Taichung

’Running it Back‘ (二連霸)

in ,

You’re from Canada? You must love hockey, right?

I hate to be that guy, but yeah, I’m a typical Canadian, and a big hockey fan.

When I was young, I played basketball, baseball and practiced Tae Kwon Doe, but never really bothered to watch any other sports on television.

After my arrival in Taiwan, the time difference with North America made it difficult to keep up with everything happening back home, but I tried my best to continue watching hockey as much as I could, which meant I was waking up quite early every day to watch the games live.

Then, one beautiful summer’s afternoon, a bunch of friends and I decided to go check out a Taiwanese baseball game as we had heard that the atmosphere was electric, at least compared to baseball games back home.

Making our way to the Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei, we were almost dumbstruck by everything that was happening. I still remember having to be reassured several times that we were actually allowed to bring our own food and drinks into the stadium - something unheard of back in North America.

That first game was so long ago that I can’t even remember who the opponent was, but the team that stuck with me were the Brother Elephants, who in their beautiful yellow and black uniforms took to the field and sent the crowd into a frenzy. After that first experience, we tried to make it a regular weekend excursion to go and watch games whenever we had free time, but when a match fixing scandal rocked the nation’s baseball league, it’s popularity kind of died off and we stopped going.

In 2013, the Brother Elephants were sold to a new owner and moved to Taichung in central Taiwan. With the scandal in the rear view mirror, the popularity of baseball in Taiwan started growing again, as did my interest in the game. For the first year or two we just watched games on television, but then some friends and I started making regular trips to Taichung to watch games, or to the games held here in Taoyuan when the team was in town.

Now known as the CTBC Brother Elephants (中信兄弟), the team may have changed owners, but it retained its massive fan base, and the beautiful yellow uniforms that they’re known for. That being said, even though the team is a perennial contender for the championship, they developed somewhat of a reputation for choking. Diehard fans refer to this as part of the PTSD whenever the playoffs roll around as the Brothers have ended the year with heartbreak on far too many occasions.

Hoping to help break the curse, a group of us went to Taichung for Game 7 of the Taiwan Series in 2020, thinking that our presence might help the team prevail. Unfortunately, we we wrong. They ended up losing again.

So, in 2021, when the team once again found itself in the Taiwan Series against the same team that they lost against the year before, we figured it best to just watch the game at a local bar.

But to our surprise, they actually won. And they weren’t messing around. They won with a four game sweep of the Tainan’s Uni-Lions.

This year, the team came out with their yearly slogan, “Run it back,” which I admittedly was a bit cheesy, but the point was that they were looking to win back-to-back championships.

From the start of the year, things weren’t looking very good - A number of injuries, COVID infections and foreign players leaving the team resulted in a poor performance in the first half of the season with Taoyuan’s Rakuten Monkey’s (桃園樂天猴子) winning the first half season championship.

It looked like that trend was going to continue through the second half, until one day the team suddenly rediscovered its championship prowess and went on a huge winning streak, earning themselves a spot in the playoffs.

However, due to a somewhat confusing mathematics and the system set up by the league, three teams entered the playoffs with the Brothers and the Wei-Chuan Dragons (味全龍) being forced to play a series that is similar to the MLB’s wildcard system. Starting that series up a game (thanks to math), the Brothers ended up prevailing over the Dragons after some pretty entertaining matches.

Winning Games 1 and 2 of the Taiwan Series against the Rakuten Monkeys here in Taoyuan, the series shifted back to Taichung for the next two games and my friends and I were faced with a choice - do we watch the game together at the bar, or try our luck watching one in person? When tickets went on sale, we had to decide quickly as they would sell out fast, so we ended up deciding to go to Game 4 to watch the game live.

When the Brothers won Game 3 in Taichung, we started to get a bit exciting as there was a chance of a sweep and the championship being won with us in person. Our experience in the past though, the PTSD I mentioned earlier, prevented us from getting too worked up, though.

