Taiwan Today

Pictures of cats in Houtong taken by Taiwan photographer Peggy Chien are featured on the main page of U.S. Yahoo’s website starting March 24, throwing the international spotlight on the cat-fuelled revival of this small northern town. “This picture series may eventually achieve 800 million views,” said Joann Chen, vice president of Asia-Pacific strategy and business operations at Yahoo. Several years ago, Chien began posting her photos of the town’s cats on the picture-sharing platform Flickr, attracting cat lovers throughout the country. Last year, Flickr and Yahoo Taiwan joined forces to produce The Weekly Flickr photo activity. Chien’s pictures and story of how the cats had led to the town’s resurrection attracted the attention of Yahoo editors, leading to the shots taking pride of place on the US search engine. Chien was originally a music teacher. Her love of cats—she once kept 13—led her to marry a veterinarian. Six years ago, while collecting material for the website of her husband’s veterinary hospital, she photographed more than 100 street cats inhabiting Houtong in Ruifang Township, New Taipei City. The pictures inspired cat lovers to seek better provision of medical treatment for the cats and call for volunteers to help clean up the environment and create a cat-friendly town. Chien has published Cat Walk and five other books of her cat pictures. The photos, with Houtong as their background, gradually attracted the interest of foreign tourists. Before long, the town joined Jiufen, with its old streets, and Pingxi, with its sky lanterns, to become a must-see stop on the local itinerary. Last year, Houtong was listed by U.S. cable network CNN as one of Six Places Where Cats Outshine Tourist Attractions. More than 1 million tourists have visited the town in the past two years. Netizens said they hope Chien’s pictures can bring worldwide attention to Houtong and its cats. “Love of animals is a universal language,” Chien said. “You don’t need words, just a picture will do.” She added that she hopes overseas tourists will come to Houtong and make friends with the felines. According to Chen, Chien’s cats will also appear on the main page of the website’s European, Southeast Asian and mainland Chinese versions. (SDH)