Chin Men Theater

First established in 1950, the Chin Men Theater is an old three-story building with architecture that looks influenced by old American art deco theaters. The facade covered by enormous hand-painted movie placards of the current shows adds a huge amount of nostalgia for the residents of Tainan.

Playing films that have recently left the cineplexes, this second-run theater was frequented by famed director Ang Lee (李安) while he was a high school student in Tainan, making it a mecca for movie lovers. If you are lucky enough, there may be some occasional free-showings of his films. But the main draw is definitely the nostalgic oil paintings by the local artist Yan Zhen-fa (顏振發). These artworks are so popular that Yan has even started teaching painting classes to keep this dying trade alive. In order to engage with the local communities, the theater once invited kids to submit poster designs for some blockbusters such as Pitch Perfect 2, Penguins of Madagascar, and The Avengers: Age of Ultron. All entries were displayed in the theater lobby and the winning entry eventually served as the main billboard of the movie.

This historic theater is nothing like those big cinema chains. For example, instead of soda and popcorn, the food and beverage offerings at Chin Men Theater are beer, chips and a medley of traditional Taiwanese snacks for you to nibble on. And this is how it has carried memory over generations and still manages to inspire and impress with its old-fashioned cool.