Bihua Street reveals the rise and fall of Taiwan’s textile industry

Despite being only four meters wide, “Bihua Textile Street” near Luzhou in Sanchong was world-renowned for textiles in its heyday.

When the Nationalist government came to Taiwan, it began to promote the textile industry. The proximity of Bihua Street to Taipei City made transportation convenient, and many factories chose to set up factories here. The people who lived in Bihua Street began to make money from factory offcuts. No one imaged that business would go from strength to strength. The small fabric stores that began by selling factory offcuts gradually grew into wholesale distributors, attracting many people to come and settle in the area. Eventually, a local market was created, leading to a golden era for fabric suppliers, known locally as “fabric bulls.”

However, the situation started to decline after much of the industry relocated to China and Southeast Asia. With only 200 of the original 300 fabric stores left, it was clear they had to innovate and transform their business model. In addition to opening up retail sales and selling online, stores have also launched many practical and popular products. Recently, Bihua Street has also set up a council to promote various events. Hopefully, through the efforts of the community, Bihua Street can regain its former glory days.

以下為中文對照

在三重靠近蘆洲的地方，有一條街雖然不到四公尺寬，不過它最興盛的時候是聞名世界的布街，叫做「碧華布街」。

國民政府來台灣之後，開始推廣紡織業。三重因為靠近台北市，交通便利，很多工廠選擇在這裡設廠。住碧華街的人開始跟這裡的工廠撿「碎布」撮合著賺錢，想不到生意越做越好，本來賣零星碎布的小布店，漸漸變成批貨的大布行，吸引很多人來這裡定居並形成市場，來到「布牛」的時代。

不過，這樣的光景在產業外移到中國、東南亞以後開始沒落，三百多間的布行剩不到兩百間，布行只好轉型，除了開放零售、在網路上面賣以外，也推出實用又流行的產品。最近碧華布街也成立理事會，舉辦很多活動，希望經過社區的努力，碧華布街可以找回昔日的繁榮。

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