"NT$5,500 〔US$166.8〕, going once, going twice, sold!" the auctioneer shouted.

Taipei resident Chan Hsiu-hsian （詹秀嫻） bought her first recycled treasure －－ a bicycle from the 1950s or 1960s that she intended to keep as an antique －－ at a Neihu recycled furniture auction house.

"My son said we could buy several new bicycles for that amount of money, but this bicycle is from my fathers generation and it kind of reminds me of my father," she said on Sunday after winning the bid.

Joining Chan, hundreds of bargain hunters visited the auction house on Sunday.

They browsed the auction items in hopes of spotting a special find among more than 400 pieces of recycled furniture and 53 used bicycles.

Prices for the auction items ranged from 20 percent to 70 percent of their new equivalents.

The auction house in Neihu, opened last year by the Taipei City Department of Environmental Protection after having launched a similar auction house at Zhongshan Soccer Stadium in 2003, was one of several programs suggested to encourage recycling after it began collecting and restoring abandoned furniture in 2002.

Su Feng-huei （蘇芳慧）, a division chief of the department, said that a total of 15,743 pieces of repaired furniture, including wardrobes, sofas and chairs, along with 6,393 refurbished bicycles, were sold over the past four years, generating more than NT$14 million.

About 40 percent of proceeds have been invested in recycling and repairing old furniture and bikes, while the remaining 60 percent has been used to compensate the craftsmen and municipal districts who have helped with the project, Su said.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin （郝龍斌） attended the Lunar Year-end auction and served as an auctioneer for two wooden Cabinets and a bicycle.

He praised the departments efforts in recycling old furniture and running the project, and requested that the department provide more compensation to the craftsmen as a sign of gratitude for their help.

The department has been collecting used furniture dumped by city residents from all areas of the capital and making the products marketable by repairing, repainting or replacing missing parts.