Yilan Rain Transitions to Hsinchu Wind ｜ Ya-Lin Su
像風一樣自由｜黃聲遠
Free as the Wind ｜ Sheng-Yuan Huang
對談｜享受自由的舞臺｜ Fabrizio Gallanti × 黃聲遠 × 王俊雄 Dialogue ｜ A Stage to Enjoy Freedom ｜ Fabrizio Gallanti × Sheng-Yuan Huang × Chun-Hsiung Wang
感受｜Perceive
關埔國小＋長春公園＋龍山國小＋通學步道＋龍山公園｜ Guanpu Elementary School + Changchun Park + Longshan Elementary School + Pedestrian Route + Longshan Park
隆恩圳親水廊帶＋三民國小周遭景觀與藍綠通廊｜ Lonen Canal Park Corridor + Sanmin Primary School Surrounding Landscape and Blue-Green Corridor
隆恩圳千甲段景觀改造＋兒童探索館＋國際展演中心＋藝文 高地｜ Landscape Improvement: Lonen Canal Qianjia Section + Hsinchu Children's Discovery Center + Hsinchu International Performance Center + Hsinchu Arts and Culture Highland
清華大學捷英文物館＋清華大學王默人周安儀文學館＋清大 校門口城市綠門戶｜ NTHU Heritage Museum + NTHU Literature Museum + Urban Green Gateway of NTHU
建功綠帶｜ Chienkung Park
自由車場｜ Hsinchu Velodrome
香山區公園綠地環境改善｜
Xiangshan District Parks and Green Space System Improvement Project
新竹．田中央工作與生活地圖｜ Hsinchu Map
從那裡到這裡，從勞動到行動｜林靜娟
From There to Here, from Labor to Action ｜ Ching-Chuan Lin
領會｜Appreciate
關埔國小｜ Guanpu Elementary School
龍山國小群英樓與校園生活再造｜ Longshan Elementary School: Qunying Building and Schoolyard Renovation
隆恩圳親水廊帶｜ Lonen Canal Park Corridor
清華大學捷英文物館｜ NTHU Heritage Museum
清華大學王默人周安儀文學館｜ NTHU Literature Museum
清大校門口城市綠門戶｜ Urban Green Gateway of NTHU
田中央建築學校｜ Alessandro Martinelli
The Fieldoffice School of Architecture ｜ Alessandro Martinelli
理解｜Comprehend
關埔國小｜ Guanpu Elementary School
龍山國小群英樓與校園生活再造｜ Longshan Elementary School: Qunying Building and Schoolyard Renovation
隆恩圳親水廊帶｜ Lonen Canal Park Corridor
清華大學捷英文物館｜ NTHU Heritage Museum
清華大學王默人周安儀文學館｜ NTHU Literature Museum
清大校門口城市綠門戶｜ Urban Green Gateway of NTHU
隨著季風越過雪山到風城｜張文睿
From Snow Mountain to Wind City Riding on the Monsoon ｜ WenJui Chang
年表｜Timeline
黃聲遠
Sheng-Yuan Huang
翻譯：劉宛妮
Everyone is tied to the land to varying degrees and for varying, and often tender, reasons. To commit to a place as if it were one’s hometown may trace back to even more distant and wonderous roots.
As a child, I recall my trips to Hsinchu to be a crammed and bumpy ride. We would pass through the wilderness of Linkou Plateau and the thumping and clonking continued even as we entered the old town of Hsinchu. The hustles and bustles of the red-brick shophouses become audible. The wind, that Hsinchu wind, would never cease its howling even on days with radiant sunlight, unlike the winter winds of the north coast that at least take an intermittent break.
* The Hsinchu neighborhood we were teleported to this time (2015) is the hyper-realistic East District. The land of Guanpu has been razed to the ground, and there are construction sites everywhere the eyes can see, mostly of them high-rise towers over fifty stories.
Condos spring up rapidly, their first and second floors immediately turned into cram schools, and there is never room for even a small eatery. As deserted as the crevices between towers is a plot that can barely be called a “park”. Likely a developer-built amenity for the purpose of obtaining bonus sellable floor area, it is marked with a narrow gate and a guard pavilion that makes it look subordinate to the adjacent luxury condo….
The overwhelming sense of “order” dilutes intimacy between people.
Competition is ubiquitous, overlapping with the faces of primary school children.
The newish alleys and communities are not devoid of a diverse range of smiles, including those of
Free as the Wind 像風一樣自由
newcomers to Taiwan. Everyone battle-ready,Nothing to do with being local or not, who came first or where you are from.
*
As a child, Hsinchu often coincided with the start of a trip. The ocher of Hsinchu’s red dirt links Taipei with the rest of Taiwan.
