A visit to your local pharmacy will cure your ailments - so hopefully will a visit to your local temple and priest. Xie Zhi Fong covers both, as a third-generation pharmacist managing the Jiedeng drug store chain (婕登連鎖藥局) in Keelung, as well as an active volunteer for a small temple and shop at the corner of Ren Yi Road and Lane 7.
Born and raised in Keelung, having gone to school here and working here, Mr. Xie is a real expert on where to have fun and hang out in his home town.
Name: Xie Zhi Fong
Job: Pharmacist
"You've got the mountains, the ocean, and the rivers. We did this a lot when I was a kid, and it was lots of fun."
What makes Keelung unique?
I’ve lived all over Keelung during my school days and working, and the most unique thing about Keelung is its access to both the ocean and the mountains. It’s surrounded on 3 sides by mountains, with its last side facing the water. The view of the ocean is great. Speaking of the ocean, I have to mention Keelung Islet - when I was a kid, we would always go there to go swimming and adventuring. It’s unique in that it's not a beach, but a coast.
You’ll also see people cliff jumping and having fun. And then in the mountains - people will go to barbeque, and look for a spot near water, so you’ve got the mountains, the ocean, and the rivers. People will go adventuring in the water in the mountains too - finding ponds in caves and jumping in them. We did this a lot when I was a kid, and it was lots of fun.
What is something people might not know about Keelung?
I think it’s what I just mentioned, the mountains. We have Mountain Hong Dan (红淡山), which was called Shuang Long Shan (雙龍山) before the Japanese colonial period. I used to go to play and barbeque there as a kid. It’s considered a great attraction, great scenery and fresh air. I think this is something that we can introduce to visitors.
There’s a lot of mountain retreats there, or better uniquely described as mountain bases, where in the previous generation, a few good friends have gotten together to set up and manage a base station. They will go there to exercise, have tea, and to chat. There’s several of these around, and definitely worth visiting.
What place in Keelung holds special memories for you?
I went to Ren Ai Elementary School, right near MiaoKou Night Market. All of my friends were the next generation for the MiaoKou Night Market. Some of them are now running businesses there. This area was rather wealthy back in the day. We had a lot of exotic products and imported goods - we ate Japanese imported instant noodles, wore Ultraman sandals, and everyone had a different unique toy to play with all the time. The toys kids today have I don’t think are as fun or differentiated as the exotic toys we had back in the day. Even our pencil cases were like Transformers and could become a robot car!
I used to run into my classmates on the street near Miao Kou - the well-behaved ones would help out in their family’s stall, or help their mother sell clothes. The memories I have of being near school and near Miao Kou are the happiest. Even today, I am still in contact with a few of these classmates. We might run into each other while they are working at the Night Market, while doing business, or on the street. Some went into finance and banking, too.
How has Keelung changed in your memory?
I’ve actually thought about this question quite a bit, and Keelung hasn't really changed that much. In recent years there have been changes - near the train station, for example. Keelung already had a global port starting in the Japanese Colonial Period, so it was very well developed. My ancestors used to live in the Shuangxi (雙溪) District, and I think perhaps my grandfather didn’t want to be a farmer. That’s why he came to the famous Keelung Port area to find work and do business. Keelung was developed early, so a lot of the buildings you see are actually quite old. Because Keelung was a global port, it could enjoy a lot of these imported exotic goods that I mentioned. You could buy Japanese products and clothes at the exotic goods stores. It was a great spot for shopping, almost like the modern day department store.
With regards to my pharmacy business and our customers - I’ve been in this business for about 30 years now. When we started it, the main products were baby diapers and baby formula. Our stock rooms were full of diapers and formula, boxes by the hundreds and thousands. The supermarkets would call me up at night to get them their goods, and buy a thousand boxes of diapers at once. At that time, there were a lot of babies. Now, there aren’t as many babies - now, it’s all about seniors. We still sell a lot of formula and diapers, but the demographic has now changed and it’s milk formula and incontinence diapers. This has been a big change in our business. We’ve always had a good health insurance system too, but now people have to pay a little bit for there products.
Any last recommendations for Keelung visitors?
Like I mentioned earlier, I really do recommend visiting the mountains and the coast. I would also recommend visiting Haimen Tianxian, in Zhongzheng Park. Keelung was a fortress, so there’s a lot of batteries on the mountains. Keelung is also by the ocean, so the seafood is great and super fresh.
Is there a seafood restaurant you would recommend, then?
The one right next door is great, NanBei Xiaochi (南北小吃)! I’m serious! Good price, good value, and super fresh.
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