Zhongli

Zhongli Elementary Teachers Dorms (壢小故事森林)

Having recently celebrated the 120th anniversary of its founding, Zhongli Elementary School finds itself on a very exclusive list of educational institutions in Taiwan with such a long and storied history. 

Plans for the construction of “Zhongli Public School” (中壢公學校) started in 1898 (明治31年), shortly after the Japanese took control of Taiwan. The school opened two years later in 1900 and became one of Taoyuan’s (and Northern Taiwan’s) first public educational institutions. 

To celebrate the 120 year anniversary of the school, festivities were held throughout the year and the school announced plans for some restoration projects that would modernize and beautify the campus. 

To coincide with the anniversary, the Taoyuan City Government started a restoration project on the historic teachers dormitories that were once used by the staff at the school during the Japanese Colonial era.

The plan was to have them ready to reopen to the public in conjunction with the celebrations for the school’s milestone anniversary. 

With such a long and storied history, you’d think that finding information about the school would be pretty easy, but that’s not actually the case.

From what little I’ve found from the school’s own literature is that “Zhongli Public School” opened in 1900 and as the number of students steadily increased over the years, several “branch” schools had to be constructed nearby communities - all of which still exist today.

In total, five branch schools were constructed around town, which have all since changed their names and are now known as Chung-Ping Elementary (中平國小), Hsin-Ming Elementary (新明國小), Hsin-Jie Elementary (新街國小), Longgang Elementary (龍岡國小) and Nan-Shih Elementary (南勢國小). 

If you’ve lived in the area as long as I have then you’re probably aware that these schools (in most cases) were the basis for the formation of a community that used the same name as the school.

Most notably “Hsin-Ming Elementary” is known for its popular neighbour, the Zhongli Night Market (新明夜市), which is actually named “Hsin-Ming Night Market” and the Hsin-Ming Traditional Market, which is home to two of the city’s most famous restaurants, Hsin-Ming Beef Noodles (新明牛肉麵) and Yong-Chuan Beef Noodles (永川牛肉麵). 

In the decades since the colonial era ended, the school has changed its name a few times, but no matter what it is called, it is still the first educational institution opened to the public and is an important part of the local history.  

Subtle name changes

  • 1947 (民國36年) - 中壢國民學校

  • 1968 (民國57年) - 中壢國民小學

  • 2014 (民國103年) - 桃園市中壢區中壢國民小學

The topic today however isn’t really about the school itself, but the Japanese-style teachers dormitories that were constructed nearby. 

As I’ve already mentioned, the growing number of students wanting to take part in the public education system, it became necessary to construct branch schools as well as homes for the staff working at the schools to live. 

Constructing “dormitories” (員工宿舍) for employees was a service that the Japanese Colonial Powers provided, especially for civil servants and those working within important industries.

There would have been dormitories that housed police, government officials, teachers, principals, railway workers and many of the engineers who came to Taiwan to help develop the island. 

Today, all over Taiwan many of these dorms are being restored and reopened to the public as tourist destinations in an attempt to help people learn more about an important part of Taiwan’s history.

So lets take a look at the newly reopened Zhongli Elementary School teachers dormitories, which have been (randomly) renamed the “Zhongli Forest Story House” (壢小故事森林). 

Zhongli Elementary Teachers Dorms (中壢國小日式宿) 

You might think that like most school dorms that the teachers dorms would have been constructed somewhere on campus, but in order to provide the teaching staff with a bit of privacy, they were constructed on a nice plot of tree-covered land nearby. 

Constructed in 1917 (大正6年), the three Japanese-style homes are on a plot of land that is about 871 square meters large and would have provided staff with easy access to the school as well as the nearby train station and whatever amenities would have been available in the downtown area at that time. 

Interestingly, from a design perspective, even though there are three buildings, each of them was constructed somewhat differently as they all served different functions. One of them was a typical Japanese style family home, while the other two were more dorm-like in their set-up.