No air-conditioning in the car, no asphalt on the road, dust everywhere. One day in those timid years, I tasted for the first time the chewy meatballs that obtained its chewy texture thanks to a processing step involving mixing with smashed ice; that was back in the days when cold-chain technology was still unavailable. Still trying to finish my hot soup, I was hurried away from the City God Temple by the adults eager to hit the road again. Our car whizzed along the canal and it would be dusk before we arrived in Taichung.
Decades later, I found myself once again (2016) along Long-en Canal. Its murky water is now fenced off by stainless steel railing, dense trees and mosquitos, becoming, intentionally or incidentally, an ideal buffer deterring people from approaching the adjacent luxury condos.
I subconsciously chose a hotel near City God Temple for my overnight stay before the weekly meeting at the city hall. Perhaps I had become numbed after not having been here for so long.
I always felt pressed for time and immersed in the guilt of not having done enough research.
*
It wasn’t until after enrolling in college that I learned how fierce the winter wind is beyond Mt. Dadu, and that best friends are made between youngsters who grew up miles apart but share a vision of non-existent worlds. The joy in tinkering with this and that, and the whipping wind in my ears in a bolting run…these childhood memories gradually came to surface. Together with my future old friends, we explored Taiwan’s Eastern lands where everything is lucid, and once again felt the profound connection between our own skin and every inch of land on this stunning island.
I would also receive, back then, invitations from my two high school
buddies majoring in nuclear engineering at Tsing Hua University to watch their iconic Meichu Games and stay at Shizhai Dormitory. In meticulous engineer-like writing scribed next to that lake atop a hill in Hsinchu’s elegant suburbs, they emanated an air of readiness to change the world with extraordinary ease.
The bus station in front of Tsing Hua University was my portal for time travel when I was twenty. Guangfu Road was but a delicate street, and a hop onto the bus whipped us onto the brand-new highway, through the world of reasons, back to our own sphere of unrestrained freedom
* It never occurred to me that thirty-some years later I would commit to rebuilding this urban gateway that holds far-reaching significance. Incredulously, the lofty walls next to Guangfu Road remain intact, but the once-small woodland has flourished into a black forest sheltering a sea of scooters under the tin canopies. The neighboring district of Guandongqiao was said to house the most demanding military brigade; today it has been replaced by semiconductor juggernaut TSMC with equally excruciating demands on its workers.
Guanpu Primary School, Changchun Park, Longshan Primary School, Guangfu Road Gateway, all these projects of ours and even the Doggy House and our Anhe Street dormitory, incredibly, all fall within the vicinity of the old military brigade… My junior colleagues were likely oblivious to my churning emotions as I addressed the Doggy House and Tsing Hua University Gate and mused over the planning of Walking City Phases II and III. The will of the times, after all, has a tendency to embed itself in our bodies; I hope each youthful period of luminous purity has managed to leave its unregretted imprint.
*
While in Yilan, I often point out to my friends with excitement that beyond this river valley lies Taichung and that mountain Hsinchu. But over the past years when I’ve finally crossed over to the Hsinchu side, I realize that many tend to gradually forget the still-vibrant spirits of Mt. Shibajian despite bristling with highs schools and universities, the canals that have always
traversed the city, and the majestic panorama of Touqian River atop the highland.
* Should modesty serve as an apt defense for our deepest treasures, there are still so many, many more modest places in Hsinchu.
Never acquiescing in the non-stop and omnipresent background noises across the city, we continue to take ever-bolder initiatives even after four, five, six years… No matter how exhausting, we refused to constrain ourselves to only resolving the core area and squeezed out time to reclaim the beauty I knew from my childhood and share it with the world.
I remember that when I was little, despite facing a countdown I still had the courage to at least call out the beauty first and to sing a song for places I cared about, believing that every effort is bound to be reflected in another time and space.
* Ten years have passed; fervent resistance has evolved into calm and peaceful acceptance. The realities remain poised to bring about magic. Please accept my sincere apologies if I have been too hasty or too overreaching in the process…
My appreciation goes to one colleague after another that stayed extensively in Hsinchu as well as those who offered logistic support in Yilan, to God, and to my childhood self. Above all, my appreciation goes to the vacantness, the choices made, and…
The freedom for which we have all fought alongside our friends from Hsinchu.
Longshan Elementary School: Qunying Building and Schoolyard Renovation
龍山國小群英樓與校園生活再造
2017-2022
Lonen Canal Park Corridor
NTHU Heritage Museum
清華大學捷英文物館
NTHU Literature Museum
清華大學王默人周安儀文學館
Urban Green Gateway of NTHU
清大校門口城市綠門戶
From Snow Mountain to Wind City Riding on the Monsoon
隨著季風越過雪山到風城
張文睿Wen-Jui
Chang（田中央成員member of Fieldoffice）
翻譯：劉宛妮
Before moving to Hsinchu, I had never thought plants would dry out for reasons other than too much sun or too little water; it turns out they can also become dehydrated from constant wind.
