I work in a small town just outside of Kaohsiung called Dashe(大社). It’s an old farming town so there are many old traditional Taiwanese houses. However, this year I have noticed that a lot of these houses are getting demolished.
I am not exactly sure why this year these old houses seem to be demolished more, but I am guessing that grandparents have passed on. Therefore, it’s time for the kids to sell the land.
These houses are very old, small, no one’s going to move in, and (as far as I know) none of these houses are any of Dashe’s historic houses but it’s still a little sad to see them go.
I usually drive around this area before work but in the summer my hours change so I was late to notice that this area was getting demolished. So this is kind of half already gone and half about to get demolished post.
I have just recently found out that this style of picture was done when a parent would pass. It is used to show your parent/parents happy and content in heaven. There would be a couple base templates to choose from and then an artist would draw on the person’s face. So there are many of the same style photos around Taiwan but with (of course) different faces. Surprised to see this left behind.
I have been working in Dashe for over a decade now and one of the interesting features of the town is the old houses tucked away in the many small alleys. Nobody is ever going to move into them and they all can’t be saved. However, each time one of them is demolished, Dashe loses some of its charm.
I’ll update this post from time to time to show how it looks. So go to Dashe soon(before they are all gone) and walk around and say hi!
Too late. They are all gone now.
Formosa>Ex 
Thanks for documenting something else that I missed during my many years in Kaohsiung. I wonder if leaving an old house standing, unoccupied by anything but trees, junk and ghosts, is a money move, like keeping the taxes down, or leaving it to be cleared out by whoever purchases the land for further development (kind of like not taking the sign down when the business closes, but leaving that task to the next tenant.)
Of course, since properties often pass to multiple heirs, it may be a case of not being able to get them to agree (because of mutual animosities) or one among them wanting a parent’s or grandparent’s place to never change.
It is sad to see the buildings come down, that is true. My own “preference” would be to see some agency merely clean out all the trash and broken stuff, and let the weather have its way with the walls, returning from time to time to clear out more stuff that falls on its own.
Thanks again for showing me these places.
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I know for bigger places that so many family members are involved that it gets really complicated.
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you can’t take everything out I guess, but photos, come on just take em.
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and very welcome as always. thanks for the support
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I never get used to this sobering event. I always get the pangs of regret when I miss out on documenting a neighborhood.
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sucks that they are just gone.
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