NOTE: The pod village was torn down in 2009.
Nestled along a short stretch of coastline in Northern Taiwan lies a strange complex known as The San-Zhi Pod Village. This abandoned futuristic luxury vacation spot remains a complete mystery to locals and tourists alike. There are several stories surrounding the circumstances that led up to its abandonment, but no one seems to know exactly why or how the site fell into such a state of disrepair.
The wacky looking space village is located in San-zhi, on the outskirts of Taipei in Northern Taiwan. It was originally constructed for wealthy urbanites looking to escape the city on weekends.
The most popular story of its eventual decline claim a number of mysterious accidents ending in numerous deaths led to the halt of all construction. Locals believe the area to be haunted.
I heard about this incredible site from my friend, Craig Ferguson, who did a photo series last May.
And of course, in true globetrotting form, we added it to our ever-growing list of weekend motorcycle adventures.
As we sped down Highway 2 towards San-zhi last month, I thought it would be difficult to find, but the area kind of jumps out at you. If you miss seeing the giant candy-colored Smartie-like pods looming in the background, you won’t miss the massive broken-backed dragon that seems to hover over the boarded up entrance.
We entered through a broken window and made our way through the complex and out into the main courtyard. It was eerily quiet. It was so quiet, we could hear the crashing of the waves at the waterfront and the grass blowing. The pods were in various states of disrepair. Some had their entire roofs ripped off, others had collapsed in on themselves. It was obvious that people had been living in some of them. The sheer amount of destruction was mind-blowing.
