Oh, for the days of roller skating! Teens gathering in a rink on Friday nights to put their hormones on wheels. All it took was a little help from Lionel Ritchie and those magic words: "Couples' skate. Couples' skate only, please." Hokey Pokey nothin' -- roller skating was about hanky panky.
But the Xanadu days of roller skating were squashed under the wheels of in-line skates. Now even in-line skating isn't cool unless it's "extreme" skating or "aggressive" skating. Decades ago, aggressive skating meant you were getting frisky with your date during couples' skate, not how many flights of stairs you could leap off.
Luckily, there is still a place where skating looks the way it used to. Jin Wan Nian Skating Rink (
PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES
"There used to be other skating rinks," said Scott Chiang (
Several other rinks previously owned by Chiang's family in Taoyuan, Chungli, Hsinchu and Taichung have all closed.
Jin Wan Nian Skating Rink is located in Taipei's Ximending District at 6F, 70 Xining Rd. (
Those who prefer their skating outdoors and in-line should check out the skating park located adjacent to Zhongshan Soccer Stadium on Zhongshan North Road.
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