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TAIPEI AIR STATION |
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The Tung Men (East Door) old city gate was the center of Hsinchu city. This view, c.1954, is taken from Tung Men Lu (East Door Road) to the northeast of the gate looking southwest. To the left of the gate by one city block is the Hsinchu railway station. To the right by one block is the Hsinchu City and County government offices. Behind the gate was the traditional old center of Hsinchu city with its narrower streets. All photographs in this section taken by Elliot Aandahl.
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A side street scene in Hsinchu from c.1955. Note the beautiful trees that line the street. In the background, a Hsinchu county bus is stopped to pick up riders. I believe this photograph is of a side street off of Chung Cheng Road to the immediate west of the old city gate and near the Hsinchu city and country government offices. |
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At numerous locations around Hsinchu there were to be found street vendors selling fruit. This vendor, seen in this c.1955 photograph, is selling mostly bananas with a selection of guava and two other unidentified fruits. Taiwan grew many varieties of fruit in its subtropical climate. The street in the background shows the common construction of the era; business shops on the ground floor with a residential dwelling on the upper floor. |
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The Rotary Club of Hsinchu prepares to leave on a field trip in c.1957 to see the new glass factory in Chutung, about 10 miles to the east. The bus is operated by the Hsinchu Bus Line which provided transportation within Hsinchu county only. Hsinchu was not large enough to have dedicated city buses but there was an extensive service operated within Hsinchu county. The bus is a Toyota or Nissan engine and chassis with the body built in Taiwan. This was common of all buses and trucks in Taiwan as government regulations prohibited the importation of completed buses and trucks. A large industry in Taiwan was formed around building buses and trucks on top of imported engines and chassis. The flower arrangement in the foreground was to be presented to the glass factory on the occassion of the Rotary Club |
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These two young men are draftees who are reporting for military service and are wearing banners proclaiming their impending service to the Republic of China. In Taiwan all young men had to serve 2 years of compulsory military service after graduation from high school. This scene, in 1955, was taken in front of the Hsinchu railway station |