From Yuanshan Zoo, to "Yesterday's World"

"As natural as breathing" is how someone once described the relationship between the people of Taipei and their zoo at Yuanshan. With over seventy years of history, the zoo was a place that most of the city had always known. In the past, when people were not so well off and there was little in the way of entertainment to be had, especially during the 1940'sand 50's, the zoo was one of the busiest weekend spots around town. Yangmingshan Park, New Park, and the Botanical Gardens were popular too, but for the young, it was the zoo that was best loved. "I used to do all my dating there," recalls an editor at the United Daily News, now in his fifties. Young people couldn't afford coffee shops in those days, but the zoo was within easy reach and admission was only 2NT, on top of which, "the greenery and the views made it just right for strolling about and chatting."

"We still hold our primary school class reunions at Yuanshan," says Chen Bao-wen, reading for his doctorate at Soochow University. The zoo at Yuanshan began in private hands during the Japanese occupation, was purchased by the local authority, and finally taken over by the city council at the end of the war. Since then, several well-remembered events have been shared by the city and its zoo, and are worthy of re-telling.

One was the children's party hold for the elephant Lin Wang's sixty-sixth birthday, in 1983. There were over a thousand guests, along with sugar cane, carrots, and bananas--Lin Wang's favorite treats--and a special creamless birthday cake. It was a great occasion which none who saw will forget. This gentle giant has been in Taiwan since he arrived with General Sun Lijen's army, first staying in the South, until the death of his female partner there, then moving in at Yuanshan with a new mate, Miss Ma Lan, in 1954.

In March 1967, some two hundred employees at a knitwear mill in nearby Shihlin staked bets (cakes and ices to the winners) on a dispute over goats: which wears the beard, male or female? It may not sound like it matters very much, but the story was carried in the press and led to much enthusiastic debate. The issue was finally settled by Liang Jun-sheng, director of the Zoology Department at Taiwan University, who stated that among true Taiwan mountain goats, neither sex is bearded.

In May that year, a baboon escaped and disrupted traffic on Chungshan North Road for a while, with people getting out of their cars to have a good look. His bid for freedom only lasted about three hours though, and on catching sight of an alsatian dog he hastened back to his cage.

The year 1959 stands out for three events. The first was the debut of the zoo's seals. Seals had never even been seen in Taiwan before a Japanese circus tour three years previously, when they captivated audiences of children with their ball tricks. The zoo itself could not afford to purchase any though. Eventually a pair were presented by two sailors, who had captured the seals illegally at the Cape of Good Hope, knowing how much their children would be thrilled, and wanting everyone to have a chance to see them. Before leaving South Africa, a local policeman they had befriended found out, and demanded that the seals be set free. Instead, they hid the creatures on board, and when it came time to set sail, the same man wished them well, saying: "Take good care of them. They'll have a good life in your country too." Friendship coming before the law, even halfway around the world.

Another excitement that year was the film Ku-erh Liu-lang-chi, starring Hsiao Fang-fang alongside a gifted little monkey that the kids went crazy for. A sharp upsurge in small visitors to the zoo soon followed, wanting to see Chiang Sheng, the new film star, pull his tricycle, walk on stilts and ride a bicycle.

It was the same year that Yuanshan got its first giraffe, and received over a thousand entries suggesting names for her, finally settling on Lu Yuan. A lot of extra Christmas cards were delivered to the zoo that year, addressed to "Miss Giraffe". Today's children, nuts about Ninja turtles, might well be puzzled by the excitement that was generated by the new arrival. Sadly though, Lu Yuan's days were numbered. Some well-meaning visitors tried to lure her across with some food, leading her to slip and fall on wet ground, and resulting in her early death.

In fact, in the early years, visitors' general lack of awareness about animals caused frequent anxieties for the zoo. The swans for example, precious and elegant birds that they are, often suffered catapult or dart attacks, when they would screech with agony. One time, a lad modeling himself on Wu Sung in the well-known story, jumped unnoticed into the tiger enclosure. Before he could get ready to fight, the tiger gripped his foot in its jaws. Luckily the youth was saved, but it makes you wonder: people have some strange ideas.

A regular irritation was always that for many of the animals, their staple diet consisted in part of peanut shells and plastic bags tossed in for them by visitors.

Sometimes the idiocy, careless or otherwise, caused real harm, like the 70-year-old giant turtle smashed and killed by a rock. Ma Lan the elephant was once wounded on the trunk by a catapult shot, and there was also a bear cub who died after a cigarette burn on its snout became inflamed. The worst cases involved people breaking in at night to go "hunting". Unfortunately, before the Protection of Wild Animals Act, the attackers could not be prosecuted, and got off scot free if caught.

In those days, many tended to regard animals purely as a walking dinner. This was shown in frequent incidents. One involved a gourmet club that gathered together in 1966 to dine on swan meat. All agreed it was a fine delicacy that deserves to be tried more often. Small wonder that "hunters" were to be found at the zoo!

