The buildings of Jiahe New Village tell their story

Located in the Gongguan area of Taipei City, Jiahe New Village is a military dependents’ village dating back to the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. Unlike most other military dependents’ villages, the buildings of Jiahe New Village were not well-planned and instead erected in an ad-hoc fashion according to the needs of residents at that time; this interesting anomaly gave rise to the unique characteristics of the village.  

In addition to giving an insight into the needs of residents back then, the buildings in Jiahe New Village also help us understand the primary building materials in different periods by providing an example of the changing times. Jiahe New Village was built in response to the background history and so dismantling it without proper planning will be akin to missing a chapter in history.

The government views demolishing the village and relocating its residents as imperative and therefore the village's days are numbered. Fortunately, a group of people is currently working hard to record images of Jiahe New Village for posterity so that when the dreaded day arrives at least people will have access to the bittersweet pangs of nostalgia through occasional glimpses at old photos.

以下為中文對照

嘉禾新村坐落於公館地區，是日治時期就存在的聯勤眷村。嘉禾新村的建築，不像其他規劃好的眷村，它的樣貌是由當時的居民，依自己需求所建造，也因此成為一種特色。

嘉禾新村的建築除了能看到當時居民的需要，還能了解在不同時期的主要建材，可說是時代的縮影。尤其嘉禾新村的建築，是因應當時背景而建造。若是沒有規劃性的拆除，就會像故事缺少了某一篇章。

雖然政府的拆遷是勢在必行，未來人們恐怕只能看著照片，懷念以往的嘉禾新村。所幸，現在有一群人正在努力紀錄，用影像將那嘉禾新村的歷史樣貌永遠保存。

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