Centennial Celebration of Beitou Park: The Return of the Iconic Duck Fountain

▲ The duck fountain pool in front of Beitou Library vanished years ago. The Taipei City Government has now remade an identical duck fountain head and reinstated it. (Photo / Provided by Taipei City Government)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

Beitou Park holds many cherished memories for locals. Among them, the duck fountain pool in front of Beitou Library accompanied generations of Beitou residents as they grew up and served as a popular photo spot for visitors. However, it mysteriously disappeared years ago. To mark the park’s 100th anniversary, the Taipei City Government recreated an identical duck fountain head and held a ceremony to reinstall it.

In addition to the reinstatement ceremony of the duck fountain, the Taipei City Government’s Department of Information and Tourism, with the core concept of “the entire Beitou Park as a grand stage, a theater of everyday happiness,” organized the grand "Beitou Park Centennial Celebration" across the park. The event invited friends who love Beitou Park, local councilors, and cultural figures to join in a cosplay parade. Everyone gathered at the fountain stage at the park’s entrance, where Director Zhao Xinpeng of the Department led the cutting of a centennial cake to celebrate the park’s birthday and look forward to another exciting century for Beitou.

Deputy Mayor of Taipei City Government Zhang Jin’ao stated that in 1910, Yujiro Inamura, then serving as the Chief of Taipei Prefecture, planned and constructed the “Beitou Public Hot Spring Bathhouse” and “Beitou Park.” On the occasion of the park’s centennial, the Taipei City Government erected a memorial monument for Mr. Yujiro Inamura to honor his contributions to the establishment of Beitou Park. Descendants of Yujiro Inamura also made a special trip from Japan to attend the celebration and witness the park’s development over the past century.

Beitou Park has also meticulously curated a series of centennial-themed installation artworks, including Q-version figures of Sun Yat-sen and Okamoto Yaohachiro along the park’s pathways, the park’s longtime resident “squirrel,” and classic recreations of Taiwanese film shooting scenes—totaling 10 installations. These playful displays engage visitors in learning about major events in Beitou’s century-long history.

The Department of Information and Tourism noted that besides the birthday celebration on June 15, there will be eight sessions of the Centennial Lecture Series from June 22 through August, combining emotional and rational elements to allow citizens to experience the charm of Beitou’s past century. More details can be found on the “Beitou Park Centennial Memorial” event’s official Facebook page.