Interestingly, even though I’ve probably been to about a hundred games over my years in Taiwan, I’ve never brought my camera. Most of the time when I’m at the games, I’m with friends and we’re having fun and drinking, so I don’t want to have to worry about my camera. This time though, I figured it was probably a good idea to bring my camera along just in case.

And I’m glad I did.

The team followed through and actually “Ran it back” curing some of the PTSD that fans talk about, at least until next year.

As a sports fan, it’s always great to see your team win a championship at home, but as a foreigner in Taiwan, it’s also an interesting cultural experience that I got to share with 20,000 other fans. It was an amazing experience and I’m looking forward to the new slogan they come up with for next year! Obviously, this isn’t the normal kind of thing I write about, I just wanted to share some thoughts and my photos from the experience and hope you enjoy them as well!

Featured
Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine (上色見熊野座神社)
Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine (上色見熊野座神社)
Usa Grand Shrine (宇佐神宮)
Usa Grand Shrine (宇佐神宮)
Hakata Railway Shrine (博多鐵道神社)
Hakata Railway Shrine (博多鐵道神社)

The Coastal Railway Five Treasures (海線五寶)

in , , , ,

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time as of late making my way up and down Taiwan’s Western Coast Railway visiting a handful of historic railway stations, taking photos, and then researching and writing about them. Many of you might wonder why I spend so much of my time visiting a bunch of old train stations, but if you’ve read any of my articles about them, you probably have your answer.

The reason I’ve written about a select group of them is because they’re going to be celebrating their centennial year of operation this year (2022), and with so little information about them available in English, I figured it was a good time to tell their story. Even though I realize that a bunch of one hundred year old train stations isn’t all that exciting for most people, it is a tremendously rare thing for buildings of this nature to have lasted so long in Taiwan, and even rarer to find them still in operation today. 

In many ways, Taiwan’s rapid modern development has been great for the people of this beautiful country, but for all of the pros, there are obviously going to be some cons; One of the unfortunate aspects of all of Taiwan’s growth over the last few decades is that much of the history of this beautiful island has been bulldozed in order to make way for modernity. If I were to focus only on the topic at hand, there were originally sixteen of these railway stations along the Coastal Railway Branch. Today, we celebrate the five that remain, but its important to keep in mind that seventy percent of them have already been lost to history.

Of course, in some cases the rapid population growth of communities around the country has necessitated such actions with these smaller stations unable to handle with the amount of passengers passing through on a daily basis, but its still a shame that so many of these important pieces of Taiwan’s history have disappeared over the years.

Fortunately, the five remaining stations that I’m going to briefly introduce below have been designated as protected heritage buildings, which should help to ensure that they will continue to exist for quite some time. 

Known locally among railway aficionados as the “Coastal Railway Five Treasures” (海鮮五寶), each of these wooden Japanese-era railway stations date back to 1922 and have been fortunate to last as long as they have mostly because they serve small communities where there was never really a huge growth in population.

That being said, even though they continue to remain in operation today, they are also considered by many as living museums given that they do an amazing job of putting local history on display. 

To tell their story, I will first have to introduce a bit about the history of the Coastal Railway where they’re located, and then I’ll follow by providing a brief introduction to each of the stations with links to their individual articles and a map where you’ll be able to find them. 

If you have any interest in Taiwan’s history, the Japanese-era, or the railway, it’s a pretty good year to take a bit of time to visit one, two or all of these beautiful train stations.

The Coastal Railway (海岸線 / かいがんせん)

The history of the railway in Taiwan dates back as far as 1891 (光緒17), when the last Qing governor, Liu Mingchuan (劉銘傳), attempted to have a route stretching from Keelung (基隆) to Hsinchu (新竹) constructed. The construction of the railway however came at too high of a cost, given that the Qing rulers cared very little about what was happening in Taiwan as well as the fact that they were contending with war (and revolution), so plans to have it extended any further were put on hold.

