1. Yong Jiu Gan Zai Dian 用九柑仔店-/ Yong Jiu Grocery Store -
The Set is located next door to Qinghe Gan Zai Dian 慶和柑仔店/ Qinghe Grocery Store
Address: No. 90, 166 County Road, Liujiao Township, Chiayi County (next to Qinghe Ganzai Store)
Chinese Address: 嘉義縣六腳鄉166縣道90號(慶和柑仔店旁)
Opening hours: Qinghe opening hours are 6:30am-8:30pm. This probably also goes for Yong Jiu Grocery store, which is open to visitors for photos (It was closed earlier in the year due to Covid, but re-opened 4th of July. I would check the latest Instagram photos to determine if the place is open if you really want to see it in all it's glory).
Yong Jiu Grocery Store is the most important filming location for the drama. It's where the main character, Jun Long, connects with his grandfather, learns to run a small business, meets the girl he likes and builds a strong community space for his friends in the village. Because the grocery store is so central to the plot, most of the filming for the drama took place in and around this building. Since the conclusion of this drama, Sanlih has left most of the props intact and opened up the space to the public as a tourist attraction and photo stop.
According journalists, the building was not a grocery store originally, but a Chinese medicine pharmacy (存德中藥房) as well as a community space and library. However, it was abandoned for some time after the owner died and their children moved away. The descendants of the family that owned the building recently gave up the space for free, allowing it to be refurbished into a 1960's Grocery store for the drama. It's ironic because there's a real old fashioned grocery store just next door to Yong Jiu (a store called Qinghe) where you can purchase actual goods (looking at photos on Instagram, people have been purchasing their souvenirs and sweets at Qinghe Grocery store - Apparently you can actually buy Jun Long and Zhao Jun's favourite childhood candies here). Because the building is so beautiful, I've curated my favourite photos below, organised in the types of photography filters and styles!
Outside the Store - Day Time
Qinghe Grocery Store (right next door)
Inside the Store
Outside the Store - Day Time Candy Style Photography
Inside the Store - Candy Style Photography
Outside the Store - Day Time Grudge Style Photography
Inside the Store - Grudge Style Photography
Qinghe Grocery Store (right next door) - Inside
At Night
For those interested in reading more about the store and seeing more pictures, there are blogs here:
Comparison Photos
2. North Sky Temple of Mazu Goddess 北天宮 (Temple Host's temple) - Dragon Tree Pavilion of Guanyin 龍樹亭
Address: No. 58, Neicuo Road, Puzi City, Chiayi County, Taiwan 613
Chinese Address: 嘉義縣朴子市內厝路58號
Opening hours: 6:00am-9:00pm
In the drama, one of the main villagers is the cool backward-cap wearing Temple Host who looks after the North Sky temple for the goddess Mazu. It's at this temple that Jun Long first meets his best friends, Ah Zhong and Liangjin after Temple Host uses reverse psychology to get him to play with the other kids. This location is also where Fengyu and Zhao Jun have a chat about transferring to Taipei for work. While the characters talk about going here to pray to the goddess Mazu, the temple is actually called Dragon Tree Pavilion and it's dedicated to the goddess, Guanyin. Judging from fan photos on Instagram, it looks like they've put up some signs and banners about the drama being filmed here.
Comparison Photo
3. The Elephant Slide where Zhao Jun hides as a neglected child - Park next to Chiayi Dalin Senior Citizen Centre 嘉義縣大林鎮公所大美活動中心
Address: No. 33, Dameili, Dalin township, Chiayi County, Taiwan 622
Chinese Address: 嘉義縣大林鎮大美里33號.
Quite a few of the important childhood scenes happen around the Elephant slide. It's where Zhao Jun goes to hide from her mother and is found by the Western priest who introduces her to her childhood friend and future (Ex) partner, En Pei. It's also where she breaks Jun Long's toy windmill! Elephant slides are actually not that unusual in Taiwan. It seems like they can be found in many playgrounds and are often used as filming locations. I've seen them in a number of Taiwanese dramas, the last one being
Triad Princess with Jasper Liu. But it seems like the elephant slides are quite unique in their designs. The Instagram account that these photos original from (
workshop21_elephant_slide) actually shows a collection of different elephant slides in Taiwan. As you can see in the comparison photo, this slide is specific to the drama because the Elephant has a saddle with a red outline.
Comparison Photo
4. The corridor of trees where Zhao Jun's truck breaks down and Jun Long tries to help - Green Chinaberry Tree Tunnel 苦楝樹綠色隧道
Address: Below Anwan Bridge, Liujiao Township, Chiayi County
Chinese Address: 嘉義縣六腳鄉安灣橋下方
The last location I have here is the Chinaberry tree tunnel where Zhao Jun's truck gets stranded and Jun Long stops to helps her. This is where the main characters first established a connection, although it doesn't go as Jun Long plans. He not only fails to fix Zhao Jun's truck, but also accidentally offends her. The Chinaberry tree tunnel is a beautiful drive in the Liujiao Township area - it's approximately 3 km long and tour guides apparently joke that you shouldn't walk the whole thing because the tour bus will not wait for you! A lot of people go there for photos (even wedding photos!) because it looks lovely in all seasons.
Comparison Photos
Chiayi county is pretty rural in Taiwan, so it can be a bit out of the way to travel there. But there are many beautiful scenic areas once you get there. Some people took photos like the one below on their drive to Yong Jiu Grocery Store. Isn't this picture lovely? I really hope I'll get a chance to visit these places one day!
I hope I have covered most of the locations you'd be interested in visiting for Yong Jiu Grocery Store. If I missed any, you might be able to find it on this location map released by Sanlih (click for larger image) or in the list of filming locations written by Niusnews, which I've linked below :)
