As you travel east from Danshui along the number 2 highway that runs along the north coast of Taiwan, you come to the small town of Sanzhi Just before arriving in Sanzhi, there’s an interesting site hugging the shoreline – an abandoned hotel/apartment complex that looks like somewhere ET might call home. I first heard about this a couple of years ago, but it was only recently that I was able to get out there. The first attempt to go there with a friend was about a year ago. At the time, all we knew was that it was on the north coast somewhere but we weren’t quite sure where and we ended up turning right where we should have turned left, so we missed it. About 6 months later, I came across it on Google Earth which allowed me to learn exactly where it was. Even knowing where it was, it took another 6 months of waiting for the right combination of weather and light before I made it out there.
Accounts vary on the origins of this complex, and indeed, as to whether it was meant to be a hotel development or a housing development. Apparently, it was constructed in the 1960s and included/was to include a dam to protect it against sea surges, floors and stairs made of marble and a small amusement park. The site was commissioned by the government and local firms and there is no named architect. Local papers at the time reported that there were numerous accidents during construction which caused the death of some workers. As news of these accidents spread, no one wanted to go there, even to visit, and the project was subsequently abandoned. The ghosts of those who died in vain are said to still linger there, unremembered and unable to pass on. The complex was left in its unfinished state because no amount of redevelopment will bring people to the area due to superstitions about ghosts, and it can’t be demolished because destroying the homes of spirits and lost souls is taboo in Asian culture.
When I was there, I met 4 young university students who were passing by and stopped for a look. They didn’t want to get to close to the buildings for fear that the ghosts would take them. They told me there was “heavy evil” in the buildings.
Anyway, here’s the pictures. As always, clicking on a picture will bring up a larger version.
Send Me An Email
GoogleWave at Me
Meet On Facebook
Follow On Twitter
Connect On Flickr
Subscribe To Feed
Craig Ferguson Images | Cultural Photography. One of the key aspects of life that we humans identify with is culture. We label people, places and events according to our ideas of what they are, ranging from the broader scale defined by tradition and place down to the small scale subcultures and tribes. Craig Ferguson Images is consistantly creating new visions in the field of cultural photography. From traditional festives and customs to modern, urban subcultures, Craig Ferguson Images is in touch with the changing world. From our base in Taipei, Taiwan we are perfectly positioned at the crossroads of the ancient and the modern.
Design by Graph Paper Press
Subscribe to entries
Subscribe to comments
All content © 2010 by Cultural photography from Asia | Craig Ferguson Images
Hello Craig, I like very much your photos and especially this series with the way you enhanced the poetry of this famous place on the North coast ! Great !
Did you get the information from a newspapers ? The version I’ve heard from a local journalist is quite different and less romantic: This projects was built with the huge amount of money made on Taipei stockexchange during the 80′s but after a crack on the market, the promotor ran away and no money was left for the project. Nobody was willing to reinvest since it was too nearby the sea… then the ghost stories and the climate made their own contribution to the site. Anyway, it’s a fascinating place !
Thanks for the comment. I found out about it from various sources – some of which said they’d personally seen it abandoned in the 60s and 70s.
Hi, ive read about this place a few times, but i hadn’t previously seen anything that shows how big the place is. It looks absolutely amazing, i take it the shots were HDR’d to get the colours in the sky. Some great shots there.
Thanks Chris. These are not HDR, they are all single shots, carefully processed with masking techniques in Photoshop.
I just got back from Taiwan on 21 September and made a point of visiting this place. There was a fenced gate but it is wide open. We found maybe 8 -12 young Taiwanese teens there outside one of the pods and a few more that were inside the top floor flashing pictures at us when we visited. The story I got is from a Taiwanese friend and differers yet again . He said the owner went ahead with the development prior to city halls official approval and because approval was rejected he could not run as a hotel and get a business licence. He stubbornly closed the doors to the project instead of fighting for approval. The relationship with ghosts and spirits is due to vagrants having used it as a place for living and in some cases as a place to commit rape and or murder of young victims. The building on the right was to be shops and office and the pods an upscale hotel resort. Any more versions?