A few short years later in 1895 (明治28), the Japanese took control of Taiwan, and brought with them a team of skilled western-educated engineers tasked with developing proposals to have the already established railway repaired as well as to come up with suggestions for extending it all the way to the south and beyond.   

The Jūkan Tetsudō Project (縱貫鐵道 / ゅうかんてつどう), otherwise known as the ‘Taiwan Trunk Railway Project’ sought to have the railroad pass through each of Taiwan’s established settlements, including Kirin (基隆), Taihoku (臺北), Shinchiku (新竹), Taichu (臺中), Tainan (臺南) and Takao (高雄). 

Link: Taiwan Railway Museum (臺灣總督府鐵道部)

Amazingly, the more than four-hundred kilometer railway was completed in 1908 (明治41), and connected the north to the south with a transportation route for the first time ever. Taking just over a decade to complete, the railway would become instrumental in changing the landscape of Taiwan’s modern development, but was ultimately the key to the colonial regime’s master plan of ensuring that Taiwan’s precious natural resources would be able to be processed efficiently and sent back to Japan.

Once completed, the Railway Department of the Governor General of Taiwan (台灣總督府交通局鐵道部) set its sights on constructing public and private branch lines across the island, as well as expanding the railway network with a line that spanned the entire eastern coast. 

Note: Privatized Branch Lines refer to those used by companies engaged in the extraction or production of commodities such as timber, sugarcane, tobacco, coal, gold, etc.

However, after almost a decade of service, unforeseen circumstances in central Taiwan necessitated changes in the way that the western railway operated with issues arising due to typhoon and earthquake damage. More specifically, the Western Trunk railway in southern Miaoli had to pass through mountains and required climbing up a steep incline in sections before eventually crossing bridges across the Da’an (大安溪) and Da’jia Rivers (大甲溪). Due to these geographic limitations, and flaws in the original design, issues caused by natural disasters created a tremendous amount of traffic congestion, and periodic service outages when the railway and the bridges had to be repaired or rebuilt. 

Link: Long-Teng Bridge (龍騰斷橋)

To solve the problem of passenger and freight congestion, the team of railway engineers came up with a solution, known as the “Kaigan-sen” (かいがんせん / 海岸線), or the Coastal Railway Branch Line.

With construction of the branch line planned between Chikunangai (ちくなんがい / 竹南街) and Shoka (しょうかちょう / 彰化廳), or what we refer to today as Zhunan (竹南) and Changhua (彰化), the line would divert from the already existing railway and follow a route closer to the coast where the mountains could be avoided.

Link: Western Trunk Line | 縱貫線 (Wiki)

These plans however met with consternation from residents of Taichung who considered the Coastal Railway a dagger to the heart of the economic development and growth of the city. They figured that with the Taichung Port (located on the opposite side of the mountains) processing most of the freight coming from central Taiwan, the city would become a ghost town as the new line would shift development to the coastal side of the mountains

In spite of the protests taking place in Taichung, Governor General Akashi Motojirō (明石 元二郎／あかしもとじろう), who is remembered today as one of the most consequential governors of the Japanese era (thanks to his significant contributions to the economy and infrastructure development projects), held steadfast and made sure that construction on the Coastal Railway came to fruition.   

Note: Even though Governor General Akashi Motojiro held his post for just over a year before he fell ill and died, he is credited with the creation of the the Taiwan Power Company (臺灣電力株式會社), the massive Chianan Irrigation System (嘉南大圳), the Sun Moon Lake Hydroelectric Power Plant, and of course the Coastal Railway.

The Governor’s foresight and planning for the future helped to ensure that the island could continue its rapid development, and he used his political influence to ensure that funding was made available from the Japanese government back home. 

Link: Akashi Motojiro | 明石元二郎 (Wiki) 

Kiyomizu / Qingshui Station (清水車站)

Construction on the ninety kilometer Coastal Line started in 1919, and amazingly was completed just a few short years later in 1922 (大正11). Servicing sixteen stations, all of which (as I mentioned above) remain in service today.

