Preview of the new cultural creativity base: Eslite Spectrum Songyan Store

By MOOK Travel & Lifestyle Network, reported and compiled by Chen Guanxin

 

A new highlight of cultural creativity in Xinyi District, the “Eslite Spectrum Songyan Store,” located in the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, officially opened to the public today (the 15th). With a total floor area of 7,200 ping, it spans the basement level 2 and ground floors 1 to 3, totaling four floors. Its business scope includes a cultural creativity mall, a cultural bookstore, an art cinema, and a performance hall. It will also host the “Eslite Sleepless Night eslite X up all night” celebration from August 17–18, featuring 36 hours of continuous activities and 80 cross-night programs..

Eslite Spectrum Songyan Store brings together over a hundred original Taiwanese brands, more than 40% of which are century-old shops or highly popular local brands making their first appearance in this retail channel. These include Taiwan’s first kiln-fired glass house to enter a retail space, on-site custom bike assembly, affordable made-to-order uniforms, and artisanal woodcrafts. Additionally, Eslite is venturing into new business areas such as film and performing arts for the first time, focusing on small and medium-sized classical music performances, crossover shows, and art films. By connecting diverse performance content, it aims to become a cultural platform for public aesthetic education.

In addition, Eslite Spectrum Songyan Store combines the aroma of tea with the charm of books. On the third floor, it has designed an Eslite bookstore centered around the spirit of Taiwanese tea culture, blending the fragrance of tea with that of literature. Covering a total of 550 ping, it houses 100,000 book titles and 300,000 volumes, organized into three major themed areas: “Humanities & Literature,” “Intellectual Wellness,” and “Creative Aesthetics.”

The basement level 2, a hub for gourmet delights, features the first northern branch of World Bread Champion Wu Pao-chun’s bakery, the classic Chinese cuisine restaurant “Ga Ji” that emphasizes traditional heritage, the creatively themed “How Fun Love Affair,” the fashionable hotpot spot “Sun Zheng Yang Shop” that reinterprets traditional flavors, the hand-pulled udon noodle shop “Dao He Udon,” as well as several glass-walled boutique shops offering expertly crafted coffee, tea, wine, and light meals.

As for Eslite’s first foray into operating cinemas and performance halls, the focus is on small and medium-sized classical music performances, crossover programs, and art films. The entire performance venue is located on basement level 2 of Eslite Spectrum Songyan Store. The “Eslite Cinema” has three screening rooms with capacities of 186, 131, and 94 seats respectively. The interior space was designed by the team of Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning Japanese architect Toyo Ito. The cinema mainly screens art films, including domestic and international art-house movies, independent films, Chinese-language productions, documentaries, and animations. It also curates special selections by renowned figures and hosts children’s themed film screenings, aiming to become a lifestyle space for meaningful encounters with film culture and a key hub for major events in Taiwan’s film scene.