Abandoned and destroyed futuristic pod-stlye development on the north coast of Taiwan.
One of my favorite photographic subjects is abandoned structures. Old buildings and developments, ghost towns, anything lost and forgotten really. Over the past few years, I’d shot work in abandoned hotels, army bases, ballrooms, schools, breweries, farmhouses, temples, prisons, resorts, amusement parks, factories and more. To me, there’s something about the atmosphere in these places. Why were they abandoned? What ghosts hide there? What stories have been lost to time? What disasters have occurred? These questions don’t always have answers but in documenting and recording the locations I have the ability to preserve some aspect of the site which is especially important as I live in a country that prizes development over historic preservation.
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Urbex or urban exploration is exploring and examining normally unseen and off-limits areas. Entering abandoned structures is perhaps the most common form of urbex, although tunnels, sewers, catacombs are also popular locations.
Focusing only on abandoned buildings and structures, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First and foremost is safety. Abandoned buildings may be structurally unsound. It’s not unknown for roofs, walls and floors to collapse. Broken glass is a near certainty. Asbestos is also a potential hazard, as are snakes, stray dogs, squatters and drug addicts. In some cases, just venturing onto the site means you are trespassing, and security guards or motion detectors and cameras may prevent you from entering. I don’t advocate breaking any laws to get your photos. A number of the places I’ve photographed have had security guards – I’ve talked to them first, let them know I’m a photographer and what I’m planning to do and they’ve allowed me access. Urbex purists may disagree with this approach, however it works for me.
Ensure that you have suitable equipment. A strong pair of work or hiking boots, strong, protective clothing and headgear are all highly recommended, as is a cell phone with a fully charged battery, first aid kit, torch/flashlight and fresh water. Make certain too that your camera equipment is protected. Lens hoods, protective filters and strong bags are essential. Before you enter the site, let someone know where you are and roughly how long you’ll be. Lastly, don’t go in alone. Take a friend or group of friends with you in case something does happen and you need medical assistance.
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Time for another post from the archives. This first appeared in September 2007.
At 1.47am on September 21, 1999, an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale occurred along the Chelungpu faultline in central western Taiwan. With it’s epicenter located at the town of Jiji, the 921 quake claimed the lives of 2415 people, severely wounded 11 441, caused US$9.2 billion in damage, destroyed 44 338 houses and severely damaged a further 41 336, leaving over 400 000 people homeless. Destroyed bridges in Central Taiwan caused weeks of traffic chaos, sections of land near the fault shifted up as much as 7m and there were 8000 recorded aftershocks.
Near the northern end of the fault lies the Dakeng Scenic area, a mountainous region to the northeast of Taichung city. And, until 921, it was location of the Katoli’s World, a popular amusement park. Damaged by the quake, the park was condemned and closed down. Today, the rides are still there, rusting away, and nature is moving in, reclaiming what was once concrete and metal free. With the eighth anniversary of the 921 quake upon us this week, I thought it was time for a photo post from Katoli’s World.
Technically, the park is closed. However, it’s possible to squeeze in through the entrance gates, although you’ll need to be thin and take off your backpack. There’s not a lot of space between the bars and the turnstile no longer works.
Once inside, a rusty map, bent out of shape shows where everything was. The two buildings shown on the bottom right were completely destroyed by the earthquake, and pathway on the far right, center, is no longer accessible due to fallen trees.
Heading along the path, the first ride you come to is the merry-go-round. Grass and weeds grow up to the edge, the floor is covered with mess and parts of the roof have gone.
Next up is the UFO-octopus. I’ve no idea what this ride should be called. Here’s two views – one from on the ride, one from above.
On the opposite side of the path from the merry-go-round and UFO-octopus is the teacup ride. Again, I’ve no idea what this should be called.
The observant amongst you will have noticed on the map that there’s two things at the very bottom. One of these is the fun house, the other another type of ride. The fun house was too dark to enter, and the outside so overgrown that I didn’t get any usable images, and the other ride was lost under the weeds. Again, no pictures. That being the case, we can continue along the path to the first rollercoaster. The entrance is shown below.
According to the Roller Coaster Database, this is called the Loopen. It was made by Senyo Kogyo of Japan and the model name is Atomic Coaster.
It’s possible to climb up to the very top of this, but I didn’t, mainly because I was there alone and didn’t think climbing an earthquake damaged roller coaster without safety equipment was a sensible idea. Instead, I went under the loop.
It’s easy to see how nature is reclaiming the site.
This part of the park seemed to suffer the worst of the destruction. Rides completely destroyed, with bits scattered throughout the bush.
We finally reach a point where it’s not possible to continue. The path has been too badly damaged and the vegetation is too thick to move through. Time to backtrack to the entrance and take a different path to go up the mountain. It’s also very overgrown in parts up here. I’m not sure what the following building is meant to be, but when I looked inside I saw great holes in the floor and other internal damage, even though the outside doesn’t look too bad.
Close by were the bumper cars, looking dirty but fairly undamaged.
The path was quite overgrown by this point, more a hiking trail than a paved path. It continued up towards a toilet block.
A small building in this area was completely out of shape. I’m not sure how it’s still standing.
A dragon boat poked its head out from the trees.
On top of the ridge could be seen the ferris wheel. From a distance, it looked to be in pretty good shape albeit quite rusty.
Up close was a different story.
One final roller coaster was left. This one is a Jet Star, according to the roller coaster database.
I was unable to get much closer to this one due to the presence of two large, unfriendly looking Dobermans. I love dogs, but these two didn’t look like they came from a loving home so I decided to call it a day.
One last shot, from the road outside.
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As always, comments and retweets are most welcome.
]]>Last May I blogged about the abandoned pod development in San-zhr on the north coast of Taiwan. It has proved to be one of the more popular posts on this site, so last week a friend and I headed out there for a photo shoot. The first time I was there, I stayed outside as the pods are decaying and a little unsafe. I was there alone, so I opted for a safety first approach. This time I ventured inside, as I had someone to rescue me if the need arose (it didn’t). All photos were shot on a Canon 40D with 17-40mm f4L and the interior shots also had a 420ex with softbox attached with an off-camera shoe cord, with the speedlight held above my left shoulder.
