Solo jaunt
This one was a seriously, seriously lucky find. No exaggeration. Whilst doing my research for other abandoned sites to visit, this one popped up in a Google search. It's an-almost total unknown, and how it has survived for so long in such immaculate condition is a step beyond miraculous. I did the four Yunlin cinemas the same day, so I thought: "Alright, I'll go and have a look at it. I doubt I'll be able to do it, but I'll have a look anyway." So I drove up there, parked outside then walked round, with no idea of what I will see. As I got towards the access point however, I noticed one or two windows were broken, and it was at that point I thought "yeah, this is derelict. Let's get in." And so I did. One giant step into somewhere that has completely flown under the radar of other explorers.
The background goes as follows: in around 2017, local people started asking around on social media about why the hospital was abandoned, and why it has been derelict since 1996. They started sharing wildly exaggerated stories about dead babies and nurses committing suicide, which came to the attention of the media, who ended up interviewing the son of the founder, Chen Mincong, who as of 2017 lived in the Japanese villa directly next door to the hospital. At that time he was already 88 years old, so whether he still lives in the villa next door is unknown to me. It was founded in 1972 by Chen Dafu (hence the name 大福), and after he passed away it was inherited by one of his sons, Chen Minhui, whose career ended when he got ill, meaning the hospital closed in 1996.
What makes the hospital so bizarre compared to others is that the first floor (well, 2nd up from the ground floor) was actually designed as a living space for the doctors, with numbered patient rooms behind. For years after closure, the sons of the founder lived there, and allegedly to this day despite it being derelict people do go inside to check that everything is tidy.
Drug storage
Downstairs, back to back were what I believe to be two maternity theaters.
Dusty, unused needles and expired medicine are all left behind in the pharmacy
Perhaps I was exaggerating when I got all excited and called this a mini-epic, but I was overjoyed (and also terrified) to take a giant leap into the unknown and visit a hospital that nobody had seen the inside of, beyond the foyer. What made this so exceptional is that everything felt so unmodernised, with the wooden doors and odd blue and green paint giving it a true 1970s vibe that I've never seen anywhere else before. Coupled with the vintage signs and lighting, and you've got a one-in-a-million site.
Whilst I was scared being alone, with doors and windows frequently banging in the wind, and not knowing if anyone would suddenly walk in looking for me, it was a truly magical experience. If you want a definition of a time warp, somewhere completely unchanged with time. you'd struggle to find a better visual definition than this.
The only signs I could find of people coming in here were a couple of broken windows and open doors, as well as teens leaving their Instagram account names in the dust on the windows and a chalkboard at reception.
A near-empty ward
The nurses station
One of the few beds left in the hospital; this was similar to the beds I saw years and years ago in the psychiatric hospital of Poveglia.
There was no power left to the hospital, but the water was still running. With at least two sets of broken taps hissing away, that added to my nerves.
As I continued to explore the hospital in greater detail, it continued to reveal so many stunning secrets.
This room was amazing, and I should've captured more shots in hindsight. Inside the cupboard behind me (not pictured) were the doctors' own uniforms, still left hanging. If you also look closely, you can see a dolls head underneath the white duvet.
The front
I suppose in addition to the aforementioned respect the Taiwanese have for abandonments, one reason this has survived untouched is that it looks so inconspicuous it looks. It is difficult to tell that it's actually derelict, and likewise it tends to blend into an otherwise normal street, so walking past you'd have no idea it was derelict. Nevertheless, finding a site like this is just a stroke of amazing luck. One Google search, adding it to a map to be looked at to see if it's possible, and BOOM! It blows away all of my expectations!
That will be all for now. I will definitely continue exploring, and there are some bigger sites I have planned (Taiwan actually has three derelict universities, and two or three newly-derelict schools which need to be explored), so keep your eyes out for anything with my name on it.
With love as always,
TBM x
This one was a seriously, seriously lucky find. No exaggeration. Whilst doing my research for other abandoned sites to visit, this one popped up in a Google search. It's an-almost total unknown, and how it has survived for so long in such immaculate condition is a step beyond miraculous. I did the four Yunlin cinemas the same day, so I thought: "Alright, I'll go and have a look at it. I doubt I'll be able to do it, but I'll have a look anyway." So I drove up there, parked outside then walked round, with no idea of what I will see. As I got towards the access point however, I noticed one or two windows were broken, and it was at that point I thought "yeah, this is derelict. Let's get in." And so I did. One giant step into somewhere that has completely flown under the radar of other explorers.
The background goes as follows: in around 2017, local people started asking around on social media about why the hospital was abandoned, and why it has been derelict since 1996. They started sharing wildly exaggerated stories about dead babies and nurses committing suicide, which came to the attention of the media, who ended up interviewing the son of the founder, Chen Mincong, who as of 2017 lived in the Japanese villa directly next door to the hospital. At that time he was already 88 years old, so whether he still lives in the villa next door is unknown to me. It was founded in 1972 by Chen Dafu (hence the name 大福), and after he passed away it was inherited by one of his sons, Chen Minhui, whose career ended when he got ill, meaning the hospital closed in 1996.
What makes the hospital so bizarre compared to others is that the first floor (well, 2nd up from the ground floor) was actually designed as a living space for the doctors, with numbered patient rooms behind. For years after closure, the sons of the founder lived there, and allegedly to this day despite it being derelict people do go inside to check that everything is tidy.
Drug storage
Downstairs, back to back were what I believe to be two maternity theaters.
Dusty, unused needles and expired medicine are all left behind in the pharmacy
Perhaps I was exaggerating when I got all excited and called this a mini-epic, but I was overjoyed (and also terrified) to take a giant leap into the unknown and visit a hospital that nobody had seen the inside of, beyond the foyer. What made this so exceptional is that everything felt so unmodernised, with the wooden doors and odd blue and green paint giving it a true 1970s vibe that I've never seen anywhere else before. Coupled with the vintage signs and lighting, and you've got a one-in-a-million site.
Whilst I was scared being alone, with doors and windows frequently banging in the wind, and not knowing if anyone would suddenly walk in looking for me, it was a truly magical experience. If you want a definition of a time warp, somewhere completely unchanged with time. you'd struggle to find a better visual definition than this.
The only signs I could find of people coming in here were a couple of broken windows and open doors, as well as teens leaving their Instagram account names in the dust on the windows and a chalkboard at reception.
A near-empty ward
The nurses station
One of the few beds left in the hospital; this was similar to the beds I saw years and years ago in the psychiatric hospital of Poveglia.
There was no power left to the hospital, but the water was still running. With at least two sets of broken taps hissing away, that added to my nerves.
As I continued to explore the hospital in greater detail, it continued to reveal so many stunning secrets.
This room was amazing, and I should've captured more shots in hindsight. Inside the cupboard behind me (not pictured) were the doctors' own uniforms, still left hanging. If you also look closely, you can see a dolls head underneath the white duvet.
The front
I suppose in addition to the aforementioned respect the Taiwanese have for abandonments, one reason this has survived untouched is that it looks so inconspicuous it looks. It is difficult to tell that it's actually derelict, and likewise it tends to blend into an otherwise normal street, so walking past you'd have no idea it was derelict. Nevertheless, finding a site like this is just a stroke of amazing luck. One Google search, adding it to a map to be looked at to see if it's possible, and BOOM! It blows away all of my expectations!
That will be all for now. I will definitely continue exploring, and there are some bigger sites I have planned (Taiwan actually has three derelict universities, and two or three newly-derelict schools which need to be explored), so keep your eyes out for anything with my name on it.
With love as always,
TBM x
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