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spectralcodex.com
Xander ✺
@spectralcodex.com
920 followers 1.3K following 1.2K posts
Front-end developer (React/TypeScript/Astro), biogeography grad, history and map enthusiast, leftoid/anti-fascist, Wikipedia supporter. Non-American resident of Taichung, Taiwan 🐙

🕸 https://spectralcodex.com
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A map of population decline in Taiwan from 1980 to 2020 from an article by Di Hu in the International Journal of Geo-Information. Local populations sometimes peaked in the 1960s, particularly in eastern Taiwan, so that decline is already baked-in by 1980. Not surprised to see Yunlin here!
Two maps of population decline on the main island of Taiwan. On the left is a map of cities and counties while the map on the right is more granular, showing individual districts. Population decline is mostly seen in central Taiwan.
November 8, 2025 at 8:34 PM
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A few snapshots from my travels today:

1) A recently restored Japanese colonial building suspected to be a former brothel (青雲閣)
2) Entrance to Qingshan Temple, Monga
3) A former 1980s cinema converted into a scooter parking garage
4) A semi-abandoned (yet inaccessible) commercial complex in Zhubei
A neo-Baroque building with elegant columns and detailing in stone-washed grey with ochre accents and octagonal windows. The entrance to a Taiwanese temple in the historic Monga district. There are four large gods arranged here with lanterns on either side. The dominant colors are red for the floor and yellow-gold on the bodies of the gods, which are also giant puppets people bring out on parades. A small cinema with parking spots in front of the screen. The dominant color is green and the floor is bare concrete. Street scene in suburban Taiwan showing a big commercial building on the center-right and the curve of a street winding around it.
October 30, 2025 at 10:36 AM
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Snapshots from a quick visit to Hawaii Cinema (โรงหนังฮาวาย) in Bangkok. Despite the abandoned appearance it was still operational when I visited in 2018, though it wasn't showing conventional films. From a scan of reviews on Google Maps it might finally be out of business as of 2025. #TheaterHunt
Oblique exterior shot of Hawaii Cinema in Bangkok. It is mostly a dusty ochre color with a marquee visible over the entrance. The sky is hazy and mostly grey, while power lines stretch across the scene. Looking up from street level at the impressive facade of Hawaii Cinema. Empty metal frames show were movie posters would have been displayed back in the day. Looking across the street at the entrance to Hawaii Cinema in Bangkok. There is a prominent red postal box in front and the aquamarine-bordered marquee stretches across the building behind intervening power lines. A scene from the lobby of Hawaii Cinema. The name of the theater appears in red Thai lettering and there's dust and debris strewn around. A beam of sunlight graces the name of the theater.
October 28, 2025 at 10:21 AM
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Truly incredible footage of the overflow being shared on Threads. Not sure about the sourcing of these. If you're interested in following the story live you'll have to pop over there; the videos are unreal.
Water levels behind a landslide dam in Taroko Gorge on October 18th, 2025. The road tunnel is almost completely submerged. Water flowing down the Central Cross-Island Highway in Taroko Gorge.
October 18, 2025 at 7:09 AM
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New photos posted to the Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園) Facebook page reveal water coursing through Jinheng Tunnel (靳珩隧道) and cascading down the bridge at its eastern entrance. Engineers from the highway bureau are currently working to mitigate the potential for dam collapse.
A photo from Taroko Gorge on October 18th showing aquamarine water levels up to the highway behind a landslide dam. Marble cliffs tower overhead. A waterfall coursing off a highway bridge running through Taroko Gorge on October 18th, 2025. A tunnel mouth is visible and the span of the bridge runs from right to left. The perspective is looking upstream.
October 18, 2025 at 5:01 AM
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Eastern Taiwan's ill-fated Taroko Gorge is under evacuation orders due to a landslide barrier lake that formed today (8/17). The debris is 25 meters tall and as you can see in the attached photo of the Swallow's Grotto (via the national parl FB page), water levels were already high this afternoon.
Photographic survey of Swallow's Grotto in Taroko National Park. Bright aquamarine water fills the canyon on the left, a debris pile is visible up ahead, and the trail surface and tunnels are on the right. Photo from the Taroko National Park Facebook page.
October 17, 2025 at 2:39 PM
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Taichung from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings on Taiwan Boulevard 🏙️
The view from the rooftop looking south along Meicun Road in Taichung. The Sogo department store building is visible at bottom right. Looking west along Taiwan Boulevard. The ridge on the skyline is Dadushan. Looking north from the rooftop of a tall building on Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung. Part of what is probably the elevator room can be seen on the right. Looking across the rooftop of a tall building on Taiwan Boulevard. Blue pipes snake across the scene.
October 15, 2025 at 5:42 AM
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Went for a spin around Changhua City to knock off a bunch of historic sites from my list and so many of them are in the midst of restoration. Really cool to see the city take its abundant cultural heritage so seriously (only a little sad I couldn't document the original condition of those sites).
Japanese colonial era granary currently under reconstruction. It's a rugged old building, half-demolished, with a round rooftop and ventilation on top to keep grain cool. There are tarps and sheet metal fencing in the foreground. Part of the Changhua Railway Village with the green construction site notice mounted on a red brick wall. The skies are blue and serene with white clouds. Behind the wall is some kind of rugged, dilapidated structure, possibly an old residence. An old military dependents' village in Changhua City currently under construction. There is a shovel and wheelbarrow in the foreground and the two-storey residences in the background show evidence of being recently resurfaced. An old Japanese colonial era wooden house allocated to civil servants in Changhua City. Only the top is visible; the body of the building is obscured by red brick walls and a partial sheet metal fence above.
October 7, 2025 at 5:38 AM
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Yesterday the boss of the cafe I visited generously gave me this Taiwanese salted egg yolk pastry (蛋黃酥) divided into two pieces 🥮
A Taiwanese salted egg yolk pastry cut into two pieces and situated on a small white plate on a wooden table top. The background shows the context, a cafe, with chairs and tables and other patrons around.
October 7, 2025 at 4:06 AM
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A few snapshots from Chenguang Theater (晨光戲院) in Xincheng, just north of Hualien City. It was established in 1963 and likely catered to the military personnel stationed at nearby airbases. I wasn't able to access the projection room before it was demolished in 2023. spectralcodex.com/xincheng-che...
A bright red car parked under an awning in front of a rugged looking rural cinema in Hualien County, Taiwan. The former ticket window at a rural theater in Hualien County. One window is sealed with wood, the other has cracked glass, and there's garbage and debris strewn around in front. The interior of an abandoned cinema in rural Hualien County. Heaping mounds of rope, likely from a nearby fishing harbour, occupy the foreground, while lush green foliage sprawls beneath a break in the rooftop. The former stage of a rural theater in Hualien County. The rooftop has broken open from neglect and plant life and vines grow everywhere sunlight reaches, giving the scene a very post-apocalyptic vibe.
September 26, 2025 at 10:31 AM
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A few shots from a morning ramble around Wanhua District, Taipei:

