Tamsui River – Eel Fishing Boat

Part of Huang Tse-hsiu's? "Ripples on the Tamsui River"? series, the photo was taken in the 1950s, on the Keelung River near Yuanshan. Four small boats are linked together with ropes, with three or four fishermen aboard each boat. The fishermen sit quietly, poles in hand, angling in the waters to their right.?As dusk approaches, the setting sunlight is reflected on the river, turning the surface brilliant white, silhouetting houses and trees on the far bank, lending the scene a lovely poetic quality. In?Taiwan Sheying Duxingxia?("Taiwan's Photography Loner"), Huang Tse-hsiu writes, "The Yuanshan bridge, upstream at the Taipei No. 1 drainage-trench water outlet, is where eels gather and many office workers go every day at dusk. In a time of scarce resources, catching a few big white eels in the evening is cause for rejoicing.