Utopia on Tatu Mountain

The process of visiting this utopia is a bit like the experiences undergone by the traveller from Wu Ling in T'ao Yuan-ming's poem.

Having passed through Taichung's forest of new skyscrapers, once you have turned right into Inter national Road, the scene melts into one that is open and beautiful. Overhead the clear blue sky, like that in an impressionist painting, is a welcome sight. Turning up to Tatu Mountain, you enter a village of neatly planned houses and clean streets, where the residents have a happy and contented look about them.

Letting In the Light: Gay village decorations and craft shops enhance the arty street scenery and strings of lights exude the atmosphere of the festive season.

In recent years, this piece of land of 40 hectares, so as to support more than two thousand families, has already become a high-class residential area. This is not just because it is far from the city of Taichung, but with good communications you can be on the express way in ten minutes and in the city center in twenty--while the surroundings are green and wild and Tunghai University, with its heavy academic atmosphere, is nearby.

What is more important is that "the village has been carefully planned, the houses are secure and peaceful, and the architecture is designed for human requirements. Every window faces the sun," Kung Jui-chi, both resident and student of architecture, enumerating a string of good points in one breath.

"Neighborly intercourse is close, and there is a strong humanitarian atmosphere. Whenever there is an activity, hundreds of different dishes of food are provided by the residents," says the writer Ku Ling, a "citizen" who likes to advertise his kingdom. For him, this traditional Chinese neighborliness is the best thing about the village. However, this "utopia" is certainly not of heaven's making.

The Challenge of Community Regeneration: What turned this area around and brought it back from the dead was a group of architectural workers led by Pai Hsi-ming, chairman of the board of Tai Ting Construction. Five years ago this group, which was formed by seven students from Tunghai University's Architecture Department, moved in and set out on the challege to "regenerate" the community and "mould a village lifestyle that would enhance the traditional Chinese spirit of neighborliness."

"Originally, in 1979, another construction company built 1,000 houses along the slope of Tatu Mountain, giving them the names "International Village," and "Far Eastern Village", says Pai Hsi-ming. From the start, since the prices were low and the company was good at selling, it sold every house. But it turned out that the buildings were not well made and there weren't enough public facilities. Home owners became unwilling to live there and the place fell into disrepair. "The proportion of empty properties was as high as seven-tenths; unsavory characters and runaway teenagers congregated there to live; and it became a backwash of public disorder."

After they discovered this village next to their alma mater, as well as making sure that it was of sufficient size and had good communications with Tunghai, for Pai Hsi-ming. "The challenge was enough. . . . It was like a chessboard covered with your opponent's black pieces."

Surround and Infiltrate: Faced with this situation, his strategy for "turning defeat into victory" was to surround the black pieces with white: On the outskirts they built a new village, and the white pieces infiltrated by a kind of osmosis which turned the tide.

First of all they took care of the most used roads by asphalting, cutting down trees and putting up lights. They also bought or rented eighteen shop fronts, which they converted into workshops and stores. They invited young artisans to come and manage, creating an arty character which attracted a tide of people.

To get the residents to come back and live there, Tai Ting Construction, free of charge, helped repair the doors of dilapidated and long-vacated apartments, and supplied paint so that the interiors could be whitewashed. "Nobody could believe this group of fools," says one of the workers. "We only had to try to get the old residents to sign agreements saying that we would change their doors and they became suspicious. I do not know how many times we were told off."

This repair work took one year. Continuing to put down white pieces on the outskirts they built their first batch of houses, some modern and some traditional--what they called the "bronze age" and the "galactic era"--in the hopes of reaching the first summit in their "utopia."

Moving Middle-Class Hearts: The village's architectural style of open spaces for the residents' activities also made it attractive for families with children, which led to sales. Chiang Chi-sui moved in early in the "bronze age" and her street has a park of nearly a thousand p'ings with fountains which can satisfy the recreational needs of her children. Moreover, using this open type of design means that there is a lot of light inside the houses and there are no great barriers between neighbors.

