Tainan and Chiayi Movie Theatres

-- By Guy Abbouttown and Steven Crook Translated by Annie Liu

Tainan's moviegoers have benefited from the opening of two swanky new theater establishments in the last few years: Ambassador (in the HiHa Center at 88, JhongHua E. Rd., Sec. 1; tel: 06-234-7166); and Warner Village (60, GongYuan Rd.; tel: (06) 600-5566). The former is on the outskirts of town, while the latter is the only major theater within walking distance of the train station. Both have basement car parks. Of other first-run theaters, the best is perhaps Nan Tai (317, YouAi St.; tel (06) 223-2426), notable for its excellent sound system - important if you're trying to listen to the dialogue, rather than read subtitles. Tainan is well-served for second-run theaters, the best (meaning cleanest and most comfortable) is United (167, JinHua Rd., Sec. 3; tel: (06) 220-7577). VIP cards issued by United are also valid just around the corner at Chinatown (72, HuanHe Rd.; tel: (06) 221-5110), and bring the price of watching two movies back-to-back down from NT$120 per person to NT$90. Chiayi's movie theaters offer less choice than those in Tainan, but one deserves a mention. Shin Rung (52, SinRong Rd.; tel: (05) 223-7565) offers possibly the cheapest movies in South Taiwan - you can see two second-run films for just NT$80.