Strolling along YongAn Street

One of the typical point of interests in Taiwan are "old streets" that attract tourists by their history, architecture, and various street food that are criticised same from north to south. However, there is one old street silently situated in Meinong. Without commercial booths and crowded tourists, the atmosphere of residential area is relatively quiet and worthy to take a relaxed walk to discover the old houses, particularly Hakka three-section compound Fofong (夥房) hidden on this street.

Founded in the Qing dynasty about 250 years ago, the street was named as YougAn (永安) for its meaning of "live in peace forever" by the first pioneers coming and settling down in Meinong. The YougAn street begins from the East Gate Tower (東門樓) and the nearby Bakgung (Land God), Meinong Elementary School and Meinong Cultural and Creative Center in the middle, and ends with Oblation Furnace (敬字亭).

The former Police Station

Meinong Cultural and Creative Center

Located in the busiest commercial area of Meinong, the Cultural and Creative Center is composed of historical and modern buildings in the space. The building of the former Meinong Police Station and the Police Dormitory were established in 1933 when Japanese ruled Taiwan. The station, with Baroque style, is the only one office left from Japanese era. During the nationalist government era, the original architecture was covered by cement building while the dorm kept deserted. Until 2015, the ancient appearance of both buildings were refurbished and reopen to the public. There is another new building, the Meinong branch of library in this park, enriching the spiritual life of locals by not only collecting plenty of books but providing space for classes and exhibitions.

The former Police Dormitory (front) and the library (back)

Oblation Furnace

Similar but not the same with the furnace in the temple for burning the god money, the Oblation Furnace, also called Respect Word Pavilion from its wordings, represents the traditional concept of Hakka to cherish and respect the characters by burning the paper with characters. When I was young, I was taught to appreciate any paper with words. It is not allowed to sit or stand on the paper such like books, or even calendar paper. In the ancient time, the furnace was a platform for people burning paper they collected rather than throwing away casually to show their value of admiring paper. There are four Oblation Furnaces in Meinong and only the one on YongAn street is listed on national heritage.

Transportation

YongAn Street is nearby the Meinong bus station within 10-minute walking.