What many people are unaware of though is that within a year of the project starting, the first section, known as the ‘Oda Branch Line’ (王田支線) between Oda Station (王田驛) and Kiyomizu Station (清水驛) in southern Taichung opened for service on December 25th, 1920 (大正10年). In today’s terms, the branch line essentially started at Chenggong Station (成功車站), and curved north with a final stop at Qingshui Station (清水車站), where freight could be more efficiently transported to Taichung Port.

To this day, the opening of the Oda Branch Line is interpreted by many as a method of appeasing the people of Taichung. who were weary of the Coastal Branch, but quickly took to the new line as it provided a means of visiting the nearby beach on the weekend. Similarly, it was also seen as a practical move to ensure that freight could be transported to the Taichung port on the western coast as soon as possible.

It would take another two years for the rest of the Coastal Line from Chikunan (竹南 / ちくなんぐん) to Shoka (彰化 / しょうかぐん) to be completed, with the official opening ceremonies taking place on October 11th, 1922 (大正12年) at Tsū-shou Station (通霄驛) in southern Miaoli.

Fortunately for the residents of Taichung, the economic disaster that was predicted never took place, and the city continued to grow thanks to the new line - Even better, the Coastal Railway connected communities in Miaoli and Taichung that had yet to have access to the railway, allowing them to grow as well as ensuring that their own agricultural products would be able to be shipped around the island, as well as being exported back to Japan, providing a tremendous economic opportunity for them.

This was especially true when it came to agricultural products such as watermelons from northern Miaoli, and the ‘Emperors Rice’ cultivated in southern Miaoli. That being said, there was also a considerable amount of coal, camphor, clay, bricks and other products originating from the sixteen stations along the railway. 

The sixteen stations along the Coastal Railway, including the two termini stations are as follows:

(Japanese-era romanization / kanji / hiragana / current name) 

  1. Chikunan Station (竹南驛／ちくなんえき) / Zhunan (竹南車站)

  2. Tanbunmizūmi Station (談文湖駅 / だんぶんみずうみえき) / Tanwen (談文車站)

  3. Oyamagashi Station (大山腳驛 / おうやま あしえき) / Dashan (大山車站)

  4. Kōryū Station (後龍驛／こうりゅうえき) / Houlong (後龍車站)

  5. Koshiryo Station (公司寮驛 /こうしりやう) / Longgang (龍港車站)

  6. Hakushaton Station (白沙屯驛／はくしゃとんえき) / Baishatun (白沙屯車站)

  7. Shin-ho Station (新埔驛 / しんほえき) / Xinpu (新埔車站)

  8. Tsū-shou Station (通霄驛 / つうしょうえき) / Tongxiao (通宵車站)

  9. Enri Station (苑裡驛 / えんりえき) / Yuanli (苑裡車站)

  10. Nichinan Station (日南驛 / にちなんえき) / Rinan (日南車站)

  11. Taikō Station (大甲驛／たいこうえき) / Dajia (大甲車站)

  12. Kōnan Station (甲南驛／こうなんえき) / Taichung Port (台中港車站)

  13. Kiyomizu Station (清水驛 / きよみずえき) / Qingshui (清水車站)

  14. Sharoku Station (沙鹿驛／しゃろくえき) / Shalu (沙鹿車站)

  15. Tatsui Station (龍井驛／たついえき) / Longjing (龍井車站)

  16. Daito Station (大肚驛 / だいとえき) / Dadu (大肚車站)

  17. Oiwake Station (追分驛 / おいわけえき) / Zhuifen (追分車站)

  18. Shōka Station (彰化驛／しょうかえき) / Changhua (彰化車站)

Interestingly, when the Japanese-era came to an end in 1945, and the Chinese Nationalists took control of Taiwan, the vast majority of the stations maintained the same names, save for a pronunciation change from Japanese to Mandarin. The only stations that went through a name change were the fifth station, Koshiryo Station (公司寮驛), which was changed to Longgang Station (龍港車站) and the twelfth station, Kōnan Station (甲南驛, which was changed to Taichung Port Station (台中港車站).