Hi, I’m a fan of this kind of abandonned places but this place is really amazing. I have just opened a blog and I wanted to know if I can publish (quoting your name and put a link to this site of course) on my blog. Sorry for the mistakes I’m french. Thanks Laurent
Laurent, sure, feel free to post it on your blog.
Thank you !
Craig. This is unreal. and the photography is just AMAZING!! Can I ask what camera you used for these shots?
Sarah, I used a Canon 20D and 17-40mm f4L lens.
[...] May I blogged about the abandoned pod development in San-zhr (三èŠ) on the north coast of Taiwan. It has proved to be one of the more popular posts on this [...]
This place is amazing! can’t find it on Google Earth tho. Could you give me some Longitude/Latitude numbers? Great photos…love the colors. thanks for sharing!!
I missed this post, so I’m really glad you included the link to it in your recent post about the pod village. What an interesting story!
The coordinates are
25 deg 15 min 39.03 sec N 121 deg 28 min 39.25 sec E
Sorry, I don’t know how to write the symbols correctly so that they can be entered directly into Google Earth
[...] May I blogged about the abandoned pod development in San-zhr (三èŠ) on the north coast of Taiwan. It has proved to be one of the more popular posts on this [...]
This is breathtaking. I admire your style.
[...] been cursed since its inception, killing and injuring some of its construction crew. Photography by Craig Ferguson. More [...]
hi…
love this palce… is it easy to visit??
Thanks.
Petra, it’s pretty simple to visit. Just drive along the 2 highway from Danshui, or take any bus from Danshui heading to San-zhr, Jilong etc.
Wow! i am speechless in front of this strange beauty, that strongness of the images… i feel i would like to see more of this location, i feel i would like to see maybe a film in that decor!
you will see a movie! soon! i’m writing the script…
very good photos! congrats!
Poor they destroyed this place
I loved it ..
gone from the world .. it's a shame 
It was really attracting me ..
And now .. it's gone
It is a pity they destroyed it – it was a location with a lot of charcter. Thanks Mimi.
hi im ashley
these photos are absolutly fantastic
Thanks Ashley. Glad you liked them.
GONE!
i still can't believe that they put down one of the strangest places i've ever been to. cypherone just uploaded some pix from the areal: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cypherone/3365539000...
and here is one i shot last year: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinglukai/2385909546...
Thanks for the links. I wish they had have left them.
As a previous resident of Taiwan, I have never heard of this- so i did some research and maybe i could clarify some issues
this was actually not designed in the 60s. this was actually designed in the last 70s and late 70s and last worked on in 1980. the confusion comes from the fact that Taiwan has a parallel calendar system that counts years from 1911, marking the formation of the Republic of China (hence, Republic Years late 60s= late 1970s in Gegorian calendar.
this collection was originally built as a fancy club designed by an eccentric architect nicknamed “Old Taro” Construction halted in early 1980 because of the fear of the economic storm, as well as the construction company not able to move money around. Construction recommenced in 1989 when the project found new investors including the Hilton chain, and the vision was changed to become a resort hotel. Yet again negotiations broke down over the business model of the resort, and the project was finally abandoned in late 1989 for good.
there are no ghosts nor murders nor rape committed in this place: the closest might be the homeless and vagabonds. it was rumoured that the locale was a Japanese execution camp, but excavation did not substantiate such claims. the worst that happened was some workers got hurt, and that's it.
http://www.twbbs.net.tw/2821214.html is where i got information. i translated.