Another thing about the consciousness of a close society is that it allows typically Chinese traditions such as temple gatherings, village festivals and all kinds of evening meetings, "so that the residents can circulate, have street performances, flea markets and other such activities. When they go out and see their neighbors they greet each other."

In fact, this great ideal moved a number of people who all wanted to escape the distance and cold atmosphere of the city and find people with the same idea of neighborliness. These included Kung Juichi and the Ku Ling's, who all came here for this reason. Professors from Tunghai University, teachers, doctors, businessmen and engineers, make up most of the remaining residents in this area.

"Generally speaking, these middle-class people who have all had the same kind of education do not only accept new ideas but are also willing to become masters in promoting new ideas," Pai Hsi-ming points out. This shows how successful the use of the white chess pieces has been.

Within three years, all kinds of social organizations have sprung up to organize activities, such as the village management committee, flower arrang ing, aerobics classes and a "non-toxic classroom" to promote environmentalism. Ku Ling has contributed a collection of 3,000 volumes to establish a village library. The constructors have also warmed to this and are working with the committee.

Economy of Scale: Now they are promoting five large-scale communities and a shopping center, but cannot satisfy demand. Many people from outside Taichung have caught on and are investing and buying estate.

"I want the construction company to do not only building and selling but also to manage the villages," says Pai Hsi-ming. He wants their position to be, "develop the villages and manage a village style of life that can satisfy the needs of modern people." This is because "construction can reach saturation point, but management can go on creating for ever."

An example of the village's security: Because it is in a remote place beyond the reach of the police, Tai Ting uses forty guards for a round-the-clock watch and patrol as well as an electronic observation system. It is an organization on the scale of a small security company, for which the money comes from the residents, who provide more than enough. What is left is used to employ caretakers to look after the buildings and collect the rubbish.

That the community attracted the open university last year was also the fruit of this economic management approach. A series of management-school classes has been much welcomed. A mother's university, senior citizen classes, and all kinds of clubs have come in to do business.

Future plans still include "attracting more arts workers to come here and work together, or extending invitations to famous scholars to become reside and give private lectures." Pai Hsi-ming's eventual objective is to manage Tatu Mountain so that it becomes central Taiwan's corridor for culture and the arts.

New Tasks for Urban Development: So what has been achieved? Only time can prove the plans. The immediate problem is that the amount spent on community regeneration has been high, already having risen from 3 percent of costs to 5 percent. Added to his is the fact that the revival of the village has raised the value of nearby land. With these high costs, for how long will the shareholders be able to accept profits that only amount to one-third of what is normal for construction companies?

Although Pai Hsi-ming is apprehensive, that approach has been fortunately secure and without incident so far. "Taichung, construction businessmen are mostly new entrepreneurs of Taiwan's industrial and commercial development. Their ideas are relatively enlightened and they are easier to communicate with and persuade."

What interests them is that although the village has not yet taken on its final shape, it has already attracted the interests of urban planning scholars. Scholars from Japan have also come to have a look and have made it a research topic.

In fact, this kind of community regeneration and planning experience is receiving ever-greater attention in Taiwan, with its fast-expanding cities. Although many of Taiwan's provincial capitals are adopting large-scale plans to create a number of new villages, they cannot flatten the existing villages and start anew. Taiwan's land resources are limited and development will soon have reached its limits. There will eventually come a day when the problem of regeneration has to be faced.

It can only be hoped that, with these great expectations, there will not be a lack of interest in this modern "peach blossom spring"!

[Picture Caption]

Open squares are an important characteristic of the architecture of "Utopia."

Without shutters, the windows of the "Utopia" welcome in the sunlight.

The writer Ku Ling (center) and his wife have found a nest until old age.

The environmental movement here is lively.

Without shutters, the windows of the "Utopia" welcome in the sunlight.

The writer Ku Ling （center） and his wife have found a nest until old age.

The environmental movement here is lively.