First Look at the Cultural and Creative Base: Eslite Spectrum Songyan Store

By MOOK Travel Life Network’s Chen Guanxin, compiled and reported

 

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 levels 1 to 3, totaling four floors. Its operations include a cultural and creative mall, a cultural and creative 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..

The Eslite Spectrum Songyan Store brings together over a hundred original Taiwanese brands, more than 40% of which are century-old shops making their first appearance in retail channels or highly popular local brands across Taiwan. 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 performances for the first time, focusing on small-to-medium-sized classical music, crossover performance programs, and art films. It aims to connect diverse cross-disciplinary performances and become a cultural exhibition platform for public aesthetic education.

Furthermore, 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, integrating the fragrance of tea with that of literature. Covering a total of 550 ping, the bookstore houses 100,000 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 culinary delights, features the northern Taiwan debut of World Bread Champion Wu Pao-chun’s bakery, the classic Chinese cuisine restaurant “Kao Ji” that emphasizes traditional heritage, the creatively themed “HowFun Love Affairs,” the fashionable hotpot spot “Sun Zheng Yang Shop” that reimagines traditional flavors, the handmade udon noodle bar “Daohe Udon,” and several glass-walled boutique shops offering expertly crafted coffee, tea, wine, and light bites.

As for Eslite’s first foray into managing cinemas and performance halls, the focus is on small-to-medium-sized classical music, crossover performance programs, and art films. The entire performance venue is located on the 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 primarily screens art films, including domestic and international arthouse films, independent productions, Chinese-language creative films, documentaries, and animations. It also curates special selections by renowned figures and hosts children’s themed movie 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.