Bo'ai Road, Hankou Street, Camera Street Introduction
The camera street around Boai Road and Hankou Street, commonly known as the "Bo-Han District," has the highest concentration of camera shops in Taiwan. This street has witnessed the development of photography equipment in Taiwan. Since the introduction of photography technology during the late Qing Dynasty and early Japanese colonial period, cameras have been considered expensive items, making them seldom affordable for the average person; a camera was a luxury that would cost the equivalent of a house or over a thousand jin of rice. At that time, "within Taipei City," many government agencies and media outlets were present, and being close to the conveniently located Taipei Railway Station, camera shops gradually thrived due to these customers. After the opening of a large-format camera shop specialized in German Rollei cameras across from the Taipei Post Office in 1958, camera stores such as Hsing Fu and Yu Zhou on Hankou Street, and Rong Mei and Yong Sheng on Boai Road also opened one after another. In recent years, nearly 50 camera shops have established themselves here, offering a complete range of brands and accessories. With the changing times, cameras are no longer seen as expensive, as nearly everyone owns a digital camera. To find good cameras, one must come here, as the persistence of old shops in professionalism naturally attracts discerning customers.
