GC=Great Camo!
This cache is about the Bank of Taiwan Headquarters
The HQ of Taiwanese national bank is the first and state-owned bank in Taiwan. The bank was originally established in 1899 by the Japanese and situated about 150 meters west of this location. Standing in this location is the big building constructed in 1937 to replace the old one. Before year 2000, it was the Bank of Taiwan issuing New Taiwan Dollar bills, not the current Central Bank. Not only is this building functioning as the HQ of Bank of Taiwan, it is also a municipal historic site.
Photo of the original building taken in 1939. （Source: 台灣銀行四十年誌）
Photo of the new building taken in 1939. （Source: 台灣銀行四十年誌）
Inside of the building in 1964 （Source: 行政院文化建設委員會 - 國家文化資料庫）
It is believed to have served as the backdrop for the Japanese TV drama "The Family" (華麗なる一族), set in post-World War II Kobe during the 1960s, revolving around the fictional Hanshin Bank. The scene was filmed here because no suitable historical bank halls in Japan could represent the grandeur required.
Here's a little personal story about this place that has left a great impression on me. I remember coming to this bank for money exchange with my parents when I was little. Way back then (haha), there weren't many places in Taiwan offering foreign currency exchange. Located at the back of the bank is a small booth for foreign money exchange.
In 2019, I needed to get some Swedish Krona. After checking several banks including other Bank of Taiwan branches, they all redirected me to this place. The moment I walked in the front entrance, I felt a sense of nostalgia and wanted to capture that feeling by placing a cache of course!
After the entrance, a security guard instructed me to turn left and go to the back of the bank for money exchange. There, I found a special booth with all different kinds of currencies from all over the world. It's like a small bank inside a big bank. There was an old lady sitting inside the booth by herself and looking a bit lonely but very friendly. She has probably worked for the bank for decades and has seen people in need of foreign money come and go from time to time. She seemed genuinely interested in her customers, casually asking where they were going and what they planned to do there. She even reminded me not to exchange too much Krona because of the rate loss and the prevalence to use paperless money in Sweden.
As smart phone technology advances, old and current ways of handling money may be a thing of the past sooner than we think. When have you visited a bank lately?
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IMPORTANT NOTES:
You don't need to go inside the building to find the cache, but you are welcome to visit the inside of the bank. Visitors are not allowed to take any pictures once inside.
When you get to GZ, read the HINT and let it guide you to the cache! You don't need to look too intensely or suspiciously.
Although the cache is available 24/7, we highly suggest coming here during the day to look for this cache and see this magnificent building next to the Presidential Office building.
Please place the cache the exact same way you take it out. As with all our GC caches, do not post any pictures of the cache container in your log or they will be deleted. Message owner if you have any problems.
There are magnets on the cache which should face to the pole (or road) when putting it back.
地點7x24小時開放。有任何問題請聯絡寶主.
請注意寶盒上的磁鐵應面向馬路, 能吸附著才不會被風吹掉, 拜託了