Historic footage reveals Pingtung market sharing railway tracks
Historic footage reveals Pingtung market sharing railway tracks
2026-05-22
Many visitors to Thailand are sure to visit the famous Mae Klong Railway Market to see the vendors hurriedly collect their wares from the tracks to get out of the way of an oncoming train. But did you know that Pingtung used to have a similar market?, historian Chiu Tsai-yen and Taiwan Film Culture Co got together to document this page in Taiwan’s history.
Here at the Mae Klong Railway Market in Thailand, vendors do business right up next to the tracks. When a train comes, everyone gives way just enough for it to pass. But did you know that Pingtung also used to have a market just like it?
This documentary footage from 30 years ago shows a market in Pingtung’s North District. When a train comes, the vendors bring their wares inside, then bring them back out again when it passes. Ms. Yang, wearing a track jacket as she pushes her Hakka rice cake stall back into place, still sells in the same market all these years later.
Ms. Yang
Market vendor
Oh, there, there! That’s me. Taisugar’s train carrying sugarcane was running. If I heard a whistle, I’d hurry over there.
Fishmonger Mr. Chang used to bring his son with him to work. Now that the son is grown, he followed in his father’s footsteps to also become a fishmonger.
Mr. Chang
Fishmonger
I was still little then, around second grade. When the train was coming it would sound a horn and we’d quickly move the stall out of the way.
Historian Chiu Tsai-yen and Taiwan Film Culture Co filmed the area in front of Taisugar’s Pingtung factory before it closed to preserve the unique scenes of that era.
Chiu Tsai-yen
Historian
When I was little, I loved those sugar trains. When I saw one, I’d go running after it. Two or three years before they stopped, I started documenting them. Until they actually stopped running in 1997, I systematically documented each route, covering every inch.
Looking at the market now, you can still see some traces of the old railway track. Although there are no longer trains carrying sugarcane through here, the memories live on in the minds of the locals.
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#sugarcane #train #railwaymarket #market #vendor #MaeKlong #Pingtung #history #documentary #historical #Taisugar
珍貴影像! 30年前屏東鐵道市場"讓路" 火車來了收攤位
2026-05-22
許多遊客到泰國旅遊的時候，都會朝聖當地的美功鐵道，看著攤販們緊貼鐵路做生意，火車來的時候就將路讓開，不過其實在屏東早期也有這樣的場景，雖然在民國86年停駛，不過當時文史工作者邱才彥與台影公司特別拍攝了一部紀錄片，將這歷史的景象保留下來。
泰國美功鐵道市集，當地的攤販緊貼著鐵軌做生意，等到火車開過來時，大家就讓出空間給火車通過，你知道嗎，其實在屏東也曾經有這樣的景象出現過。
透過紀錄片，來看約30年前的屏東北區市場，當火車開過來的時候，周邊攤販就將物品往內收，火車通過之後再推出去，身穿運動外套，推著攤車賣鹹粿的楊小姐，時隔多年，仍在同一個地點繼續工作。
[[市場攤販 楊小姐]]
“喔，這個這個，這個我，台糖的甘蔗車在跑，如果來有人吹笛子，我就趕快推跑去那裡”
魚販張先生，那時候就帶著兒子一起在市場工作，多年過去，小朋友已經長大成人，跟隨爸爸的腳步在市場賣魚。
[[魚販 張先生]]
“我那時候還小，好像國小二年級而已，火車來的時候，他會叭，我們就要趕快把攤位推走”
文史工作者邱才彥與台影公司，在台糖屏東廠關廠前，特別拍攝了這部紀錄片，把當年的奇特景象保留下來。
[[文史工作者 邱才彥]]
“我小朋友是很喜歡那個五分車，看到五分車就要跑出去追，在停駛兩、三年前，就開始做紀錄，到真正停駛民國86年那一年，那我就真的開始沿線，比較地毯式的這樣做紀錄”
實際看看現在市場的路面，還有一些殘留下來的鐵軌痕跡，雖然現在已經沒有火車載著甘蔗從這裡經過，但過往的歷史回憶，將長存在當地人的心中。
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