Chi Po-lin Foundation

100,000 photographic films, 500,000 digital photos, and nearly 1,000 hours of filming footage, these are the invaluable assets that Chi Po-lin has gifted Taiwan. The panoramic view of Taiwan’s landscape from above the clouds has not only visualized the beauty of Taiwan, but also helped students understand the overall picture of the earth in terms of environmental education. Spanning a course of more than two decades, Chi has provided us visual images of major catastrophes and developments, which are precious research materials for our changing landscape.

Having a deep understanding how important it is to amplify the use of these images, Director Chi founded the Chi Po-lin Aerial Photographic Image Database—itaiwan8. This mission now falls on the shoulders of all of us at the Chi Po-lin Foundation, and we will continue to protect and honor the assets bestowed by the director to keep on with the influence of his images.

So far, itaiwan8 has uploaded approximately 8,000 photographs and 1,800 video clips for public browsing. The Foundation has also consistently updated our digital archive and upgraded the image database so that Taiwan’s geographic landscape and cultural memories can be properly collected, preserved, and searched easily. Moreover, we aim to make the use of these images in the friendliest way to maximize and diversify their value. From governmental organizations, education institutions, corporate brands, NGOs, to media, they can all find the most iconic images of Taiwan by Chi Po-lin in the database.