Traversing Time:The Tanshui Railway Line

Diago Chiu　/　photos Diago Chiu　/　tr. by Chris Nelson

July 2007

中文

Amid a crowd of office workers, a shirtless old man hunches over, looking out the window.

I remember it well. It was July 16, 1988, a vibrant, rau- caus summer night. It was the farewell journey of the Tanshui Railway Line. The train reluctantly set off from Tanshui Station amid the clamor of teeming passengers and well-wishers, heading toward the other stations on the line, filling the crowd with nostalgia and fond memories as it made its last trip.

The lumbering locomotive trundled forward, stopping at each station. The rumbling of the carriages cut through the still of the night until it reached its final destination, the Taipei Railway Station, at 12:48 at night. It was also the end of the Tanshui Railway Line: having successfully served its purpose, it became a route that will forever remain a cherished memory.

How time flies! After the Tanshui Railway Line was decommissioned and dismantled, the ground was broken for the construction of the Tanshui Line of the MRT system, and now the trains of the Tanshui MRT Line zip along the same route, unaware that almost 20 years have passed since that day. This 23.6-kilometer rail line, built in 1900 during the Japanese occupation, was one of Taiwan's oldest and most historically significant railroads, not only serving as an important transportation link between Taipei and Tanshui, but also contributing to the growth and prosperity of Tanshui Township and other communities on the route.

Passengers can enjoy a variety of changing scenery en route. In the early days, before traveling for enjoyment became the vogue, it would have been a rare treat for someone from Taipei to go to Tanshui on the slow train, with the breeze blowing through the cars but no air conditioning, to watch the sunset, take a ride on a ferry and enjoy a bowl of abura-age.

I grew up beside the railroad, and have a deep sentiment about the railway culture. So when the Tanshui Railway Line was in its waning days, I spent about two years photographing passengers, the appearance of the old platforms at the Taipei Railway Station, and slices of life around the stations along the line. Sometimes I would walk along the rails from Kuantu Station to Peitou Station. Students on their way to school, commuting office workers, and street vendors who depended on the railway line for their livelihood were all captured and recorded by my lens.

I had thought of preparing a photo exhibit for 2008 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Tanshui Railway Line's closing, but a serious illness I suffered last year gave me enough free time to organize my thoughts as well as my old photos. But I could also feel the fleeting passage of time, and realized I had to seize the moment to do all the things I wanted to do, and just do them. I hope that this exhibit will provide readers who are fond of the Tanshui Railway Line with nostalgic images of a shared memory.

Exhibition times and places:

* Jazz Photo Gallery, June 30-July 20, 2007

Address: 2F, No. 433, Pate Road Sec. 2, Taipei

Tel: (02) 2741-2256 ext. 603

* Metro Gallery of Art at the Chungshan MRT Station, October 1-30, 2007

Epilogue:

It is in times of illness that a person truly appreciates the meaning of good health. Since I was diagnosed with liver cancer in July of last year, I have undergone two operations to remove the tumor. I am indebted to Drs. Hsu Chin-chuan, Lee Po-huang, Lee Yuan-chi and Hsu Chun of NTU Hospital for their aid and encouragement, but most of all for snatching me from the jaws of death and giving me a second chance at life. I would also like to thank the Jazz Photo Gallery for giving me exhibition space free of charge, and to Chang Pei-in for designing the invitation cards and posters. In tribute, all proceeds from this exhibition, after deducting necessary expenses, will be donated to the Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation.