Sunday, April 21, 2013

Walking into a Movie Set


Link to YouTube Video used.Use arrow keys for volume control.

Stopping by the bus stand, we took the long way around to Jay Chou's school and shooting location for the movie "Secret", Tamkang High School located in a quiet alley in Danshui, a district north of Taipei.

We hesitated a while before entering, only after being encouraged by one of the parents by the gate. Apparently the high school was open for public, as long as they abide to certain visitor rules.

We were thrilled to find ourselves inside the school in front of the the iconic facade of the main building, which was prominently shown throughout the movie. Students were seen going by their normal school lives and oblivious to our presence, they must had received numerous visitors the likes of us.

Located next to the high school was Aletheia University. We found it amusing to find buildings with European architectures in Danshui. Apparently Danshui is one of the first few ports opened to foreign missionaries and was the entry point to Taiwan. During that time, this island was known as "Formosa", Portuguese for the term, beautiful.

We were glad that we gained entry into the school, various scenes of the movie flashed before our eyes as we walked along the corridors, past the iconic arcs and past students in uniforms, not unlike those in the movie.

Another famous landmark in Danshui is the Lover Bridge around Fisherman's Wharf. Upon nightfall the bridge was illuminated by rainbow coloured lights on both sides of the banks. It was very windy that evening and we cut short our visit around that area, only to return to Danshui the next day.

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