In the first case, the name change was a bit strange given that ‘Gongsiliao Fishing Harbor’ (後龍公司寮漁港), a short walk from the station uses the Mandarin pronunciation of the Japanese-era name.

The name “Longgang” is a abbreviation of ‘Houlong Fishery Harbor' (後龍漁港), which makes sense.

In the latter case, I don’t see much issue with the name change as the station is used primary for those wanting to reach the Port of Taichung, although the freight services that were once the bread and butter of the station have pretty much dried up as the Port of Taichung has grown and modernized.  

Over the past century, the Coastal Railway has remained an important route for passenger service and transporting freight, however when the Mountain Line (山線) was widened into a dual-track system, the amount of trains traveling along the line gradually reduced. These days, the Coastal Railway is most frequently serviced by Local Commuter Trains (區間車) that stop at each station along the route.

Like the Mountain Line however, the Coastal Railway has also gone through a similar period of modernization, including the widening of the tracks into a dual-track system, allowing more trains to travel back and forth as well as the electrification of the entire network.

Link: Qiding Railway Tunnels

Express trains are now able to their way through the Coastal Railway, but they only stop at larger stations such as Zhunan, Houlong, Tongxiao, Yuanli, Dajia, Qingshui, Shalu and Changhua.

Admittedly, when traveling or returning home, I’m always excited when I discover that my ticket displays that my train will travel along the coastal route, which is the more scenic of the two lines. I’m sure for many locals the feeling is mutual as you really get to enjoy Taiwan’s beauty along the route.  

Unfortunately as the railway has modernized over the past century, so have many of the stations along the line, which have been completely rebuilt, replacing the original stations constructed in the 1920s.

Today, only a handful of stations constructed during the Japanese-era remain in operation, known as the “Coastal Railway Five Treasures” (海線五寶), these historic stations (as well as the coastal railway itself) will celebrate their one-hundred year anniversary this year (2022).

Fortunately, as I mentioned earlier, now that they’ve all been designated as Protected Historic Properties by either the Taichung City Government or the Miaoli County Government, they will be preserved for future generations to enjoy - and will hopefully also remain in operation for quite some time.  

Below, I’ll briefly introduce each of those five stations and provide links to their individual articles for you to learn more about them.

Coastal Railway Five Treasures (海鮮五寶)

Known locally as the ‘Coastal Railway Five Treasures’ these five railway stations along the Coastal Railway between Zhunan and Changhua are historically significant for quite a few reasons, but most importantly are part of a select few stations around Taiwan that have remained in operation for the past one hundred years. 

Writing this article, I may be accused of political bias as there is a bit of contention with regard to the proper nickname used to describe the stations. 

When most people talk about them, its natural to refer to them as the “Coastal Railway Five Treasures”, but if you’re from the ‘sovereign nation’ of Miaoli-kuo (苗栗國), you’d probably prefer to refer to use the term “Miaoli Three Treasures” (苗栗三寶), completely disregarding the two stations located in Taichung. 

The notion that Miaoli is a country of its own is an interesting one, and I’m sure someone could (or probably already has) write an entire thesis on this running joke and how it originated. What I will say is that in the Chinese language, the term Three Treasures (三寶) is a much more auspicious and meaningful number than five, so linguistically it has more sway.

Note: “Three Treasures” (三寶) linguistically refers to “the Buddha”, “the Dharma”, and “the Sangha” (佛寶, 法寶, 僧寶) in Buddhism, also known as the “Three Jewels” or the “Three Roots” and is a term that has significant meaning throughout Asia. That being said, the term “三寶” (sān bǎo) has taken on a number of meanings ranging from Hong Kong style of bento box that features three kinds of meat (三寶飯), or an idiot driving on the road (馬路三寶), among others. 