1) Xinfu Market (新富市場); recently revitalized.
2) Jiyi Temple (集義宮); a center of Taiwanese folk beliefs.
3) Renji Sanatorium (仁濟療養院); Taiwan's first mental health facility?
4) Wanhua Chen Residence (萬華陳家古厝); neglected and overgrown...
The central courtyard in a Japanese colonial era wet market showing grey pebble-washed walls and small glass and wood windows. Stone carvings surround the entrance to a temple. Yellow lanterns hang from the ceiling inside and there are various altars visible in the darker interior. A simple red brick building with three palm trees out front. It is a hot and hazy day with a blue sky and wispy clouds beyond the black tiled rooftop. An abandoned Minnan-style courtyard house in the back alleys of Wanhua. There is a car parked to the right and almost everything is overgrown.
September 17, 2025 at 6:14 AM
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The original Canon logo from 1934 is really cool. I only just learned the name of the company originates with Guanyin AKA Kwanon (觀音) and only became "Canon" in 1947.
A white-on-black version of the Kwanon Camera logo circa 1934. It says "Camera" at the top in a brushstroke-like font and "Kwanon" at the bottom in fiery text. In the middle is an image of Guanyin or Kwanon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, in one of their many-armed forms on top of a lotus flower.
September 16, 2025 at 2:53 AM
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How's this for obscure? I went searching for traces of an old cinema in Tuku, Yunlin County, and found this plaque hidden behind some of the claw machines that now occupy the former lobby. I was standing on a chair to get this shot. Right-to-left it reads Mingxing Theater (明星戲院)!
A scene from inside a claw machine parlor in rural Taiwan. There is a gold on black plaque faintly visible behind goods on top of the claw machines.
September 14, 2025 at 1:04 PM
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Here's an archival photograph of the banner next to the theater (which is on the right with the nameplate partly visible). Have a glance at the modern photos and you'll see everything matches up, albeit with years of renovations.
An undated black and white photo of the side of Guanghua Theater in Tainan. It is a street scene with a banner displayed showing a traditional opera troupe. The theater nameplate can be partly seen on the right.
September 9, 2025 at 4:03 AM
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Nearly 35 degrees in Taipei this afternoon... I'm out getting lunch on YouBike and it's a tough slog 🔥🔥🔥
Another temperature map from the CWA showing 34.7 degrees in Taipei.
July 30, 2025 at 6:09 AM
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Crossposted from TVBS on Threads: the scene in Hualien, Taiwan, as the tsunami from the M8.8 earthquake in Kamchatka arrives.
A screen capture from TVBS News showing the sea and a rocky beach with two rescue workers and a dog in the foreground and around 8 people watching for the tsunami to arrive.
July 30, 2025 at 5:34 AM
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Heading to the office this morning and it feels unusually hot. I'm not hallucinating, it is already 32 degrees in Taipei at 9am! 🔥
A weather map of temperature in Taiwan. Taipei hit 32 already, Taichung is at 25.1, Kaohsiung at 28.7.
July 30, 2025 at 1:57 AM
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One of the more creative permutation of Taipei's many tiled apartment blocks. This one is on Rui'an Street Lane 208 (瑞安街208巷).
Looking up at a tiled apartment block in Taipei. The building has many wavy concrete extrusions covered with ivory-colored tile while the body of the building is a ruddy orange-brown. Plants burst from the balconies on the lower levels.
July 26, 2025 at 5:23 AM
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A little weekend mapping project: fetch ~500 administrative boundary data from Overture Maps, convert to FlatGeobuf, and display on my existing MapLibre/Protomaps-based application. No Google Maps involved here!