At the start of our Hsinchu projects on my frequent travels between the two cities, I could literally feel the moisture that had built up within myself in rainy Yilan get dried out by Hsinchu’s wind just shortly upon arrival every time. Having lived in both places has also helped me personally validate the Taiwanese proverb, “Hsinchu wind, Yilan rain”. If “water” forms Yilan’s soul, then “wind” is without a doubt Hsinchu’s spirit and the reminders are everpresent.
I have been exposed to various feelings and emotions about my stay in Hsinchu, thanks to having lived in Yilan for several years. The difference in population density has certainly resulted in divergent developmental trajectories between the two cities, but there is much more than that. During my early days in Hsinchu before a better way to get around the city arrived, my mode of travel was a bicycle. Riding from west to east, the demand on my legs was immediately palpable. My most frequent commute was along the 4-kilometerlong gentle slope of Guangfu Road, an elevational differential of fifty meters from Hsinchu Train Station to our dormitory in East District. Steeper hills that gradually ascend lie to the south of the road, and a flat alluvial fan to the north. Later, when a 25-yearold scooter became my ride, I always worried this antique scooter would not make it on one of these up-and-down grinds and would finally succumb to the topography, leaving me stranded! That said, I also gained the experience of riding a bicycle from east to west, following the Toucian River all the way to Nanliao Fishing Port and then southward
to Xiangshan Train Station. The twenty-five-kilometer journey took me from river to ocean and then from harbor to wetland. Despite moving against a headwind the entire way, one gets a firsthand feel of the kaleidoscopic range of ecology and culture that Hsinchu has to offer.
These are experiences and perception not possible had I not settled here. Although my older brother has called Hsinchu home for over a decade, all I could recall from my sparse visits prior to this extended stay are stereotypical impressions such as congested traffic, bustling Science Park, and dismal public spaces despite the high-income level of its residents. Moving from Yilan to Hsinchu, I came to the realization that I am a person who prefers to take initiatives in my own lifestyle, driven by a strong desire to learn about the environment around me and then become an integral part thereof.
I joined the Hsinchu team in 2020. Starting from 2017, our colleagues moved one after another to live there. I could count a total of about twenty in all, with staggered overlaps in their stays ranging from three to fifteen persons at a time and additional members commuting to Hsinchu regularly. Our dormitories also evolved from a two-story single-family house to a three-story one and were later supplemented by another high-rise apartment here and a house there, while some colleagues chose to secure their own suites or apartments. That was indeed an exciting and lively period of time.
Perhaps it was the long distance away from our head office in Yilan, or the absence of expansive fields and grand mountains to which we had always enjoyed access, during our years in Hsinchu each project team became more and more tightknit and the members immersed themselves fully in the work. It was as if we were running at full throttle trying to catch up with the fast pace found in western Taiwan. Rather than calling the pace slow in eastern Taiwan, nevertheless, it is more like some of the voids in the east have become compressed in the west, and time appears to pass faster in Hsinchu than it does in Yilan.
Looking back, all the doubts I had before leaving Yilan have been all but cleared away by the winds of Hsinchu. The attitude with which I face life and everything else in Yilan remains at my core, regardless of where I am.
Address：No. 331, Dadun 7th St., Nantun Dist., Taichung City, Taiwan
Industry：Comprehensive Construction Activities
Zhou Shong Construction was established in 1993. Over the years, the company has upheld a client-centric philosophy, dedicating itself to the enhancement of construction quality while maintaining stringent control over project timelines. This commitment has earned consistent recognition and praise from clients, fostering strong and lasting relationships. In terms of after-sales service, the company strives to meet client demands, ensuring comprehensive support post-project completion. Ultimately, customer satisfaction remains the company’s primary objective.
For cost management, the company exercises meticulous control to ensure optimal operational efficiency and sustainable profitability. A robust management framework and sound financial governance have endowed Zhou Shong Construction with a competitive edge in the industry.
Despite economic downturns that led to the closure of many construction firms, Zhou Shong Construction has not only withstood these challenges but has also continued to thrive and grow stronger.
Address：6F., No. 866, Zhonghua 1st Rd., Gushan Dist., Kaohsiung City , Taiwan Industry：Comprehensive Construction Activities
Formosa Builders, established in 2008, is run by the Formosa Builders Hongshun｜Xinxiong construction team, which has been based in Taiwan for 32 years; its main members are civil engineering, architecture, construction management, interior design, business management and land development from well-known universities at home and abroad. It is composed of development and other elites and is one of the very few construction teams in the domestic construction industry that has professional integration capabilities. From land purchase, planning and development, careful design, responsible construction, planning and sales to completion and handover, Hongshun Development uses the core skills of construction expertise to manage key partners, key activities, key resources, value propositions, target customers, and cost structures. , and other rigorous planning, execution and control.