But if you’re not from Miaoli, you should probably include the two stations in Taichung, because they deserve the same amount of respect!

All five of the so-called ‘treasures’ were (more or less) constructed with the exact same architectural design, although they may appear slightly different today, due to their age or modifications that may have taken place over the past century. One might argue that if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, but that would be a bit misguided as there are some pretty important architectural differences found within the stations that you’ll be able to enjoy if you visit each of them. Similarly, the area that surrounds each of the stations has grown over the past century, so while exploring you’ll be able to get a feel of what the area was like a hundred years ago.

For railway enthusiasts, these stations are pretty important attractions, but for the rest of us, only a few of them might be attractive tourist destinations. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in the area, I highly recommend stopping by to check them out.

So, without further adieu, let me briefly introduce each of the Five Treasure: 

Tanwen Railway Station (談文車站)

Original name: Tanbunmizūmi Station (談文湖駅 / だんぶんみずうみえき)

Current name: Tanwen Station (談文車站)

Opened: October 11th, 1922

Traveling south of Hsinchu, Tanwen Station is the first of the five treasures that you’ll come across. The station is located in a strange spot just off of the coastal highway in Miaoli’s Zaoqiao Township (造橋鄉). The station is considered to be in the worst shape of the five treasures, but it is arguably also one of the most beautiful as it maintains its century-old appearance, and is most often a pretty quiet place to visit with only tourists visiting at various points throughout the week. 

Address: #29 Ren-ai Road, Zaoqiao Township (苗栗縣造橋鄉談文村仁愛路29號) 

GPS: 24.656440 120.858330

Dashan Railway Station (大山車站)

Original name: Oyamagashi Station (大山腳驛 / おうやま あしえき)

Current name: Dashan Station (大山車站)

Opened: October 11th, 1922

Traveling south past Tanwen Station, the next stop along the Coastal Railway is Dashan Station, one of the best preserved of the five treasures. Dashan is located within a small coastal community in Miaoli’s Houlong township (後龍鎮) with views of the coast within sight of the platform.

The community near the station is pretty quiet, like the station itself, but don’t let that fool you, Dashan Station was once an extremely important stop along the railway as it was where they’d load copious amounts of delicious watermelons onto the trains bound for port in Taichung. 

Address: #180 Mingshan Road. Houlong Township (苗栗縣後龍鎮大山里明山路180號)

GPS: 24.645670, 120.803770

Xinpu Railway Station (新埔車站)

Original name: Shin-ho Station (新埔驛 / しんほえき)

Current name: Xinpu Station (新埔車站)

Opened: October 11th, 1922

The sixth station along the coastal railway, Xinpu Station is probably the least busiest of the bunch as it serves a very small community. It’s also geographically the closest station to the coast on the western railway. The station remains in pretty good shape, but the space around it is quite cramped due to a lack of space and the widening of the railway into a dual-track system.

The area near the station these days is home to a pretty popular bicycling route that follows the coast of Miaoli and Hsinchu. Most of the tourism these days involves people getting off the train with their bicycles and heading back up north on a bike ride. 

Address: #57, Hsinpu Village. Tongxiao Township (苗栗縣通霄鎮新埔里新埔57號)

GPS: 24.539850, 120.700350

Rinan Railway Station (日南車站)

Original name: Nichinan Station (日南驛 / にちなんえき)

Current name: Rinan Station (日南車站)

Opened: October 30th, 1922

Rinan Station is the ninth station along the line, and the first of the five treasures in Taichung. Located in the city’s Dajia District (大甲區), famed for its giant Mazu Temple, the station and the area around it has received a bit of attention over the years, allowing it to remain in pretty good shape.

The community that surrounds the station has similarly grown into a relatively busy place over the years, and having access to the railway helps to connect its residents to the rest of Taichung, making this the station one of the busiest of the five. 