As a previous resident of Taiwan, I have never heard of this- so i did some research and maybe i could clarify some issues
this was actually not designed in the 60s. this was actually designed in the last 70s and late 70s and last worked on in 1980. the confusion comes from the fact that Taiwan has a parallel calendar system that counts years from 1911, marking the formation of the Republic of China (hence, Republic Years late 60s= late 1970s in Gegorian calendar.
this collection was originally built as a fancy club designed by an eccentric architect nicknamed “Old Taro” Construction halted in early 1980 because of the fear of the economic storm, as well as the construction company not able to move money around. Construction recommenced in 1989 when the project found new investors including the Hilton chain, and the vision was changed to become a resort hotel. Yet again negotiations broke down over the business model of the resort, and the project was finally abandoned in late 1989 for good.
there are no ghosts nor murders nor rape committed in this place: the closest might be the homeless and vagabonds. it was rumoured that the locale was a Japanese execution camp, but excavation did not substantiate such claims. the worst that happened was some workers got hurt, and that's it.
http://www.twbbs.net.tw/2821214.html is where i got information. i translated.
Thanks for that information. There seems to be more and more stories coming out about it. When they were demolished a few months ago, the newspaper had a report on it and one of the architects who worked on it had yet another version of the story. Sometimes it's hard to separate fact from fiction.
Thanks for that information. There seems to be more and more stories coming out about it. When they were demolished a few months ago, the newspaper had a report on it and one of the architects who worked on it had yet another version of the story. Sometimes it's hard to separate fact from fiction.
As a previous resident of Taiwan, I have never heard of this- so i did some research and maybe i could clarify some issues
this was actually not designed in the 60s. this was actually designed in the last 70s and late 70s and last worked on in 1980. the confusion comes from the fact that Taiwan has a parallel calendar system that counts years from 1911, marking the formation of the Republic of China (hence, Republic Years late 60s= late 1970s in Gegorian calendar.
this collection was originally built as a fancy club designed by an eccentric architect nicknamed “Old Taro” Construction halted in early 1980 because of the fear of the economic storm, as well as the construction company not able to move money around. Construction recommenced in 1989 when the project found new investors including the Hilton chain, and the vision was changed to become a resort hotel. Yet again negotiations broke down over the business model of the resort, and the project was finally abandoned in late 1989 for good.
there are no ghosts nor murders nor rape committed in this place: the closest might be the homeless and vagabonds. it was rumoured that the locale was a Japanese execution camp, but excavation did not substantiate such claims. the worst that happened was some workers got hurt, and that's it.
http://www.twbbs.net.tw/2821214.html is where i got information. i translated.
Thanks for that information. There seems to be more and more stories coming out about it. When they were demolished a few months ago, the newspaper had a report on it and one of the architects who worked on it had yet another version of the story. Sometimes it's hard to separate fact from fiction.
When one travels east from Danshui along the number 2 highway that runs along the north coast of Taiwan, you come to the small town of Sanzhi. There is this place which was built in early 1960s, there are lots of superstitions regarding this place.
The ghosts of those who died in vain are said to still linger there, unremembered and unable to pass on. The complex was left in its unfinished state because no amount of redevelopment will bring people to the area due to superstitions about ghosts, and it can’t be demolished because destroying the homes of spirits and lost souls is taboo in Asian culture.
[...] | Taïwan | photos par Craig Fergusson Subscribe to comments Comment | Trackback | Post [...]
i have read that the demolition of san zhi has started on december 2008 . is that real??????
i have read that the demolition of san zhi has started on december 2008 . is that real??????
Unfortunately it's real. They're gone now.
Unfortunately it's real. They're gone now.
i have read that the demolition of san zhi has started on december 2008 . is that real??????
i have read that the demolition of san zhi has started on december 2008 . is that real??????
Unfortunately it's real. They're gone now.
Unfortunately it's real. They're gone now.
Hi,
I was planning on visiting the Pod City sometime in early spring. Is it really gone? Say it ain't so.
Yeah, they're gone.
Photos make me think what the heck is it.. missed to shoot for eternity.
It was a great place Dilip.
It was a great place indeed, but it seems that people can't understand that we have to respect nature in order to survive. They just built some house in the middle of a forest and then abandoned all there… a damaged eco-system for eternity.
______________________________________________________
We do need to respect nature, however this one was located in an already developed area, not the middle of a forest.
very pleasure to visit this site. nice post. thanks for sharing.