Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

Where can you graffiti without getting fined? The Taipei City Government’s Hydraulic Engineering Office (HEO) welcomes adults and children to come to the riverside graffiti walls in Taipei City to unleash their creativity! In total, 8 graffiti walls in Taipei City riverside parks with 8,110m2 of surface area have been stripped of paint and are now open to the public. According to the agency, citizens may use the graffiti walls absolutely free of charge, but no political or offensive language or motifs are allowed, or they will be removed by the HEO.

The HEO River Administration Section indicated that designated walls at Taipei City riverside parks have been open to the public for graffitiing for a number of years. Of the 8 graffiti walls in the riverside parks, the largest one is the Chengmei Left Bank Graffiti Wall in Nangang District, totaling 2,120m2. Citizens may enter through Keelung River evacuation gate no. 3 in the direction of Chenggong Bridge to reach the destination. The second-largest graffiti wall is the Guanshan Riverside Graffiti Wall in Songshan District, totaling 1,450 m2. Citizens may enter through Keelung River evacuation gate no. 5 in the direction of downstream Keelung River to reach the destination in about 20m.

The other 6 graffiti walls are as listed: Chengmei Right Bank Riverside Park (enter through Keelung River evacuation gate no. 13 in the direction of Chenggong Bridge, approx. 1,410 m2); Yingfeng Riverside Park (Keelung River evacuation gate no. 7 in the direction of upstream Keelung River, about 500m away and approx. 1,310 m2); Meiti Riverside Park (enter via the Mingshui Rd. accessway, keep to the right, about 780m2); Bailing Right Bank (enter via Yuanshan Riverside Park bike path under the Zhongshan Bridge, about 480 m2); Fuhe (enter via Jingmei evacuation gate no. 2, about 360 m2); Jingmei (culvert wall under Beixin Bridge, about 200m2).

To enrich the diverse appearance and newness of the riverbanks, the HEO repaints the graffiti walls every 4 months to provide the citizens with a chance to showcase their talents and maintain the tidiness and splendor of the riverbank landscape. At the same time, the agency conducts inspections from time to time to remove any political or offensive language and motifs.

Moreover, the HEO reminds the public that graffitiing in a non-graffiti area is against the law, and the Taipei City Government’s Department of Environmental Protection will issue a fine based on Subparagraph2, Article 27 of the Waste Disposal Act, which states “The polluting of the ground, pools of water, drainage gutters, walls, beams or pillars, utility poles, roadways, bridges or other fixed structures is strictly prohibited”. Besides demanding the offender clean up the graffiti, a fine of NT$1,200-6,000 will be issued in accordance with Article 50 of the same act as punishment. If you discover anyone defacing city property, please dial 1999 Taipei Citizen Hotline to report the infraction.