Qingshui Theater 左营清水戲院

Qingshui Theater 清水戲院 is one of three theaters that were opened on Xiling Street 西陵街 AKA Shanghai Street上海街. Zuoying Theater 左營戲院 is now gone. Guanguang Theater 觀光大戲院 is still there but closed of course.

Qinshui Theater was opened in 1966 by Zeng Qingshui 曾清水. He also opened the nearby Guanguang Theater 觀光大戲院.

Since the theater was on “Shanghai Street” it catered to the sailors and soldiers at the nearby Navy Base and people in the many military dependents’ villages of Zuoying. They showed Taiwanese films as well as foreign films. Of course, later on, there were also dance shows and adult films . The theater finally closed its doors in 1995.

As you can see there isn’t much left to the theater but it provided one of my favorite theater exploring experiences.

I have biked down this street and by this theater countless times but one sunny day I was biking by and saw the gate open. So I walked in and said ‘Nihao 你好，哈嘍 Hello” and no answer, so I walked around a bit and took a few pictures. Then a man came over and said, “Hello.” I asked if I could take some pictures, he said, “Of course.” After talking for a bit, I found out that he was the son of the original owner. He was a doctor. His brother had inherited the Guangang Theater 觀光大戲院. He was unsure what he was going to do with the land, his dad made a lot of money from the theaters, and lots of political talk. It was a really cool conversation.

Also, I was wearing a T-shirt under my button-up shirt and it had some Chinese on it, and he asked what my T-shirt said. I said “ahh, nothing!” I don’t like to wear this T-shirt too much because it’s a political T-shirt from the Sunflower Movement a few years ago. However, he asked again and he was kind so I showed it and he said “Oh, I like this shirt veerryy much!” I was relieved and very happy that he liked it.

The Shirt.

We talked for about 20 more minutes and then he finally said that he was supposed to meet his friend 30 minutes ago and had to go. I laughed and said thanks and that he should go quick. Anyway, it was pretty amazing 30 minute conversation and felt lucky to have met another theater owner.

Here is Guanguang Theater 觀光大戲院. Are far as I know you can’t get in it, but I will write up about this theater and the whole Xiling Street 西陵街 at some point in the future.

I really recommend walking along Xiling Street 西陵街 looking around. If you do go, remember to stop by the old theater and say hi!