The two single-floor buildings, which are referred to as “Building A” (A棟) and “Building B” (B棟) are typical Japanese-style homes that were constructed with Taiwanese Cypress (台灣檜木) and have beautiful black Kyoto-style roof tiles (黑瓦). 

Building C” (C棟) on the other hand is a bit different from the other two and even though it maintains aspects of Japanese architectural design, it was constructed with brick, has two floors, a nice patio space on the second level and a roof that was constructed using the same type of red tiles (閩式紅瓦) that you’ll see on many older Taiwanese buildings. 

The buildings were used by the Japanese staff of the elementary school from 1917-1945 and then afterwards became dormitories for the teaching staff hired by the new regime for the next few decades before they were more or less abandoned.

Today the dorms have been completely restored and are part of a newly established culture park known as the Zhongli Forest Story House

Now that they’re no longer dormitories, the government had to find a use for the space, so each of the buildings now serves a specific purpose. 

  1. Building A” - A棟 (沐樂居)

GTJ-2019-1031-29.jpg

“Building A” was originally constructed as a dorm that would house two families under the same roof (雙拼日式宿舍), so the interior has several rooms and two large open spaces. It would have been a space for more senior teachers who brought their family with them to Taiwan.

The building is currently used as a revolving exhibition space that is likely to focus on the history of the local area, its people, language, cultures and cuisine.

2. “Building B” - B棟 (儒林所)

“Building B” is a smaller single family dorm (單棟日式宿舍) that was likely used by the principal of the school and his or her family. The home is complete with a couple of bedrooms, an open living room, kitchen and bathroom.

The building is currently used as a fun exhibition space for children to come and learn about Taiwanese history in a fun and interesting way.

3. “Building C” - C棟 (睦森館)

Building C” is the largest of the three buildings and was the space that was offered to teachers and staff with lower seniority. The building was constructed with bricks and as I mentioned above features a red tile roof, which is uncommon for Japanese-style buildings.  The living conditions would have been what you’d expect from a typical dorm but there would have been ample space for everyone living inside. 

The building is currently used as a multi-purpose space for exhibitions, meetings, public lectures, etc. It is also home to a small cafe where you can purchase some drinks and sit inside. The second floor patio is also open for guests to walk up to get a good look at the beautiful red tiles on the roof of the building as well as the exterior of the other two smaller buildings. 

During the week, the space can be a little quiet, but on the weekends there are always events taking place similar to weekend markets with hip vendors setting up mobile coffee shops with others offering a variety of foods. If you visit on the weekend, you should probably expect that there will be quite a few people and the opportunities for photos probably won’t be so good. 

Getting There

 

Address: #52 Bo-ai Road, Zhongli District, Taoyuan City (桃園市中壢區博愛路52號)

The Zhongli Forest Story House is located within the downtown core of the city and is easily walkable from the train station (中壢車站) or the inter-city bus terminal (中壢客運站).

If you’re in town, you can easily grab a Youbike and make your way to the dorms while also checking out many of the other historic destinations within the area.

Located directly across the street from Zhongli Elementary School (中壢國小) and a short walk from the Zhongli Police Dorms (壢景町), the Zhongping Story House (中平故事館) and several staple local restaurants, there is quite a bit to see and do in the space of a single city block, and a five minute walk from the train station. 

Hours: Tuesday - Sunday: 10:30-7:00 

Admission: Free of Charge

If you’re feeling hungry, take it from me, there are quite a few local restaurants nearby that should satisfy your tastebuds.

  • Tseng’s Steam-Fried Buns (曾記老牌水煎包) - A short walk away from the dorms, there is always a big line for these freshly cooked buns and for good reason - they’re amazing. 

Address: 桃園市中壢區康樂路61號

#61 Kangle Road.

  • Old Alley Hakka Noodles (老巷小館) - This Hakka noodle place serves up some cheap and amazing Hakka noodle dishes with the addition of succulent plates of duck. 

Address: 桃園市中壢區中正路243號 

#243 Zhongzheng Road.

