何道明 Douglas Habecker
From our archives, Compass Magazine, Oct. 2001
By Douglas Habecker
Like most cities around the world, Taichung is full of pleasant secrets–perhaps a wonderful restaurant or quaint little shop–waiting to be discovered on some back alley. However, it is also home to at least one very large hidden gem that has remained invisible to many residents and visitors, despite the fact that it is literally a stone’s throw from the city’s main commercial district.
When it opened to the public a few years ago, La Cite was heralded as the island’s first fashion outlet shopping center. Inspired by the same concept that drives enormously-popular outlet malls in North America, it was special by virtue of the fact that its shops offered a variety of name-brand clothing and fashion accessories for bargain prices. This was possible because most of the for-sale items were from last year’s lines and stocks–still perfectly new and appealing but a season or two out of production.
Among the 50 to 60 establishments located on a ground and basement level were also a number of restaurants, cafes and teahouses, plus an attached but separately-run Alexander Health Club and a large basement parking lot. All this was packaged in a beautiful European-style setting, complete with cobblestone-type pavements, classical architecture, fountains and other decorative touches.
Despite a good start and enthusiastic shopper response early on, La Cite and its businesses have struggled over the past year or two, largely because of one significant factor—location. Simply put, its placement is amazingly convenient and ideal, provided shoppers know it’s there. Situated on Szechuan Road, its entrance is about 100 meters from the busy intersection Taichung Kang and Hankou/Tunghsing roads, but completely concealed from there by other buildings.
Even with the recent closure or departure of some stores, La Cite today remains an excellent destination for bargain-hunting shoppers, not to mention those wanting to stroll down a beautiful European street, complete with outdoor cafes, quaint tea houses, park benches and fountains. Although the basement area was closed in late August (with the exception of the health club, which has a separate entrance), dozens of establishments continue in business on the ground level, making this well worth at least a morning or afternoon visit. For convenience, many stores have their mall numbers on their signs; such cases have been noted below.
As floor plan maps around the mall indicate (see below), La Cite is divided into five sections–“A” through “E”. Coming onto Szechuan Road from Hankou Road, one cannot miss the large entrance, a modern, square arch that looks like it was inspired by La Defence in Paris. A few meters on is the Le Cafe sidewalk cafe, where one can relax under the sun (or stars) over a cappuccino.
The mall’s “C” section stretches along the right side of the sidewalk, starting with Liyaku, selling hip, imported Japanese clothing and accessories, targeted at women between the ages of 18 and 28. Greenleaf Fashion Center (C07), next door, caters to a slightly-older class of female customers, with a variety of classy styles made locally from imported European materials. The well-known local fashion line Shiatzy Chen Taipei–designed by Wang Chen Tsai-hsia–is next on the block with an upscale boutique (C06) selling dresses, skirts, blazers, shoes, handbags, ties and belts for women and men. True to the outlet mall ideal, the Benneton store (C04) starts its items at a 50 to 60 percent discount from regular prices in October and November and continues reducing prices from there.
“C” section continues with Timmy Wear (C03), owned by Hong Kong native Timmy Tang, and selling a wide variety of big-name European, mostly-female fashions–Versace, Iceberg, Biblos, Fendi, L’Altramoda–from last year’s clothing lines for 50 to 80 percent discounts. The Tzu Ni Brand Names store (C02) next door specializes in two European female fashion brands–McDavid from Germany and Elegance from France–and also offers various discounts.
At the back corner, the smaller “B” section begins with the OPEC European Fashions Store (B09), selling mostly German and Italian men’s and women’s brands like Olsen Collection, Miss College, Fink, and Missoni Sport. Those looking for Hello Kitty footwear for kids and teens, not to mention some items from Roberta di Camerino, should go next door to the Graceful shoe shop (B05). Also selling shoes is George Shoes (B06) next door, with high-quality, reasonably-priced local and European-made leather shoes for men and women.
Head around the corner and “B” section continues with the impossible-to-miss Coca-Cola store, selling all manner of Coke paraphernalia as well as a decent selection of other clothing. At the very end is Holiday Teashop, a relaxing place selling coffees, teas, flower teas, dumplings, noodles and mostly-Chinese lunch and dinner specials for reasonable prices.
