Toyota Datong Theater. Datong Theater is located in Fengtian Village, Shoufeng Township, Hualien County. It was built by the Japanese in 1913 and is one of Taiwan's three major government-operated immigrant villages. Datong Theater is located in Fengtian Village, Shoufeng Township, Hualien County. Built by the Japanese in 1913, it was one of Taiwan's three major government-operated immigrant villages. The history of Fengtian for nearly a century has been influenced not only by Japanese-era culture but also by Fengtian jade in the 1970s, which once accounted for nearly 90% of the world's jade exports, with an export value of 5 billion, making it the liveliest and most prosperous place in Hualien at one time. The theater, built in 1960, served not only as a movie theater but also as a community recreational center and performance venue. The reason for the theater's closure was precisely the prosperity of Fengtian at the time; as households began to own televisions, the theater's revenue was severely impacted, leading to its closure. Later, the theater transformed during the prosperous period of Fengtian jade and seedless watermelons, converting its partitions into "collective housing" to provide temporary accommodation for jade polishers and watermelon merchants. However, good times did not last. In the 1980s, Fengtian jade mining was banned, and seedless watermelon production ceased due to land exhaustion, leading to the gradual decline of Fengtian Village. The theater, which had been converted into collective housing, also closed its doors. To make matters worse, the prosperity brought by jade led residents to develop bad habits such as drug addiction and gambling. The theater owner at the time, to prevent drug users from breaking into the theater, sealed every window and door with sheet metal. The theater remained sealed for 40 years. Although it once witnessed the prosperity of Fengtian,
Address: 花蓮縣壽豐鄉豐山村豐山街28號
Hours: 00:00–23:59
Hualien