Chiufe n, an old gold-mining town northeast of Taipei, is crammed with tourists on weekends. But Chinkuashi, an older mining town just two kilometers away, remains still and silent. It has no charming art galleries or giftshops. There are no warm teashops to welcome couples looking for a romantic place to chat. Perched on a cliff above the blue-green sea and surrounded by mountains, it looks and feels like a remote outpost. In Chinkuashi, more ghosts than people walk the streets. It wasn't always this way. In 1889, Patu Station, a small village near Chinkuashi, was a lively place. Hundreds of workers came that humid summer to build a railway bridge across the Keelung River; among them a Cantonese man who had panned for gold inCalifornia. While working in the shadow of the iron bridge, he tried his luck by dipping a pan into the river sand. When he saw bits of gold in his pan, he laughed out loud and danced around in the shallow water.
品味金瓜石的靜懿(上)
位于臺北東北方的產金古鎮(zhèn)——九份在周末時經常涌入大批游客。然而僅隔兩公里之遙、更為古老的礦業(yè)城鎮(zhèn)——金瓜石卻是一片沉靜與死寂。金瓜石沒有迷人的藝術館或禮品店，更沒有暖烘烘的茶館迎接尋找浪漫地點聊天的情侶們。由于坐落在蔚藍碧海旁的峭壁上又被群山環(huán)抱，金瓜石在視覺與感覺上，都像一處偏遠的前哨站。在金瓜石，走在街上的幽靈比人還多。
The gold, washed down the mountain by the river and left in the riverbed near Patu, kept on coming. So, when the Japanese began their occupation of Taiwan in 1895, they expanded mining operations here. They built the Prince Hotel in Chinkuashi, a grand mansion boasting the most luxurious rooms the island had ever seen. Miners who had struck it rich stayed here, flaunting their new wealth. Jewelry shops and restaurants featuring Chinese and Japanese cuisine crowded the streets. These truly were Chinkuashi's golden days.
But there was a dark side to this world of gold and luxurious living. During World War Two, the local Chinese, forced to work the mines like slaves, were joined by foreign prisoners of war. The Japanese made the men work long hours under extremely difficult conditions. While the workers suffered from exhaustion, starvation and lung disease brought on by work in the mines, their Japanese masters enjoyed the view from the Prince Hotel.
品味金瓜石的靜懿 (下)
被河流從山區(qū)沖刷下來的金子，沉積在八堵附近的河床中，源源不絕。所以，當1895年日本人開始侵占臺灣時，他們就在此地擴大采礦工程。他們在金瓜石興建了太子賓館，這座豪邸當年號稱擁有島上居民前所未見的奢華房間。當?shù)匾灰怪赂坏牡V工們都在此逗留，炫耀彼此新賺的財富。珠寶店和中日風味的餐廳擠滿了金瓜石的街道。那時真是金瓜石的黃金時期。 但這紙醉金迷的浮華生活也有黑暗的一面。在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，被迫成為采礦奴工的當?shù)刂袊用窈屯鈬鴳?zhàn)俘一起采礦。日本人壓迫這些奴工在極度惡劣的環(huán)境下長時間工作。當工人們深受礦坑內工作引起的體力透支、饑餓和肺病之苦時，日本統(tǒng)治者卻在太子賓館享受著窗外的美景。但金瓜石并非一直如此。1889年，金瓜石附近的小村落──八堵站──曾是一個熱鬧的地方。在那個濕熱的夏季，數(shù)百名工人前來建造橫跨基隆河的鐵橋，其中有一名廣東工人曾在加利福尼亞淘過金。當他在鐵橋下陰涼處干活時，隨手把淘金盤浸入河沙中淘了淘，想碰碰運氣。當他看見盤里的一粒粒黃金時，高聲歡呼起來，并在淺溪里手舞足蹈。
品味金瓜石的靜懿(上)
位于臺北東北方的產金古鎮(zhèn)——九份在周末時經常涌入大批游客。然而僅隔兩公里之遙、更為古老的礦業(yè)城鎮(zhèn)——金瓜石卻是一片沉靜與死寂。金瓜石沒有迷人的藝術館或禮品店，更沒有暖烘烘的茶館迎接尋找浪漫地點聊天的情侶們。由于坐落在蔚藍碧海旁的峭壁上又被群山環(huán)抱，金瓜石在視覺與感覺上，都像一處偏遠的前哨站。在金瓜石，走在街上的幽靈比人還多。
The gold, washed down the mountain by the river and left in the riverbed near Patu, kept on coming. So, when the Japanese began their occupation of Taiwan in 1895, they expanded mining operations here. They built the Prince Hotel in Chinkuashi, a grand mansion boasting the most luxurious rooms the island had ever seen. Miners who had struck it rich stayed here, flaunting their new wealth. Jewelry shops and restaurants featuring Chinese and Japanese cuisine crowded the streets. These truly were Chinkuashi's golden days.
But there was a dark side to this world of gold and luxurious living. During World War Two, the local Chinese, forced to work the mines like slaves, were joined by foreign prisoners of war. The Japanese made the men work long hours under extremely difficult conditions. While the workers suffered from exhaustion, starvation and lung disease brought on by work in the mines, their Japanese masters enjoyed the view from the Prince Hotel.
品味金瓜石的靜懿 (下)
被河流從山區(qū)沖刷下來的金子，沉積在八堵附近的河床中，源源不絕。所以，當1895年日本人開始侵占臺灣時，他們就在此地擴大采礦工程。他們在金瓜石興建了太子賓館，這座豪邸當年號稱擁有島上居民前所未見的奢華房間。當?shù)匾灰怪赂坏牡V工們都在此逗留，炫耀彼此新賺的財富。珠寶店和中日風味的餐廳擠滿了金瓜石的街道。那時真是金瓜石的黃金時期。 但這紙醉金迷的浮華生活也有黑暗的一面。在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，被迫成為采礦奴工的當?shù)刂袊用窈屯鈬鴳?zhàn)俘一起采礦。日本人壓迫這些奴工在極度惡劣的環(huán)境下長時間工作。當工人們深受礦坑內工作引起的體力透支、饑餓和肺病之苦時，日本統(tǒng)治者卻在太子賓館享受著窗外的美景。但金瓜石并非一直如此。1889年，金瓜石附近的小村落──八堵站──曾是一個熱鬧的地方。在那個濕熱的夏季，數(shù)百名工人前來建造橫跨基隆河的鐵橋，其中有一名廣東工人曾在加利福尼亞淘過金。當他在鐵橋下陰涼處干活時，隨手把淘金盤浸入河沙中淘了淘，想碰碰運氣。當他看見盤里的一粒粒黃金時，高聲歡呼起來，并在淺溪里手舞足蹈。