Traditional cattle market transformed into modern-day market

In the past, Taiwanese cattle markets were busy hubs of cattle trading, and Beigang Cattle Market in Yunlin is the largest in the country. However, in the wake of agricultural mechanization, demand for cattle significantly reduced and this regional cattle market slowly transformed into an ordinary market, while continuing to thrive commercially. 

Today, you can still get a vague glimpse of the past from the goods being sold by local street peddlers, but for local people, the market means more than just a place to buy and sell things. Local cultural worker Wu Xiu-ming (吳修明) said residents come to chat and hang out, especially in today’s aging society, where the elderly can come to make friends, share their feelings and infuse some meaning into their life. The transformation of this traditional cattle market has been a revelation in terms of grassroots contacts and local connections, the value of which should not be neglected.

Traditional cattle market transformed into modern-day market 

URL：https://www.peopo.org/news/297613

(以下是中文對照)

傳統牛墟 今日地方市集
牛墟是早期台灣專門交換牛隻的地方，雲林北港的牛墟是全台規模最大的一個。但隨著農業機械化，牛隻的需求大量減少。地方牛墟藉由轉型成為市集，保留了商業繁榮。

從在地攤商的商品中，還是可以依稀的瞥見昔日的影子。對當地人來說，這裡除了買賣，還有另外一層意義。地方文史工作者吳修明表示，在地居民會來此聊天溝通，尤其現在高齡化社會，老人家可以來這邊交朋友、談談心，心靈的空虛可以獲得舒緩。牛墟的轉型給我們另一個啟示，社會基層的聯繫及地方情感的交流，也是傳統市場不該被忽視的價值。