About the photographer:

Chen Bao-hsiung, president of the Kaohsiung Third Credit Co-operative, is a middle-aged professional with a youthful enthusiasm for amateur photography. Hooked on photography at the age of 21, he's kept at it for all of the past 36 years. This past August when he held a one-man show entitled. "Hungmao Harbor Sentiment," locals of all ages flocked to the exhibition. Viewing scenes from their own lives framed in black and white, many locals were simply horrified. "A photographer must have a sense of social responsibility and feel a calling to preserve local history," Chen explains. Judging by the visibly moved expressions of the local people, Chen knows that he's made some progress in the right direction.

Some say that Hungmao Harbor is a piece of land which has nearly sunken

to the status of a "child bride." Surrounded by Taipowes Talin coal storage facility and power plant, a China Petroleum refinery, and countless ship salvage yards, the air is constantly filled with specks of coal dust. On top of the deteriorating air quality, a two-decade moratorium on building has contributed to the further cramping of the living environment, to which the town's able-bodied youth have responded by leaving in droves.

Wharfs are playgrounds for the youth of fishing villages. Not even the oil floating on the water's surface or the threatening wakes churned up by passing ships can diminish their adventurous frolicking. Scenes such as this can be seen during any given weekend or vacation period in Hungmao's inner harbor area.

The woman with the bicycle is a roving clothing peddler, who for over a decade has regularly displayed her wares in the village. Selling traditional style clothing at low prices, anywhere between NT$50 and 100, she and her merchandise are popular with the village's older women.

Time stands still in a secluded alleyway, where an elderly fishmonger watches over some of the day's catch to keep the cats from getting at it first.

In places where the inhabitants make their living off the sea, children acquire their elders' reverence for the gods who command control over the elements. On a bright afternoon, little boys pretend to be the eight great generals of popular legend.

Narrow alleyways provide a whole wide world for children to play. Games such as "eagle catches the chicken" provide a backdrop for many a carefree childhood.

Hungmao Harbor was once a prosperous fishing village which attracted quite a few settlers, but the two-decade moratorium on building has stunted modernization, prompting many to leave the village. This building, formerly occupied by the Fishing Association, has deteriorated with disuse.

On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, people who count on the sea for survival must make offerings to the "good brothers" [spirits] in return for an abundant catch and generations of prosperity. Crude sacrificial vessels tell of a harsh survival, while abundant offerings signal humility before the gods. A tiny table of offerings is a sign of the people of Hungmao Harbor's trust in the future.

Faced with an environment ravaged by the ship salvaging industry, the residents of Hungmao Harbor mix frustration with resignation. Many children learn to pick for scattered pieces of scrap metal at their mothers' and sisters' sides. And while what they find is worth little money, it can always come to some use around the home.