Address: #8, Alley 140, Sec 2 Zhongshan Road. Dajia District, Taichung. (臺中市大甲區中山路二段140巷8號)

GPS: 24.378320, 120.653780

Zhuifen Railway Station (追分車站)

Original name: Oiwake Station (追分驛 / おいわけえき)

Current name: Zhuifen Station (追分車站)

Opened: October 11th, 1922

The sixteenth station on the Coastal Line, Zhuifen Station in southern Taichung City, located near the Dadu River where the railway crosses into Changhua is probably the most well-known of the five treasures.

The station is a popular attraction for tourists, students and young couples. Thanks to a play on words within the Chinese language, a ticket from Zhuifen Station (追分車站), and its next door neighbor Chenggong Station (成功車站) has become a local good luck charm with the “追分” and “成功” translating as ‘Making your dreams come true!’ (追分成功) or ‘successfully finding a partner for marriage’ (追婚成功).

The iconic trip has become just as well known in Taiwan as any Matchmaking God or God of Literature temple, and it is even mentioned in students history books. Zhuifen Station is located in an industrial area of Dadu District and there’s always some sort of construction going on nearby.

If you visit there will be volunteers there who are very happy to help introduce every special aspect of the station - certainly an experience that you won’t get at any of the other stations along the Coastal Railway.  

Address: #13 Zhuifen Street, Dadu District, Taichung City (臺中市大肚區追分街13號)

GPS: 24.120540, 120.570160

Getting There

On the map above, I’ve marked the locations of each of the five treasures in addition to the other stations along the Coastal Railway as well as some other railway-related locations in the area.

As with any of my articles about Taiwan’s historic train stations, if you ask me how to get there, it should be pretty obvious that I’m going to recommend that you take the train. The railway in Taiwan is one of the most convenient ways to travel, and if you’ve set out to visit a train station, why would you take another method of transportation?

I’ve listed the address and the GPS coordinates for each of the five treasures above, but if you’d prefer greater detail on how to get to each of the stations, I recommend clicking on the individual links where you’ll find a more detailed description.

Finally, if you’re asking for recommendations for the best method to visit the stations, I have a few opinions on the subject: I’d argue that traveling to all five of them in a single day is a bit excessive, especially since there is so much to see and do in the areas around the stations. Instead, I recommend splitting the trip in two and checking out the three in Miaoli on one excursion, and the two in Taichung on another day.

The great thing about both Miaoli and Taichung is that there is quite a bit to see and do, so if you’re in either area, you probably don’t want to spend the entire day chasing trains. 

If you don’t really care and insist on visiting all five in a single day, I recommend you take the High Speed Rail from wherever you are to Taichung (高鐵台中站) where you’ll transfer to Taiwan Railway’s Xinwuri Station (新烏日車站), which is coincidentally in the same building.

From there, Zhuifen Station is only two stops away and then you can make your way back up north along the Coastal Line stopping at Rinan, Xinpu, Dashan and Tanwen before heading back to Hsinchu.

If on the other hand you’re traveling from the south instead of the north, I recommend taking the train to Zhunan Station (竹南車站) and from there transferring to a southbound train on the Coastal Line.

Either way you’ll get to visit each of the stations while making your way back to where you’ve started. 

Featured
Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine (上色見熊野座神社)
Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine (上色見熊野座神社)
Usa Grand Shrine (宇佐神宮)
Usa Grand Shrine (宇佐神宮)
Hakata Railway Shrine (博多鐵道神社)
Hakata Railway Shrine (博多鐵道神社)
Hakozaki Shrine (筥崎宮)
Hakozaki Shrine (筥崎宮)
2023 in Review
2023 in Review
Sumiyoshi Shrine (住吉神社)
Sumiyoshi Shrine (住吉神社)
Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區)
Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區)
2023 Taiwan LGBT Pride (臺灣同志遊行)
2023 Taiwan LGBT Pride (臺灣同志遊行)
Cherry Blossoms in Fukuoka (福岡櫻花)
Cherry Blossoms in Fukuoka (福岡櫻花)
Railway Station Name Change Chart (臺灣日治時期火車站新舊地名對照表)
Railway Station Name Change Chart (臺灣日治時期火車站新舊地名對照表)

Tai’an Railway Station (泰安舊車站)

in , , ,

I’ve recently found myself traveling around the country checking out places of interest related to Taiwan’s historic Japanese-era railway. Having spent quite a bit of time in Taichung and Miaoli, I visited a handful of century-old stations that remain in operation today.