  • Mama Liu’s Hakka Vegetable Buns (劉媽媽菜包店) - This take-away only store sells steaming hot sticky Hakka vegetable buns and are one of the things you absolutely have to eat if you’re in town. There are meat and vegetarian options, so make sure to let them know which type you want! 

Address: 桃園市中壢區中正路268號

#268 Zhongzheng Road.

  • Papa’s Secret Lover (阿爸的情人) - If you’re looking for some straight up amazing Hakka food, then look no further than this restaurant which has been open for half a century. 

Address: 桃園市中壢區中山路401號 

#401 Zhongshan Road.

  • Yong-Chuan Beef Noodles (永川牛肉麵) - If you’re a lover of beef noodles, then this restaurant should be high on your list. Its open 24 hours for your enjoyment and no matter what time of the day you visit, its always jam packed with people slurping up the spicy noodles. 

Address: 桃園市中壢區民權路61號

#61 Minquan Road.

  • The Peanut House (張豐盛商行) - While most locals visit this historic shop for their peanut fix, tourists have been coming from all over Taiwan for a taste of their peanut-flavoured ice cream which is surprisingly amazing. If you’re in town on a hot day, you’ll definitely want to visit. 

Address: 桃園市中壢區中正路349號

#349 Zhongzheng Road.

The restoration and reopening of the Zhongli Elementary School Teachers Dorms adds yet another location to the list of places for people to visit when they come to Taoyuan. These dorms, in conjunction with the nearby police dorms show off a bit of the city’s colonial history in an area that is rightfully very focused on and proud of its Hakka history and culture. 

A visit to the teachers dorms won’t take very long and it seems like there is always something interesting going on, so if you’re planning to visit the area, you should definitely add them to your list of places to visit. 


Zhongli Police Dorms (壢景町)

You may have forgotten, but a few years back I promised that I’d make a return to the Zhongli Police Dorms and offer a update when they were finally finished being restored.

Over the years I’ve probably made a hundred of these promises, so I hope that this blog is proof that I’m following through with some of those promises. I’m not completely full of it.

When I first discovered that the old dorms were slated to be restored by the Taoyuan City government, I decided to make an effort to visit them before the construction crews got their hands on them.

The thing is, when these old Japanese-era buildings get restored, they often end up looking nothing like the original. So, with little confidence in the skills of the construction crews (who would quickly be taking over), I decided to pay the dorms a visit. 

The problem was that the dorms were off-limits as they were part of a gated parking lot that was reserved for the good people working at the Zhongli Police Station. So, I had to figure out a way to get in to take photos. Admittedly, unlike a lot of the abandoned places I explore getting in was quite easy so I made a couple of visits before they were officially sealed off.  

And I’m sure glad I did. 

But probably not for the reason you’re thinking. 

When I visited the dorms a few years back, they were in rough shape - The interior and exterior of all three buildings were worn and falling apart due to years of neglect. Exacerbating the problem was that they were emptied out and open to the elements. If you take into account how humid it is in Taiwan, that the doors and windows were left wide open and the fact that these houses were made of wood, it wasn’t a recipe for longevity.

Nevertheless, like almost all of the buildings constructed by the Japanese during their fifty years in Taiwan, the foundations were solid and even though the houses were neglected after their residents moved away, they were still in pretty good shape, all things considered.

The Taoyuan City Government preserved the original three Japanese-era dorms across the street from the police station but sadly the community of dorms that were constructed directly behind the police station are gone.

Those dorms, which were built in the typical ‘Military Village’ (眷村) style were likely constructed shortly after the Chinese Nationalists took control of Taiwan. They ultimately could have been converted into something useful, but the government decided instead to bulldoze them to make way for a much needed parking lot for the police.

The three dorms that were preserved were originally named: Sakura House (櫻花樹屋), Guava House (芭樂樹屋) and Longan House (龍眼樹屋) thanks to the trees that were planted next to the houses. Today they have been cleverly renamed “A”, “B”, and “C.”

Another example of how far we’ve progressed as a society over the past century. 

Embarrassingly, when I visited I spent a bit of time talking to one of the people in charge of the exhibitions and showed them one of my photos of the “Sakura House” before it was restored.

