by Jolene Tien
When my teacher told us to meet at Treasure Hill for the first time I had no idea where it is. I walked across Tingchou Road then turned right into a narrow driveway, just wide enough for one car. I hesitated. It just didn’t look like the way to a settlement of squatters. I was quite sure I was on my way to a public parking lot. Anyway, I decided to keep going. When I passed through the parking area there was another road. This is the road to Treasure Hill. As I walked along it there was no one else in sight. The sky grew darker and I could hardly tell where the road was going to take me. I felt alone, not even believing that I was still in Taipei City. The road sloped down to the settlement of Treasure Hill, and I couldn’t help running all the way down to the bottom. I felt exited and happy just like a playful kid. I didn’t expect this act could make me feel so relaxed. The Treasure Hill community is basically a fringe hillside settlement of about 100 urban squatters and their families. In the 1940s many immigrants arrived from China in a very short time. The shortage of housing was partially solved by self-help squatter buildings mushrooming in various sections of the city, and Treasure Hill was one of them. Many of them were later designated as urban parks for future land use. However, people who live in Treasure Hill are mostly people from the social underclass, single veterans, students, and Southeast Asian immigrants. They cannot afford to move if the city government decides to tear down the buildings and turn the settlement into an urban park. The aesthetic value of its chaotic surface, though debatable, is a clear reflection of the community’s pattern of daily life. The organic structure of the settlement and its fascinating small alleyways have also drawn many film directors to shoot at Treasure Hill, films such as “Goodbye South, Goodbye!”(南國再見,南國), and a current one, “My Whispering Plan” (殺人計畫). As a cultural landscape the Treasure Hill settlement involves discourses about its relationship with the surrounding natural environment, local history, and community identification. After a series of organized protests, the city government took a few steps to survey the feasibility of a revised plan for the area. Soon the responsibility for Treasure Hill was transferred from the Department of Parks and Recreation to the newly established Bureau of Cultural Affairs, who decided that Treasure Hill could become an art village, giving space for many art groups to hold activities. And all of this just a few minutes from Taida! a
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May 2024
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