Station walking (3): Keelung is not only a port city, but also a mountain city

Ten years ago, on the third day of the Lunar New Year, the whole of Taiwan was sunny, and even the rainy city of Keelung was a clear sky. Even so, when I just stepped out of the station, I felt a little bit of wind and rain in my heart, and I was playing "Night Rain in the Port City". Because on this day, my family traveled to the central part of the country, but I took the train to Keelung alone, and was going to take a boat to return to Mazu Dongyin to continue serving, which caused Ruan Xin to feel sad...

Therefore, for me when I was a soldier, Keelung Port was a place that would make me fall into misery and do not want to stay for a while; even if it was a holiday back to the island, as soon as I set foot on Keelung Port, if I hadn’t gone straight to the station and jumped on the train to escape, It is to go straight to the Keelung Temple entrance, use snacks to neutralize the full stomach of the army, and then go straight to the station and jump on the train to escape.

At the Keelung Railway Station this time, the sadness of being forced to leave home to go to the front line in the bitter cold actually made me a little resistant; at the same time, I also wanted to know what Keelung looked like outside the route from Keelung Port to Keelung Miaokou. So, I started planning the itinerary with both anticipation and fear of being hurt.

In most people's impressions, Keelung is the port capital, so either enjoy cruise ships and take pictures at Ocean Plaza, or drive northeast to visit various scenic spots along the coast or eat seafood. However, when I unfolded the map around Keelung Station, I discovered that the back station, which is west of the mountain behind the station, has a field I have never set foot in and is worth a visit.

This time, my wife and I started from Keelung Railway Station, went directly behind it, and crossed Zhongshan Road, which was full of traffic. The unknown mountain city of Keelung.

This mountain town that looks like Jiufen, commonly known as " Jinziliao " community, used to be a village where dock workers and their families lived together. In the era of lack of community planning concept, these houses built on the hillside are naturally scattered. Coupled with the later migration of young people, the community is even more decayed and messy.

A few years ago, the work team of the Department of Art and Design of Yuan Ze University was commissioned by the Keelung City Government to carry out a community renovation project. In addition to the renovation of old houses and the installation of public landscape facilities, the team also communicated with residents inward to learn about the history of the settlement; outwardly attracted tourists through activities such as markets, exhibitions, experience workshops, etc. The forgotten mountain city is reborn.

Shortly after stepping into Lane 113, you will see a step-by-step guide map, introducing the local attractions that can be found in Jinziliao. There are two main routes, left and right, both leading to the "Keelung Landmark".

We chose to go up the stairs to the left. Due to the heavy rain that day and there were many moss on the stone steps, we walked carefully. In the narrow mountain alley, cars cannot enter, and most residents ride motorcycles up and down. Therefore, one side of the road is a slope for motorcycles, and the other side is a staircase for pedestrians. People like us who rely on large American stores for life, as long as we imagine living here, we often have to climb the slopes with big boxes full of items, and we can't rely on cars to get around, and our legs are already soft, but this is the first time I saw this unique residential landscape. , it feels very strange.

Along the way, many community-renovated attractions and installations can be seen along the way. However, if you want to understand the original intention, direction and history of community transformation, you should first visit the " Shan Hai Museum ".

The Shanhai Museum was renovated from an old house with no roof. Plants are used to add greenery on the periphery, injecting vitality into the old house. In the internal exhibition space, one side explains the project content of the innovative reconstruction of the community for tourists, and the other side is painted on the wall with common moss, ferns and various plants, which integrates humanities and nature into one room.

After leaving the Shanhai Museum, the rain was getting heavier and heavier. We hurriedly walked up. After passing by Taiping Elementary School, we walked into the " Peaceful Blue Bird " bookstore next to us to take shelter from the rain. Taiping Jade Bird used part of the abandoned Taiping Elementary School building to revitalize the abandoned space and transformed it into a literary youth bookstore and coffee shop.

The bookstore adopts a penetrating design, hollowing out part of the ceiling to absorb the sunlight that is rarely seen in rain as much as possible, making the light in the store more natural and soft. My wife and I were sitting on the small table by the window, sipping hot coffee, leaning against the back of the chair to read in the most comfortable position, reading a paragraph, looking up at the window, admiring the water vapor and mist and the empty space The Port of Keelung, Montenegro - this scene is refreshing.

After drinking coffee, we saw that it was past noon, but the trip to Jinziliao was not over yet, so we had to hold up our umbrellas and go up again. After walking a few steps, the "Landmark of Keelung" arrived. I used to look up at the foot of the mountain, and I didn't think that these letters were so great.

Standing next to the landmarks and overlooking the Keelung Port, the entire port has a panoramic view. Unfortunately, the weather is poor, the sight line is not good, and the view is not far, but there is a kind of hazy beauty.

After enjoying the scenery, we continued to go straight up to Jinziliao Mountain. When we reached the top of the mountain, not only did the rain continue to pour in, but the wind became stronger and stronger, which blew my wife's umbrella over. Despite the better view here, we had no time to take pictures of the landscape, just battling the strong winds. In the end, I took a few pictures at the "Noon Cannon Site" left over from the Japanese occupation, and then hurried down the mountain, too late to take a closer look.

We took another route down the mountain, and passed several interesting landscape facilities on the way. Although our shoes and trousers were already soaked, we could not help but stop to appreciate it before we left reluctantly.

Due to the scattered buildings in the Jinziliao community, there are many winding and interesting mountain alleys. We only have a short half-day trip, and the rain has delayed the pace.

To be honest, my impression of Keelung in the past was gloomy, dirty, and chaotic. These negative impressions were made worse by the despair during the service. However, during this trip, I saw another little-known face of the Hong Kong capital, the extremely beautiful facilities and installations, the beauty of overlooking the Keelung Harbor, and deeply felt the youthful vitality in the old community. ——When I returned to the origin of Keelung Station and looked at the port where I boarded the Taima ferry ten years ago, even with the wind and rain, my mood was full and warm.