How did he first take notice of Chungshe Village on Wangan? He says it was purely by coincidence. Ten years ago, after he and Hsu Chih-ch'iang received their master's degrees in architecture the two of them decided to take a trip. Just at that time they were watching a movie which had been filmed on Wangan. What a great idea, they thought, to visit there.
Lin Hui-ch'eng says that he has been involved in the research of living areas for a long time and is mainly concerned with the structure of the entire village and the process of opening up land as well as the architecture.
Due to previous research, as soon as he saw Wangan he was quick to find those villages which were of particular value. After seeing Chungshe, he did five months of research. The results were published in an architectural magazine. Since then, the place has been looked upon with some degree of importance in the world of architecture.
The most outstanding characteristic of Chungshe is that the grouping of the village is closely and firmly packed--very typically a residential area. The surroundings are rather pure, almost void of outside influences. Therefore, we say that it's archetypical.
There are two temples an Chungshe located at both ends of the beach, one of which is an actual village temple called Wufu. The other is the Yinshen temple. Only the village temple reflects the organization of the people.
Since they were a fishing people, if there were conflicts, they must have taken place on the sea. Deep-sea fishing boats and those close to the shore could not have had any conflicts. Only the sampans close to the shore could have. Moreover, for the longest time the ancestors of this place were fishermen.
However, in Chungshe Village the amount of fish caught was small. We cannot find any distribution of fish. Instead we can see the killing of pigs. The pig would be cut up, then the people would take away the different portions of meat, skin, and bones.
Chungshe Village is the most special characteristic of Penghu. Its geography is beautiful and it maintains its traditional character. One can walk through the village within twenty minutes. One minute you can see the mountains, the next the sea. It's truly a great place to spend some free time.
The county government has selected Erhkan as the site of the cultural village.
At present, Lukang is the only place on Taiwan formally designated as a historical preservation area. Under the direction of Hsia Chu-chiu and Yi Chang-i, I believe that the plans for Chungshe Village will be a success.
[Picture Caption]
Chungshe Village, with a history of 150 years, is gradually receiving recognition in the field of architecture.
Typical of early fishing villages, the buildings in the Chungshe Village are tightly packed together.
Chungshe Village, with a history of 150 years, is gradually receiving recognition in the field of architecture.
（Left） There are many old people on Wangan. Here, some of them earn extra money making fishing hooks as they chat.
Typical of early fishing villages, the buildings in the Chungshe Village are tightly packed together.
（Right） Sometimes the fishing boats are used for transportation.
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