However, it was not only visitors who caused the problems. On occasions, the staff themselves left a little to be desired in the way of professionalism. Like that case which caused a big fuss in the 1950's, of beef meant for the lions being taken home by employees.

Such shocks are unknown at the current zoo in Mucha, partly because down through the years at Yuanshan, people came to understand animals a little better. As most of us now know, when orangutans come into heat their backsides swell and redden. But in years gone by, the poor zookeepers had to put up with endless accusations from the public: "How come you don't look after them properly? Look how bad their piles are!" Beside the zebra compound, one might have once heard a snippet of dialogue like:

"Daddy, why are they striped?"

"If they didn't have stripes, then they wouldn't be zebras would they, silly head!"

Sometimes visitors would fling bones to the hippo, assuming from his huge bulk that he eats plenty of meat, or more likely fish, seeing as he spends all day in the water. They did not realize that the hippopotamus is in fact a strict vegetarian.

The strength of maternal feeling in animals was demonstrated vividly in 1958, when a mother baboon lost her baby to illness. She howled and clutched the little body, letting nobody get near, and bit one of the keepers when he tried to take the corpse. Another extraordinary spectacle was seen in 1971, after the monkey rock was completed and ten new monkeys introduced. For three days they battled with the eight original inhabitants, until a new monkey king, injured and exhausted, climbed victorious to the highest point.

When Ah Lan the lioness, who is in the newspapers almost as often as elephant Lin Wang, was unable to provide enough milk for her newborn cubin 1965, and after cow's milk was found to make the cub sick, the call went out for a wet nurse. The suitable substitute mother turned out to be a dog, and the two became totally attached, the cub suckling until full, then nuzzling its "mother" playfully. Theirs was a bond that touched many hearts at the time.

With economic and social progress, the little zoo came to seem inadequate, and concerns were expressed about the effect on the animals of cramped conditions, and noise from the nearby Sungshan Airport. On October 30th 1986 the new zoo at Mucha was officially opened, thirty times larger than the original, and at Yuanshan an era came to a close.

The question was, how could the old site be put to best use? One suggestion was for it to merge with the adjoining play park to form an amusement park. The Council for Cultural Planning and Development, however, particularly wanted a place that would enable children to experience some of the traditional Chinese customs that they might not otherwise come across in today's fast modernizing society. With this in mind, the citycouncil therefore opted to combine the old zoo and the play park in three sections: Yesterday's World, built in the local Fukien style and focusing on traditional handicrafts and customs; Today's World, the play park; and Tomorrow's World, a science display center, which is due for completion in 1993.

"We hope to make Yesterday's World a showcase for traditional skills and the things that they can produce," says Cheng Tung-ying, director of the complex. Since the day it opened, Yesterday's World has featured a traditional marionette ceremony, and a week of continuous performances, with puppetry, drumming, music, and Taiwan opera.

"We are also planning winter and summer camps, teaching children how to do paper-cuts, make decorative prints, paper parasols, and so on," Cheng says. It is hoped that such activities, rarely taught at school nowadays, will help children learn something of the younger life of their parents' and earlier generations, to the benefit of cultural continuity.

Already one can visit a water-curtain cave there, and a Chinese maze, and play the old games like hopscotch, and more. There are also handicraft exhibits, including bamboo-work, weaving, batik, and polished stone. Adults may be unmoved, but the kids are delighted. One kindergarten teacher says: "When the children get home they ask why isn't it the same anymore?" And parents are at least glad for their children to have more contact with tradition, in case tradition should be forgotten.

Yesterday's World has already received over 100,000 visitors. It is too early to know the long term influence of the center, but it has certainly taken the place of the zoo in the Yuanshan Culture and Recreation District, along side the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, the observatory, the Artists' Center, the Grand Hotel, and the Chientan Youth Activities Center.Yuanshan is a small area, but one that gives us some insight into forty-plus years of development across all Taiwan.

[Picture Caption]

Everyone wants a souvenir snap with Lin Wang, the zoo's favorite. Thesechildren should be just as excited when they see this 1959 picture again.(photo courtesy of Chen Shih-an)

Every detail of the Yuanshan Zoo remains in the memories of many.

Yuanshan zoo was one of Taipei's most popular leisure spots in the days long before Karaoke and MTV clubs. Chinese New Year was the busiest time of all. (photo by Chang Wan-cheng)

The Yuanshan zoo is just a memory since the animals moved to Mucha in 1986. (photos by Arthur Cheng)

Yesterday's World is designed to be a showcase for traditional activities, where education is fun. (photo by Vincent Chang)

Everyone wants a souvenir snap with Lin Wang, the zoo's favorite. Thesechildren should be just as excited when they see this 1959 picture again.（photo courtesy of Chen Shih-an）

Yuanshan zoo was one of Taipei's most popular leisure spots in the days long before Karaoke and MTV clubs. Chinese New Year was the busiest time of all. （photo by Chang Wan-cheng）

The Yuanshan zoo is just a memory since the animals moved to Mucha in 1986. （photos by Arthur Cheng）

Yesterday's World is designed to be a showcase for traditional activities, where education is fun. （photo by Vincent Chang）