Matsu Village Creative Park Introduction
Matsu New Village, renowned as "Taoyuan General Village," is not named after residents from Matsu, but rather commemorates an event when Madam Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Mei-ling, led a military delegation to Matsu for a morale-boosting visit. To stabilize the spirits of the troops, she proposed the housing needs of military personnel stationed on the front lines and their families, leading to the establishment of what is now Matsu New Village. The first batch of military dependents' houses was completed in 1957 and allocated to military officers below the rank of Brigadier General from the 84th Army Division and their families, becoming the first military dependents' village in Longgang. The number of households expanded from the initially planned seventy-six to about two hundred and twenty-six, laid out in a grid-iron pattern with fishbone-style housing configurations, creating distinct living spaces. Surrounding areas gradually developed community facilities such as activity centers, auditoriums, parks, lawns, sports fields, and pavilions, forming a self-sufficient semi-closed village community. In 1998, it was recognized as a National Model Community, which encouraged the whole village significantly. Although Taoyuan is not the place with the most military dependents' villages in the country, it is an essential area in the movement to preserve military village culture. The formation of military villages has played an important role in historical transitions, representing an irreplaceable unique culture and lifestyle from architectural layouts to human customs. Therefore, as local residents gradually relocated to the redeveloped Luguang No. 5 Village, the Taoyuan City Government's Cultural Bureau began promoting the preservation of military villages. Matsu New Village became the second military dependents' village in the country to be preserved under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act after Taipei’s Sif South Village. In 2004, it was registered as a historical building, granting it cultural heritage status, and was later selected by the Ministry of National Defense as one of thirteen cultural preservation areas for military villages in Taiwan, making it the first military village in Zhongli City preserved through cultural heritage measures. In comparison with other military villages in Taoyuan, Matsu New Village has restarted in a "museum-like" manner, approaching the preservation, revitalization, and cultural promotion of military village culture from multiple perspectives. It established a military cultural and creative base, organizing events like film festivals and military cultural festivals. Furthermore, the activity center was renovated into the "Taoyuan Light and Shadow Cinema," a standard Dolby sound cinema that accommodates 76 viewers. Notably, the original grand auditorium has been preserved as a space for film screenings, featuring a series of classic Taiwanese films and movie memorabilia displays, thereby revitalizing the preservation of the military village. To animate the once-forgotten military village space, Matsu New Village will regularly hold cultural and creative market events, inviting artists to settle in. Visitors can walk into the historically resonant old houses, connecting childhood memories through black tiles, brick walls, and the red and white contrasting doors, reminiscent of neighbors and friends from when they used to visit in the village, recreating the nostalgic warmth of military village life.
