Ri Xing Type Foundry, Type foundry in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan
Ri Xing Type Foundry is a lead type foundry in Taipei that makes and keeps Chinese characters for letterpress printing. The workshop has tall wooden shelves holding thousands of cast metal characters sorted by style and size.
The foundry was established in 1969 during Taiwan's period of industrial growth and printing expansion. It remains one of the last active lead type foundries, having survived decades of industry decline.
The facility produces three traditional Chinese typefaces (Kaiti, Songti, and Heiti) and keeps centuries-old printing methods alive through handcrafted lead character production.
Wear loose, breathable clothing as the casting processes generate a lot of heat in the workspace. Plan to spend a good amount of time exploring the different sections, as there is much to see and understand.
The craft here uses special machines that heat lead to about 300 degrees Celsius to cast Chinese characters with bronze molds. Each cast character is checked by hand and sorted before being added to the shelves.
Спільнота допитливих мандрівників
AroundUs об'єднує тисячі дібраних місць, місцеві поради та приховані перлини, які щодня поповнюють 60,000 учасників по всьому світу.