Incidentally I've found more than a few locations situated in the wrong district...
Screenshot of a mapping application showing Taichung City with 400+ points on the map. Screenshot of a mapping application showing Hengchun with 27 points on the map. Screenshot of a mapping application showing Zhongzheng District with 60 points on the map. Screenshot of a mapping application showing Xiulin with 31 points on the map.
July 23, 2025 at 4:24 AM
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Google Maps Street View in southern Taiwan (Tainan/Kaohsiung/Pingtung) now displays an anime-style girl instead of the usual yellow pegman 😻
A zoomed in view of Google Maps with the usual yellow pegman replaced by some kind of anime girl in purple. A zoomed in view of Google Maps with the usual yellow pegman replaced by some kind of anime girl in purple. This screenshot shows the character from behind.
July 19, 2025 at 7:02 AM
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New reaction meme unlocked 🫠
A screenshot from a Tommy Sabbatical video where he's saying "I'm too white to enjoy this" to a snack vendor on the beach in Kinmen.
July 9, 2025 at 9:51 AM
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Typhoon #Danas is bearing down on Taiwan right now.

The preparations:
A bamboo basket with xiaolongbao, little dumplings filled with meat and soup.
July 6, 2025 at 2:07 PM
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Here's a historic photo of Taichung Temple (臺中寺), undated but plausibly from the 1920s or thereabouts. After the war this temple was repurposed for use by government agencies and demolished by 1980. The rediscovered building was likely built years after this was taken, but certainly prior to 1945.
A historic photography of Taichung Temple, a Soto Zen Buddhist monastery, undated but plausibly from the 1920s.
June 22, 2025 at 4:28 AM
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On the scene at a surprise discovery in the back alleys of Taichung. Just yesterday demolition workers revealed this old Zen Buddhist structure previously hidden behind metal sheeting. Some pretty intense public interest here this morning; city councilors are inspecting, media reporting.
A mysterious reinforced concrete building recently unearthed in the back alleys of Taichung. It is square and minimalistic with a Buddhist swastika carved over the entrance. Debris is all around in the foreground. A crowd of onlookers in the alleyway leading to a mysterious building in Taichung. Taichung city councilors conferring outside a newly unearthed building. The newly rediscovered structure from the nearby rooftops. A lone photographer is capturing the scene down below.
June 22, 2025 at 3:25 AM
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Wandering through Chinatown in Toronto and randomly captured this scene yesterday 👀
A street scene at Spadina and Dundas in Toronto. A Chinese man in rather old fashioned garb is waiting at the crosswalk while a newer TTC streetcar pulls up in the background.
May 11, 2025 at 2:23 PM