Bo'ai Road, Hankou Street, Camera Street Introduction
The area around Bo-ai Road and Hankou Street, commonly referred to as the "Bo-Han District," is home to the most concentrated camera shops in Taiwan. This camera street has witnessed the development of photography equipment in Taiwan. Since the introduction of photography technology during the late Qing Dynasty and early Japanese rule, cameras have always been expensive and unaffordable for the average person. Owning a camera was a luxury that required the equivalent of a house or over a thousand kilograms of rice. At that time, there were many government agencies and media outlets in "Taipei City," and with the convenience of the nearby Taipei Railway Station, camera shops began to thrive due to their clientele. After the establishment of a large-format camera shop called "Rollei," specializing in German Rollei cameras, across from the Taipei Post Office in 1958, photography equipment stores such as Xingfu and Yuzhou on Hankou Street, along with Rongmei and Yongsheng on Bo-ai Road, gradually opened. In recent years, nearly 50 camera shops have settled here, offering a wide variety of brands and accessories. With the changing times, cameras have become much more accessible, with almost everyone owning a digital camera. To find the best cameras, one must come here; the insistence on professionalism by the long-standing shops naturally attracts discerning customers.
