This page details all of the station memorial stamps for Taipei MRT&#;s Songshan-Xindian Line. I collected these (and all of the other Taipei Metro stamps) as part of a personal one-day challenge, but you could just as easily collect the stamps casually as and when you have reason to visit each station.
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Basic information: Construction on the Songshan-Xindian Line (&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;, also called the Green Line) began in and the first section was opened seven years later in . The last section to be added was the Ximen to Songshan stretch, which became operational in . This last section seems to have caused quite a few problems for the people responsible for it. There was originally an extra station planned between Beimen and Songshan, but there were financal, land ownership, and structural complications that led to it being abandoned. There were also a large number of houses (200) that needed demolishing or moving, historical buildings that needed to be preserved, and a steep spike in the cost of steel.
The entirety of the Songshan-Xindian Line is underground, except for the short spur section leading to Xiaobitan.
Number of stations: 20 (including Xiaobitan)
Length: 21.5km
Stamp description: The Songshan-Xindian Line&#;s commemorative stamps are rendered in green ink and are oval in shape (except for transfer stations, which are black and shaped like a spiky text bubble).
Station music:
The first stamp on the green line shows Bitan Suspension Bridge and a swan pedal boat on the wide section of river below it. It certainly does a good job of making Xindian look like the most peaceful destination in New Taipei.
The Xindian District Office stamp shows maple trees growing along either side of Zhonghua Road and the temple featured is Daxiang Shan Ciyin Yan (&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;)-it&#;s not all that close to Xindian District Office, but it&#;s certainly one of the grander temples in the area.
This stamp shows a water buffalo tilling the earth and the local landmark of the MRT station/shopping/office complex. The water buffalo&#;s presence is a reference to the original name of this spot. In the past, it was Qizhangli (&#;&#;&#;), which indicates that it was previously farmland large enough to require the work of seven water buffalo-drawn ploughs.
The left side of the stamp shows the arched interior of the station, and on the right you can see Sunshine Bridge. In the foreground on the right, a glass case holds a magnifying glass and a tiny exhibit from the Chen Forng Shean Miniature Art Museum (&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;).
Dapinglin&#;s stamp features old and new sights from the station&#;s surroundings. In the foreground is a historic building beside Jingmei River. The building is the Liu Family hall, (&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;, and also called &#;&#;&#;). In the background on the left is the large multipurpose modern building that houses Dapinglin Station.
The Jingmei stamp shows one of the pavilions that hikers can pause in along the Xianjiyan Trail. And on the left, there is a little nod to the station&#;s name. In the past, local farmers used channels made of wood to siphon water to where they wanted it. The area around contemporary Jingmei was where the water channels terminated and so it came to be called something like &#;water or channel end&#; in Taiwanese (&#;&#;). The pronunciation of this is close-ish to the much more pleasant-in-meaning &#;Jingmei&#; (which translates loosely to &#;Scenic Beauty&#;).
The Wanlong Station stamp shows a vendor from Taipei Pot Plant Auction (a confusing name, this is actually more like a wholesale place). It also features a little corner of Jingmei Sports Park and the pretty Fujian-style sanheyuan, Yifang Mansion.
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There is an awful lot happening in Gongguan&#;s stamp. The right side shows the lovely historic building that currently houses the Museum of Drinking Water (formerly Taipei&#;s water purification plant) and cyclists on the Jingmei River Bikeway that just sits just behind the museum. On the left, there sights from National Taiwan University&#;s campus.
Like its southern neighbour, Taipower Building&#;s station stamp is a busy one. On the left, you can see the station&#;s namesake. The building is home to Taiwan Power Company, and although it&#;s not particularly noteworthy to look at now, when it was built in , it was the first building in Taiwan to be taller than 100 metres. On the right of the stamp are snippets from the nearby Hakka Cultural Park. The park is intended to be a mock-up of a traditional Hakka village (the Hakka being a distinct ethnic group within Taiwan and Chinese-speaking regions). There&#;s a waterwheel, water buffalo statues, tung blossom motifs, and an old paper furnace (or Jingzi pavilion). This latter detail is the three-layered temple(ish) structure on the right edge of the image.
The Kishu An Forest of Literature is an art space in a renovated Japanese building and was Taiwan&#;s first art space dedicated solely to literature as an art form. The stamp also features one of the handful of Japanese-era buildings that can be seen on the campus of National Taiwan Normal University, the students from which bring life and energy to the streets in this area.
Pigeons flock in the open space in front of Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. The description for this particular stamp notes that the blue and white colours used in the design of Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall represent freedom and equality. I am sure there is some snippy comment to be made about this, but I&#;ll leave that to people who are better qualified to comment on such matters.
This stamp shows the lotus pond in Taipei Botanical Gardens, the historic South Gate, and the National Museum of History. If you&#;ve never walked through Taipri Botanical Gardens, do yourself a favour and leave the station to go for a quick wander. It&#;s a lovely spot.
There&#;s lots happening in this stamp. On the left is the Red House and a reel of film to represent all of the cinemas that can be found in this area. In the middle, milling crowds stand in front of Zhongshan Hall, and on the right, a pipa (a type of stringed instrument).
This stamp shows the old north gate that gives the neighbourhood its name. These days, the Fujian-style fortification stands proudly in its own space, but at one point, it was hemmed in and crowded by a flyover road. The stamp also features a camera to represent the area&#;s famous camera street and the facade of Beimen Post Office (a grade three listed historic building).
This stamp has a very busy picture, which is meant to capture the essence of this busy shopping district. On the left is the former UD consulate &#; now SPOT Taipei Film House (a great place to catch some less frequently screened films). And on the right are a couple of the traditional handmade barrels that the area was once known for.
The places included on Songjiang Nanjing&#;s stamp are meant to illustrate this area&#;s business and cultural offerings. The largest amount of space is given over to Siping Yangguang Commercial District, then on the left, the Miniatures Museum of Taiwan and a depiction of people making paper at Suho Paper Memorial Museum.
Nanjing Fuxing is perhaps one of the more boring stamps. It shows the station itself as well as the wedge-shaped brother hotel.
The &#;Little Big Egg&#; (aka Taipei Arena) dominates this image. The sports and leisure complex here offers a huge performance venue and sports centre, as well as an outdoor running track that is open to everyone when there are no events on.
This stamp has one of the railway trains rather than the MRT because it&#;s the closest station to Taipei Railway Workshop Museum. It also shows the First MacArthur Bridge over Keelung River and a pair of dancing deities which represent the Puppetry Arts Centre of Taipei.
Songshan has more than its fair share of scenes to show. The stamp designers chose to go with Raohe Night Market, Songshan Ciyou Temple and the night market&#;s famous black pepper buns.
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