Shengping Theater, originally known as ‘Shengping Zuo’, was established in 1934 along Jiufen Old Street. It is an ancient two-story theater with a vintage charm, featuring the popular Baroque-style architecture of its time, making it a renowned landmark in Jiufen. Upon entering the theater, you will find a commemorative stamp placed next to the old ticket window, allowing you to make your own imprint as a memento.
Inside, the original wooden seats, which were arranged in rows of six, have been reconfigured to accommodate seven or eight, reducing the total number of seats to just over 200, with more space now dedicated to exhibition areas. The theater houses a carbon arc film projector, an antique piece preserved from the past, and the snack bar displays a vintage refrigerator that required ice to be placed inside the iron cabinet for food refrigeration. Notably, Shengping Theater was a primary filming location for Hou Hsiao-hsien’s movie ‘A City of Sadness’. The entrance’s bulletin board still displays posters from that era, and seeing the yellowed and blurred image of Tony Leung’s youthful face on them after so many years gives a sense of time travel. Opening hours are all year round from Monday to Friday, 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM; and on Saturdays and Sundays, 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM.
