Japanese Medicine - Ximen

Taiwan’s clock and watch industry struggles to find its niche in the 21st century

One industry that used to be a big deal for Taiwan is watch and clock manufacturing. But with the industry having largely moved to China, where labor is much cheaper than in Taiwan, what are all the clockmakers, clock distributors and repairmen doing to find their niche in the 21st century market? Our Sunday special report.A clock and watch shop in Changhua. Most of the customers don’t come for the clocks: they come for the noodles.Chiang Chun-yuClock and watch merchantSelling the noodles improves the visibility and the sale of the watches. Now lots of people talk about “That watch shop, the one that sells noodles!” Now the shop has a really unique character – even if it’s a bit strange and wacky!Selling noodles in the watch shop was a daring move made by owner Chiang Chun-yu five years ago in an attempt to revive his dwindling business. Now customers sit next to the display cases, gazing at watches, while chewing on their noodles.Chiang Chun-yuClock and watch merchantBefore I started selling noodles, it did happen that there was basically not a single customer all day long. Not a single watch sold. We’d be happy if a couple of people came in to get repairs.The Chiang family’s watch business began with Chiang Chun-yu’s grandfather, and in the 1980s, when Taiwan’s economy was booming, people would want to buy a watch as soon as they had disposable income. The business thrived.Jason TangTaiwan Watch and Clock Industrial Assoc.In those days a watch was seen as an important accessory, connoting a certain status. When you shook hands, you’d chat about your make of watch. So it wasn’t just a functional necessity. It was a status symbol.Back in the heyday of the watch industry, cheap Taiwanese labor attracted many global luxury watch brands to build their factories here. Almost all the components could be produced in Taiwan, apart from the most crucial element of all – the time-keeping watch movement.Jason TangTaiwan Watch and Clock Industrial Assoc.They made the cases in Tainan and the faces in Taichung. From the beginning, because Japanese companies set up factories in Taiwan, the watches being made tended to be quite refined. Later, even Swiss brands would come here to buy components.But with the arrival of cheap Chinese labor on the global market, Taiwan’s clock and watch production lines moved overseas one by one. That and the arrival of the smartphone era and a revolution in people’s time-keeping habits sent Taiwan’s clock and watch industry into decline.This is one of Wanhua’s old clock streets. It used to be the industry’s biggest distribution center in northern Taiwan; now almost all the shops have shut for good. Only their signs still give off a faint glow.Lai Hsuan-chouClock DistributorAt the start, 20 or more years ago, there’d already be at least five or six customers waiting outside at around 8am, before I even opened the shop! Now there are none.Distributors are not getting any orders, and further down the line, repairmen face the same crisis.Once, Cheng Heng-chang would get distributors crowding outside his workshop with watches for him to repair. Now he has to go out and hunt for customers himself.As Cheng inspects the broken watch, its owner Chang Hsing-liang looks on anxiously, afraid that it can’t be repaired.Chang Hsing-liangCustomerThis is a watch that was left to me when my dad passed away. So I always wear it at family gatherings. I want it to feel like my dad is present.This watch has been given a timeless sentimental value thanks to the family memories it embodies. And that means it still has a place in Cheng’s repair shop. His son markets the family business online, hoping to showcase his father’s professional skills in a more effective way. Watch factories are also rebranding themselves, hoping the refined skills of a bygone era will find favor with young people once more.Twenty-eight year-old Chen Wei-ming has inherited this clock factory from his father’s generation. He positions traditional watches as a fashion item, with their various elements like the strap and the face, which can be customized and mixed up at will.Hsieh Ta-yuClock DesignerToday young people pay a lot of attention to their clothes and accessories, their external image. We hope that watches can become a symbol of individual style and taste – something that is really interesting and fun.Taiwan’s traditional clockmakers, distributors and repairmen are all doing their best to survive in what has now become quite a niche market. The world may be changing faster than ever right now, but every now and then, people still need to check what time it is, after all.

Exploring the beauty of Taiwan

This is a compilation of the videos taken from my GoPro Hero Session 4 during our 2017 tour in Taiwan. Places that are included in this video are:

Zhongli Disctrict
Leofoo Village
Longshan Temple
Modern Toilet Restaurant
Ximending
K Underground Mall
Wanhua District
Taiwan High Speed Rail
Taipei 101
Golden Waterfalls
Gloria Outlets
Mr. Brown Castle Café
Yehliu Geopark
National Center for Traditional Arts

I recommend taking the subways and trains of Taiwan in going to some of these places as they are the most convenient modes of transportation there. There were more places that we visited during our stay in Taiwan but were not included in this video and in which some needs to be taken by car. If you are going there, I suggest that you research online regarding the places recommended to visit in Taiwan.

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