He quickly became confused when I referred to the house by its original name and had no idea what I was talking about. Sorry bro, I should have said “Building A” (A棟). 

The Taiwanese government both at the national and local level has invested quite a bit as of late in the restoration of Japanese-era buildings in an attempt to preserve what little still remains. The problem is though (as I mentioned above) that the restoration projects often end up looking nothing like the original when they’re completed.

Like many in the online ‘Japanese Colonial Era’ groups I’m a part of on social media, I was skeptical that the restoration project on the dorms would be carried out in a responsible manner, so I made sure to visit before they were ruined.

Fortunately, I’m happy to say that in this case, the local government did stellar job restoring these buildings. Not only did the do their best to ensure that the interior and exterior of the buildings remained the same, they also did their best to preserve the original wood. 

While standing in the house, I took out my phone and loaded up the photos I took of the various rooms prior to restoration and was amazed at how great of a job they did in ensuring that the dorms stayed almost exactly the same. I’m usually quite critical when it comes to this stuff, so a round of applause for the Taoyuan City Government is well-deserved. 

  • Click on the before and after photos above to see what I mean. ↑↑↑

The three dorms now are part of a park which reserves one of the buildings for an exhibition on the history of the buildings, another for an exhibition about the Zhongli Incident (中壢事件) and the third has been converted into an impressively beautiful hot pot restaurant. 

The exhibition spaces in the two smaller dorms is likely to be revolving - which should be helpful in attracting visitors. The current exhibitions however are a great introduction to Zhongli’s history over the past century. One of them includes an in-depth look at what the area was like during the colonial era while the other highlights some of the important events that took place leading up to the Zhongli Incident. 

The “incident” is regarded as one of the instrumental events that lead to transforming Taiwan into the vibrant democratic country that it is today and was a pre-cursor to the much more widely-known Kaohsiung Incident (美麗島事件).

Links: Zhongli Incident (中壢事件) | Kaohsiung Incident (高雄事件)

The park, which has now been open to the public for a few months is named “Zhongli 1941” (壢景町) and is part of an ever-growing group of historic Japanese-era properties within the Zhongli city-centre. The English name and the Chinese name have completely different meanings, but you’ll note that the English name is a simple throwback to the year the dorms were constructed. 

Within walking distance from the dorms you’ll also easily find the Zhongping Story House (中平故事館) as well as the Zhongli Elementary School Teachers Dormitories (中壢國小日式宿舍), which will likewise both be home to rotating activities and exhibitions that highlight the history of the area.

And yes, I’ll be posting about both of them in the near future.

If you’re traveling to Zhongli, you should be able to easily visit the Police Dorms, Teachers Dorms and Zhongping Story House within a short period of time. They’re all within a short walking distance from one another and don’t require much time to check out. While you’re in town though, you’ll probably want to roam through some of the old streets. You’ll find maps with various points of interest within the downtown-core next to all of the dorms.

Getting There

 

The Zhongli Police Dorms are located within the downtown core of the city and are only a short distance from the Zhongli Train Station (中壢車站) and Zhongli Bus Terminal (中壢客運站). If you travel by High Speed Rail, the dorms are a bit of a distance away from the Taoyuan HSR Station (桃園高鐵站), but you’ll be able to take the free shuttle bus to the downtown area.

Address: #627 Yanping Road, Zhongli District, Taoyuan City (桃園市中壢區延平路627號)

If you arrive in town from the train station or the bus station, getting to the dorms is easy. Simply follow Zhongzheng Road (中正路) until you reach Yanping Road (延平路), the first big intersection. Once there turn left and you’ll reach the dorms within two minutes. 

If you’re driving a car, there is a parking lot across the road from the dorms, located next to Zhongli Elementary School (中壢國小) where you can park the car. Likewise, there is an ample amount of scooter parking spaces along Yanping road. The downtown area tends to be busy though, so parking might be difficult to find on weekends. 

The Zhongli Police Dorms are an excellent example of a restoration project done right and now that they’re open the public we can all enjoy their renewed existence and all of the events that will take place in the future.

