50 Years in Pictures:

Chunghwa Market, a warren of shops stretching out for 1,700 meters, was housed in eight three-story buildings named after the eight cardinal Confucian virtues. After dark, flashing neon signs lit up. It fairly well ruled shopping in Taipei for a good many years. (photo by Tang Ken-li)

Jiancheng Circle was a prosperous shopping district for quite a long time. Street stalls began gathering there in the early 20th century, attracting shoppers. Foot traffic dropped off during World War II, but after the war Jiancheng Circle started morphing from a huge night market into something more like a shopping mall.

The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is shown here under construction in 1979. (photo by Li Pei-hui)

The Taipei Zoo was moved from Yuanshan to Muzha in 1986. The convoy of vehicles used to transport the animals is shown here passing through Jingmei. Excited spectators line the streets to see them go by. (photo by Tang Ken-li)

Precision equipment and technologies are indispensable for the production of very large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuits.—“The Foundation for Taiwan’s IC Manufacturing Industry” (June 1987)(photo by Chiu Sheng-wang)

This engineer is holding a silicon wafer. Behind him is a circuit design map, a magnified representation of what is on a chip.—“The Foundation for Taiwan’s IC Manufacturing Industry” (June 1987)(photo by Chiu Sheng-wang)

In 1987 Morris Chang, then director of the Industrial Technology Research Institute, also oversaw preparations for the founding of TSMC. —“The Foundation for Taiwan’s IC Manufacturing Industry” (June 1987)(photo by Chiu Sheng-wang)

TSMC’s first CEO, James Dykes (right), felt that Taiwan’s engineers were talented and disciplined, and with time would surely achieve a lot. Standing behind him are then TSMC vice chairmen Tseng Fang-churng (left) and Hung Tie-cheng. —“The Foundation for Taiwan’s IC Manufacturing Industry” (June 1987)(photo by Chiu Sheng-wang)

In a production of Xue Pinggui Returns to the Cave, staged at the Taipei Cultural Center, Liao Chiung-chih plays the part of Wang Baochuan.—“The Weepiest Woman in Taiwan” (April 1989)(photo by Vincent Chang) 

Taipei City Women’s Police Branch.—“Police: New Role for Women” (April 1979)(photo by Chang Qing)

Children pose cheerfully for a photo at Christian Mountain Children’s Home, an orphanage in the Liugui District of Kaohsiung founded by Reverend Yang Hsu and his wife, Lin Fung-yin.—“Liukuei Orphanage—Echoes of Love in the Mountain” (March 1979) (photo by Chang Qing)