Taichung was home to the Taichung Suns , a professional basketball team that played in the T1 League . The T1 League was one of several recent attempts to establish a stable professional men’s basketball league in Taiwan and operated from 2021 to 2024. The Suns were one of the original teams in the league. They played for two seasons before folding due to financial difficulties, finishing with losing records in both seasons. It’s a reminder of how quickly teams can come and go, even in major cities.

I can't tell if the sender hand drew this herself, or it is a bought card. Regardless, I love the simplicity of this card. 

Taichung was home to the Taichung Suns, who played two seasons in the T1 League, a professional basketball league in Taiwan. The Suns were one of the original six teams to form the newly formed T1 League in 2021-22 season.  However the Suns only lasted two seasons. The league suspended the Suns for financial reasons, and the team folded a month later. Taichung had actually made it to the league finals in the first season, but lost to Kaohsiung Aquas.  The T1 league is the third professional basketball league to try to make a go of it. The first was the Chinese Basketball Alliance from 1994-1999, followed by the P. League+, which is still in play and has four teams. 

A creepy card. However, Oldies Burger is a legitimate restaurant in Taichung. 

I'm not sure what this card depicts. If you read Chinese, let me now what it says on the rock....

Taichung  臺中市  is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. There are 2.8 million people in Taichung. The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts  國立臺灣美術館  in located in Taichung. It was established in 1988 and is the only national-grade fine arts museum in Taiwan. Most of the collection are works by Taiwanese artists, including modern and contemporary arts. At 102 000 square meters, it is one of the largest museums in Asia.  The Jiji Earthquake, or the 921 Earthquake, shut down the museum in September 1999. but reopened in July 2004. The museum averages about 1 million visitors each year. 

Awi is a "69 year old pensioner" from Taichung. He sends a card from the Department of Information of the Hsinhai Elevated Road, found in Taipei.  The Hsinhai Elevated Road is named in honour of the 1911 Revolution, or Xinhai Revolution. This revolution ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. It ended 2132 years of imperial rule, and 276 years of the Qing Dynasty. The revolution is celebrated as Double Ten Day in Taiwan (10 October), and in the People's Republic as the Anniversary of the 1911 Revolution. 

Sydney is a university student in Cultural Heritage Conservation. She recommends the National Palace Museum, which is located in Taipei.  The National Palace Museum has 700 000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and art. The collection covers 8000 years of Chinese history. Most of the items are high quality pieces collected by China's emperors.  There are two museums - the Northern Branch, in Taipei, and the Southern Branch is Taibao. In the Northern Branch, the museum was expanded four times. In 2002 the museum underwent a major renovation, making it more spacious and modern. Permanent exhibitions of painting and calligraphy are rotated once every three months. About 3000 pieces can be displayed at one time. In the Southern Branch, the museum was completed in 2015. It is earthquake and flood resistant. It is found on 70 hectares of land, complete with a lake and Asian style garden on the grounds.  Sydney sent a World Postcard Day card, I think this was the four...

 

As I progress further with this blog I have started looking for interesting aspects of the city, rather than giving a quick history and economic activity. For Taichung I discovered the Global and World Cities Research Network and was interested in learning more.  Twice a year, the Global and World Cities Research Network categorizes cities into four different tiers: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Sufficiency. These are based on the city's international connectedness. Connectivity is based on four areas: accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law. Economics are ranked more heavily than political or cultural factors. For example, you would think that Washington, DC would be an Alpha+ city because it is the capital city of the United States, considered to be the leader of the free world. Washington, however, is only considered a Beta+. Taichung is considered a Gamma city. A gamma city are cities that link with smaller economic regions into the world economy.  In Canada, Toronto ...