HsiMenDing Graffiti

Maggie and I drove up to Taipei on Monday morning to see what the graffiti was like up there. Apparently, there are five parks that have been dedicated/surrendered to graf. The Chinese website said that Da'an park was one of them. It isn't, but it is a gorgeous park all the same. That there is a park that beautiful in the middle of a city that big and dirty is remarkable. So, I've remarked on it.

The graffiti scene in Hsimending (Ximending--in Pinyin. I don't know why I've adopted the other spelling. Could be a mistake. Mondo?) is more ... congested than in Taichung. In some places it adds to the dirty feeling of the city.Hsimending is a movie theater and boutique district, so most of the people hanging out there are teenagers. My wife said that we are now decidedly middle aged. We were definitely mean. The shoppers looked to be about 16-25 and the folks who live in the neighborhood are all over 60 or 70. Imagine being an septugenarian and waking up one morning to find a graffiti bomb on your front door or outside the window.

Graffiti makes city life more colorful, that's the truth.