Interestingly their existence came as somewhat of a surprise to quite a few people around town who (it seems) had completely forgotten about them or were totally unaware that they have always been there.

Now that they’re open and completely visible though, they’re a beautiful addition to the city and part of the ongoing beautification of the downtown core, which is aged, to say the least. 

If you’re in the area, you should definitely stop by and check them out.


Mazu Art Village (馬祖新村眷村文創園區)

This post is the third and final part of a long-planned three part series on Longgang (龍岡), a culturally and historically significant section of Zhongli, the city I’ve called home for the past decade.

The first part of the series served as an introduction to the area itself and explained why it is a bit different than your average Taiwanese town while the second part focused on the beautiful mosque that serves the people of the community.

Part 1: Longgang | Part 2: Longgang Mosque

This post will focus on Mazu Village (馬祖新村), a newly restored Military Village that has become a beautiful art space for the youth of Taiwan. The village is also one of the focal points for the revitalization of the Longgang area which has gone through a tremendous transformation over the past few years. 

Taoyuan was once home to over ninety military communities but only three of them remain with Mazu Village being one of the best representations of what life was like in one of these historic communities. The village today is not only an excellent place to attend community events, art exhibitions and film festivals but also an excellent reminder of Taiwan’s recent history. 

Military Villages (眷村)

When the Chinese Nationalists retreated to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese Civil War (國共內戰) they brought with them over two million refugees who were in quick need of places to stay.

Most of the people who were able to make the journey from China could do so because they were part of the social elite or members of the Republic of China Armed Forces.

The new arrivals learned quickly that the government clearly wasn’t prepared to house them, so plans were made to hastily construct shoddy villages which would serve the purpose of 'temporarily' housing until they could return to their homeland when the communists were defeated.

Or so was the plan.  

The villages which are known as Military Dependents' villages (眷村) were constructed all over Taiwan in the 1940s and 1950s for members of the military and their families.

The Nationalist pipe dream was that they would only retreat to Taiwan and regroup for a short time in order to retake China from the communists. Unfortunately that would never come to pass and these so-called 'temporary' villages became 'permanent' settlements for the less privileged of those refugees.

The villages ended up becoming important centres for the preservation of traditional Chinese culture, art, literature and cuisine. 

Despite the refugees receiving preferential treatment from the government, the homes were sloppily put together and were properly of the state which meant that the tenants had no possibility of land ownership. Tenants did their best to improve their living situations but as Taiwan's economic miracle was taking place the villages started to become abandoned as people looked for a better life elsewhere.

As more and more of the homes were abandoned and left to the elements it seemed as if the people who remained were living in government-owned slums. The government thus decided to improve the public-housing situation and tear down the majority of the villages which would be replaced with modern high-rise apartments.

In the past I blogged about the Rainbow Village (彩虹村) in Taichung, a military village that was set to be demolished for urban renewal. One of the tenants however took it upon himself to transform the decaying remains of the village into his own personal art project in an attempt to save his home from being destroyed. The village became a popular tourist attraction and has so far saved it from destruction.

Society has taken interest in the preservation of the remaining villages and civil groups have been set up to protect them (as well as other places of historical value like the Losheng Sanitorium (樂生醫療院)). These groups have become somewhat of a thorn in the side of the government and in some cases the public pressure they have applied has forced the government to come up with other ideas.

Unfortunately the future of many of Taiwan’s remaining Military Communities is still undecided - with almost 90% of them already a faded memory, its important that the few that remain are preserved to ensure that these important pieces of Taiwan’s history are preserved for the enjoyment of future generations. 

Mazu Village (馬祖新村)

Mazu village was originally constructed in 1957 (民國46年) as a community to house the soldiers and families of the 84th Army Division (陸軍第84師). The village gets its name from the division which was originally stationed on the ROC-controlled Mazu Islands (馬祖列島) off of the coast of China's Fujian province.