The “D” section begins just inside the main entrance on the left side, opposite the “C” section. The first store is Arthur, which sells men’s and women’s clothing and accesories from a wide variety of popular European names, including Moschino, Boss, Fendi, Custo Barcelona, and Lanvin. Head to the left, around the corner, and you’ll come to The Tie Store (D03), a great place–as the name indicates–to buy a wide variety of high-end ties from Kenzo, Moschino, Burberry’s and other brands. Next is a store (D04) selling fashionable younger women’s clothing from well-known local brands Bigi and T-Parts.
Further down “D” block, near Szuchuan Road, is a store (D09) selling Makoto Muramatsu Collection-brand clothing and other items, including those popular “lucky” Japanese cat statues. The same store continues around the corner and fronts the road. Next door is the Angel’s Touch store (D10), selling various beauty-care products.
“A” block is the largest section in La Cite and sits next to “D” section along Szuchuan Road. On the corner is a sizable store selling upscale women’s clothing from the local Diana fashion label. Next is a swanky upscale boutique (A02) selling women’s fashions by Envi Creative Italy. Continuing along roadside stores, you next come to a very pleasant little spa and beauty products store, The Natural Shop (A03), which resembles a rustic European shop or cafe, selling a variety of items from Natural Products U.K., such as flower teas from the Continent, soap, shampoo and other beauty/spa products. The upstairs floors contain the spa facilities. Equally-nice is the Pure Plant Palace Day Spa just next door, selling a wide range of Clayo health, beauty and spa products from the US. The three floors above contain Touch America spa system facilities.
Continuing along Szuchuan Road (View La Cite Map) and “A” block, the ELLE store (A05) exclusively sells Elle-brand leisure clothing, including swim suits and underwear for men, women and children, towels and bags. A couple stores further on is an outlet (A07) for German Odbo brand clothing–very hip-looking fashions dresses, boots, belts and bags that come in either black or white. On the corner next to that is a 24-hour Family Mart.
From the above-mentioned Diana store, one can also head away from the road and up “A” block, first coming to the Chi-Er Small Products Store (A21) next door. This fascinating little place sells all manner of exotic products from places like Nepal and Southeast Asia, including leather and brass products, clothing and jewelry. On the next corner is the men’s clothing branch of the earlier-mentioned Liyaku store, selling 291295-brand fashions for younger men, plus shoes, jackets and bags. Around the corner is the Sanei store selling the colorful, pastel skirts, blouses and sweaters of the Japanese INE brand. Next to that is another Liyaku store (A18) for male Japanese hipsters, with plenty of ties, shirts and suits by Kenzo, N. Masako, Pazzo, and Tete Homme. A few stores down, upscale jewelry can be found at the Shao Ya Jewelry Store (A14).
The “E” section is an island of buildings in the heart of the mall. While the side facing “A” block is vacant, the other side has a few must-sees. On one corner is a beautiful flagship store for the local Rose House chain of European-style teahouses, complete with a genteel European atmosphere, plenty of Western-style teas and other nice touches. On another corner is swanky-looking S.T. Dupont store (E08),
selling the upscale French company’s mens’ suits, belts, ties, lighters, pens and other accessories, at discounts averaging about 50 percent. In between these two places is the Kansas Jeans Store (E07), with tons of cut-rate jeans and shirts by Lee, Wrangler and IBS.
Over the months ahead, new stores are expected to fill some of the vacant shops, providing even more shopping diversity. Clearly, recent troubles have not marked the end of La Cite. Besides the fact that there are still plenty of great places offering great prices and brands, the mall is simply a wonderful place to hang out and pretend you’re somewhere else. During quiet afternoons and evenings, it is not unusual to see visitors by themselves or in small groups, relaxing by fountains or on benches, enjoying the quiet atmosphere and ambiance.
With so much going for it, there is little doubt that La Cite will not be disappearing any time soon.
GETTING THERE: The easiest way to get to La Cite from Taichung Kang Road is to turn onto Hankou Road (which becomes Tunghsing Rd. on the other side of Taichung Kang). Go about 50 meters up Hankou and turn left onto Szuchuan Road, the next main road. The entrance to La Cite is immediately visible on the left and the basement parking entrance is about 30 meters past that.
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