Four generations in Eastern Taiwan
While you could say that the Wanguo Theater has recovered some of the luster of yesteryear, the Ruiwudan Theater is even more a reminder of how quiet local theaters became once their glory days had passed.
The Ruiwudan is located on Yong’an Street in Fuli. It is actually on the second floor, so you have to walk up a staircase to get to the box office, which is separated from the seating area by a black curtain. When you enter the seating area and start to look around, the first thing that strikes the eye is rank after rank of seats made of cypress wood, with the row and seat numbers engraved on the back. After closing its doors in 1989, this venue remained dormant for more than 20 years, only reopening in 2014 thanks to the efforts of Chen Weiqiao, the fourth generation of the family that operated the theater. Only since then have people had the chance to once again bear witness to its former grandeur.
The Ruiwudan Theater has always been a family enterprise, belonging to the Chen clan of Fuli. Back in the day it could hold an audience of 1800, with four shows a day, nearly always sold out. Projectionist Chen Xiangrong, a third-generation member of the Chen lineage, remembers like yesterday the ruckus and bustle of the audience spilling out after each showing.
Besides screening movies, the Ruiwudan was also the first choice for major events, ceremonies, and rituals. For example, it was where the draft lottery was held for young men starting their compulsory military service. Chen Xiangrong recalls that when a young man drew a posting in Kinmen or Matsu—which, through a Chinese play on words, was known as a “Golden Horse Award” (a Taiwanese “Oscar”)—the audience would burst into applause and shouts of congratulation.
For Chen Weiqiao, the theater had a very personal meaning. It was like his own amusement park, and as a small child he spent most of his time hanging around the place. Even when just learning to walk, he could be found stumbling along in his stroller in the shade of the black curtain at the box office, with his grandfather holding fast to a rope to limit the range of the stroller so that young Weiqiao wouldn’t fall down the stairs. Weiqiao once even earned himself a beating after ripping the projection screen while playing basketball on the stage.
But Chen Weiqiao only lived in Fuli until he was seven, after which his father took him to Kaohsiung. He went to school, found a job, and got married all in the western part of Taiwan, while his contacts with his old home in Hualien were limited to visits home at the Lunar New Year and Tomb Sweeping Day.
Reopened old theaters are filled with nostalgia; now they wait to be filled once again with the sounds of laughter and enjoyment.