At its peak, the village had 226 homes, stores, restaurants, a traditional market, kindergarten, movie theatre, park, etc. Mazu Village was home to around 1700 people for several decades but most of them were eventually resettled into modern public housing nearby.

As the people who lived in the community started to move away, the village, like a lot of other military communities entered into a period of decline and looked like it was about to meet the same fate as many of the others.

The Longgang (龍崗) area of Zhongli is one that is rich in military history with a large base, an army training school. It is also home to an interesting range of restaurants where you'll find a fusion of Chinese and South East Asian fare.

Longgang was home to not only Mazu Village, but also several other military communities that sprouted up around the military bases and the former airforce base.

By the turn of the century however most of those villages were deserted and were bulldozed with only Mazu village being chosen for preservation.

A visit to one of these villages brings a feeling of nostalgia for some in Taiwan, especially those who were brought up in these communities - Even though they are becoming somewhat of an endangered species these days, when one of them is restored as an art space or park, it has the ability to attract quite a few visitors looking to learn a little about Taiwan's modern history.

They also offer older generations a way of explaining to their young people of Taiwan how good they have it now compared to how it was when they were growing up.

Parents in Taiwan can't say that they 'walked to school barefoot in 50cm of snow' like mine did in Canada, so having living proof of what life in Taiwan was like in the past is a great way to educate young people.

In some cases however the villages that get redeveloped into modern spaces, like the "4-4 South Village" (四四南村) in Taipei, become somewhat kitschy and lose their old-school feeling. The restoration process of Mazu Village though was done in a way that allows people to have a taste of both the community’s history and its future.

Mazu Art Village (馬祖新村眷村文創園區)

When I first learned that Mazu Village was being restored, I went over to check out what was happening. The village at the time was becoming a bit of a hit on Instagram with people heading over to take photos at the entrance of one of the homes.

What I found when I arrived however was that the local government only opened up a single home to the public as a preview of what was to come when the project was completed.

I figured it wouldn’t take that long for the whole community to open up, so I wrote up a blog post and left it in the queue until the day that the community was once again open to the public.

I waited for a year, and then another and it seemed like the village wasn’t ever going to reopen.

Then in late 2017 (after almost giving up) the village suddenly reopened and started hosting cultural events on weekends.

The village is now home to a public space known as the “Mazu Art Village” which aims to become home to ‘cultural creative markets’ where artists and designers will be invited to set up exhibitions and art spaces to promote their work. 

In addition to the opening of the village, the former activity centre (across the street from the entrance) has been transformed into the Taoyuan Arts Cinema (桃園光影電影館) which will focus on the history of Taiwanese cinema and hold public showings of some of the nation’s best films. 

In recent years the Taiwanese government both at the national and local levels have invested quite a bit of time and money in transforming older spaces like Mazu Village into tourist attractions while at the same time offering spaces to the young artists and designers of the country to promote their work. 

The formula that has been successful at Taipei’s Treasure Hill (寶藏巖) and the Huashan Creative Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區) has been followed here at Mazu Village and is hopefully one that will provide the creative people of Taoyuan a place to promote their work while at the same time allowing this historic village to once again thrive. 

Getting There

 

If you are travelling from outside of Taipei, the easiest way to get to the village is to hop on a bus at the bus station near Zhongli Train Station. You can take bus 112 (South), 115, 5008, 5011 or 5050 from there and get off at the Mazu Village stop. The village is a short walk from there.

Address: 桃園市中壢區龍二街252號

The village and Art Cinema are open Tuesday - Sunday from 9:00-5:00 and 1:00-9:00 respectively.

Even though the renovation and restoration work at Mazu Village isn’t 100% complete, the village has reopened to the public and from now on will hold regular hours for visitors.

As both a historic village and an Art space, the village offers quite a bit for visitors to check out and a visit in conjunction with the special culture and cuisine of Longgang will make for an interesting day if you are coming from other parts of Taiwan.

If you are interested in some of the events that take place at the village, make sure to follow their Facebook Page or check their website for updates! 

Facebook:  馬祖新村眷村文創園區 

Website:  桃園眷村鐵三角


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