, everything disappears images, because in this land, the hap- quickly. And maybe this state of con- piness of being accepted by the global stant change is another face of the “eter- power can overcome the fear of being nal” Taipei. bounded. In the movie “Au Revoir Tai- pei” appear a lot of street scenes, they URBAN LANDSCAPE STUDIES ISSUE 1.0 EUPHORIGENIC LANDSCAPES PAGE 216

ENDNOTES [1].舒国治(2010)，水城台北，皇冠文化，台北

1 A Taiwan proverb describes the top three harbour cities along the coastline and responses to the reclamation history of Taiwan from south to north. Third Monga here means Taipei. 2 The total land area of Taiwan is about 36,000 square kilometers. There are more than 100 mountains over 3000 meters, while the island is surrounded by sea, so it takes less than one hour to experience the landscape changes from mountains to sea. 3 It is a department store sited in a skyscraper. The skyscraper was built in 1993 with a height of 244 meters. 4 Liugongjun is the irrigation waterway system constructed in Qing dynasty, and it is the presentation of waterscape in Taipei till the 1970s. Now the old wa- terways are mostly covered or filled in for urban roads. 5 Petit-bourgeois is a lifestyle of urban white-collar who are chasing modern taste, living standards, and arts.