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Reporter: We just crossed Chongqing Road and have arrived at Village Remnant Park. This area seems to be filled with some old ruins. What was this place?
Grandpa Shengli: This was once a military dependents’ village called Desheng. Now, it’s called the Desheng Section of the Victorystar in Pingtung Zone.
Reporter: Why was it turned into a park instead of being restored?
Grandpa Shengli: The homes here were in very bad condition, so it would be difficult to restore them. Instead, the Pingtung County Government invited architects, cultural resource experts, artists, and structural engineers to collaborate on the design of Village Remnant Park. Not only can the spirit of the village can live on, artists use the architectural relics to create installations which also bring new life to this village!
Little P: This is the first park of its kind in Taiwan!
Grandpa Shengli: The homes here are mainly in a semi-demolished state, you can see the exposed foundations, floors, and even remaining indoor walls. These structures allow us to see more clearly how they were initially built!
Reporter: It’s like we are having a military village anatomy class!
Grandpa Shengli: Right! This area is also lit up at night, giving the buildings a new look. It is quite beautiful!
Little P: The atmosphere is completely different from night to day, like you are in two separate worlds!
Reporter: Grandpa Shengli, what are those white numbers on a blue background painted on the wall?
Grandpa Shengli: Those are called Ministry of National Defense housing serial numbers. The Ministry of National Defense managed all of the military dependents’ homes in the country using those numbers. Every house in the village should have a number, but over time some have been covered up. I remember that General Luo’s former home at No. 2 Yongsheng Lane is painted with a serial number!
Little P: I’ve heard some adults saying that Village Remnant Park used to be called Desheng New Village…
Grandpa Shengli: That’s right. Here you can see the Party Emblem of the Kuomintang, known as the “Blue Sky with a White Sun”, painted on a wall along with the words “Patriotism”!
Little P: Xiaoxing, let’s go see if we can find them! Look! On that wall all the way over there, there is some kind of design.
Reporter: You mean the blue shield shape with a red “V” and white plum flower? What is that one?
Grandpa Shengli: That’s the emblem of the Chinese Youth Corps! In the 1940s before moving to Taiwan, the Republic of China government encouraged educated youth to join the military in the hopes of improving the quality of military administration. At the time, young people from across the country heeded this call and set up the Chinese Youth Corps.
Reporter: Is this the retro looking clock I keep seeing in my internet feed?
Grandpa Shengli: The artist has played with symmetry in this work, Crossroads, which features two giant clocks, one to the left and one to the right.
Reporter: Because you can see the clock’s gears, the feeling of time passing seems magnified as well!
Grandpa Shengli: Do you know what these two clocks represent?
Reporter: It looks like one of the clocks is running clockwise, which probably represents time, while the other clock that is running counterclockwise must represent memory!
Grandpa Shengli: That’s right. As time progresses we are moving towards the future, while memory requires turning back time. We, standing between these two clocks, can experience that the current moment is eternal!
Little P: Grandpa Shengli, are those airplane wings on the wall? They look like something from one of my model kits.
Reporter: That’s right. Those are model airplane parts blown up to an enormous size!
Grandpa Shengli: Your observations are correct. This artwork installation is called Model Airplane. The artist utilized the window frames from the old buildings combined with aircraft model components to create a one-of-a-kind metal window grille.
Little P: I love airplanes, but I’m also scared of them.
Reporter: How come?
Little P: My dad is a pilot and I think that’s awesome! But some of my friends’ dads left home and never came back, so I worry. I stare up at planes flying in the sky when I wait for my dad to come home!
Grandpa Shengli: Air Force military dependents’ villages are always like that. We know who did not make it home and the whole village helps take care of the family they left behind. I help you, you help me, we are like one big family!
Little P: Grandpa Shengli, why are there roof tiles on the floor?
Grandpa Shengli: These are architectural elements from the houses that were dismantled when Village Remnant Park was built. They include roof tiles, roof ridges, masonry, and some wooden components.
Reporter: Installed high up on the roof, we cannot see them clearly. Now that they are down here, we can finally take closer look. You can examine the shape of the roofing tiles and even touch them to see how they feel.
Grandpa Shengli: The first things that comes to mind when I think of Japanese architecture are black-tiled pitched roofs. These wave shaped tiles are made from cement that is blackened by burning wood during the firing process, which gives the tiles their distinctive coloration.
Little P: I know that long thing in the middle is the roof ridge, but what are those cloud-shaped things on both sides?
Grandpa Shengli: Those are called “Onigawara”, special tiles used in Japanese architecture that are added to the peak or sides of a roof ridge or at the four corners. Supposedly they bring good luck and ward off evil. Some Onigawara are decorated with Chinese characters or images!
Reporter: Do any of the Onigawara in the village have Chinese characters?
Grandpa Shengli: Yes, in Shengli Star Village I have seen the character “yi”, which means beneficial. There are even some Onigawara in the village decorated with stars.
Reporter: Wow, that is really fitting for a place called Shengli Star Village!
