Danshui

On Thursday I took the train up to Danshui, an old harbor town north of Taipei. It used to be a busy port and fishing community, but it seems to have become more of a tourist destination. Just outside the train station was a busy boardwalk, that reminded me of Santa Monica, or Galveston. Lots of food for sale, and carnival games. It was crowded, even on a weekday afternoon.

This is a panorama of the view from the boardwalk. The town of Bali is on the other side of the river. I'll be going there in a few weeks.


I walked past the boardwalk and found some less crowded shops for a picture.

Past the boardwalk was Fort San Domingo, the remains of a fort built in the 1600s by the Spanish. It has since been occupied by the Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, The fort and nearby villa were home to the British Consulate.


This was one of the best 'tourist' spots I've been to. All of the signs and displays had well-written english translations, and the buildings were air-conditioned. They were clear to point out that the buildings had been restored or rebuilt to show how they were in the past, but they also left a few areas unrestored to show, for example, the different coats of paint on a wall where it had been repainted under different owners.

This is one of the hallways outside the consulate building.


And this is the view out the front door.


I've been learning more and more about the complicated political history of the country. Taiwan became the outpost of a Chinese general who was defeated by the communists, and the country was the last stronghold of old Chinese government. As the cold war heated up, many countries, including the US, supported Taiwan as an opposition to the People's Republic of China. However, China put great political pressure on the world to view Taiwan as a colony instead of a country on its own. In 1971 they lost their seat on the U.N., and the next year England called their Consulate home, as they ceased to recognize the Taiwan government.

Just up the street from the fort stands another historical site, Oxford college, the first western university in Taiwan. It was founded by a missionary, Dr George Mackay, who traveled from Canada to start a mission in the 1800s. When he reported to his superiors that he had been teaching classes underneath a tree, they sent back enough money to build a school. The building still stands, surrounded by the more modern Alethia University.

This is the old cross on top of the Oxford College building.


As I walked back down the bay, I saw more people sitting by the water. There were also old men fishing, though I cant imagine they'd catch anything worth eating. Several stray cats prowled the area, begging the fishermen for scraps.


As the sun began to set, the brown water turned blue, and almost looked inviting. It also made for some dramatic images.


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When I got back to the boardwalk I bought a corndog and an ice cream, and took the opportunity to take some more pictures.







I wanted to stay and watch the sunset, but I was dead tired. I'll have to come back another time.