Having withstood the test of time, it’s plainly speaking, nothing short of amazing that these historic stations have been able serve their local communities for as long as they have, making them incredibly important with regard to the cultural preservation of a constantly evolving and modernizing nation-state.

Link: Coastal Five Treasures (海線五寶)

That being said, not all of the nation’s historic railway stations have been able to remain in service, and changes in the railway, the demographics of local communities, and several other factors have forced authorities to make changes to improve the quality of the railway network.

In some cases, the older building gets bulldozed to make way for another, and in others, most notably when it comes to the recent transition of the “Mountain Line” (舊山線) to the newer Taichung Line (台中縣), the older stations are phased out as the railway has shifted to an entirely new location.

I’ve been lucky to be able to visit some of the older stations that remain in operation today, but we’re also fortunate that some of the historic stations that have been phased out, such as New Taipei’s Qidu Train Station (舊七堵車站) and Shanjia Station (山佳車站) as well as Taichung’s Tai’an Station (泰安車站) have been preserved as historic properties and converted into Railway Culture Parks.

Today I’ll be introducing the latter of those three examples above, Taichung’s Tai’an Station, a storied transport hub in central Taiwan that despite its size has had a consequential history over the past century.

There are few railway stations that make an appearance in almost all of the history books used in Taiwan’s education system, but Tai’an Station is one of them and there is good reason for that.

So, even though the current “Tai’an Station” is located a couple of kilometers from this historic station, it continues to attract tourists from all over the country to the culture park that exists there today.  

Tai’an Train Station (大安驛 / たいあんえき)

The first station you’ll reach as you cross the Da’an River (大安溪) from Miaoli into Taichung, the Tai’an Railway Station has a history that dates as far back as 1910 (明治43年), but uncharacteristically for a station of its size, has had a considerably active history in terms of the important events that took place over the last century. 

Originating as a simple railway signaling station (信號場) in 1910, it was upgraded two years later into a station named “Taian Station” (大安溪停車場 / たいあんていしゃじょう), or “Daian Station” depending on your preferred method of Japanese romanization. Named after the Da’an River, the original station was constructed entirely of wood and was a beautiful traditional Japanese-style building, with what historic photos show was a pretty beautifully constructed irimoya-style hip-and-gable roof (入母屋造 / いりもやづくり), with western inspired ox-eye windows (牛眼窗) protruding from the front. 

At this point it’s important to note that the station would have originally been better translated as the ‘Taian Railway Depot’ as the Japanese railway system at that time differentiated between ‘depots’ (停車場 / teishajou / ていしゃじょう) and 'passenger stations' (驛 / eki / えき).

For most readers of Chinese, the words “停車場” refer to a parking lot for cars, and few would think that it could also be referring to a train station. Speaking in modern terms, this kind of depot station is most commonly associated with a ‘marshalling yard’ (調車場 / diào chē chǎng), where trains are able to stop for marshaling, the loading of freight, etc. 

Coincidentally, in 1936 (昭和11年), the Ministry of Railways (鐵道󠄁省 / てつどうしょう) back in Japan restructured its railway network classification system eliminating the ‘depot’ or ‘parking lot’ designation.

Nevertheless, ‘Taian’ was officially upgraded into a passenger station well over a decade prior to that taking place, with the station upgraded for the second time to “Tai-an Station” (大安驛 / たいあんえき) in 1920 (大正9年).

First Generation Tai’an Station after the Earthquake (第一代大安車站)

Unfortunately for the station, and the rest of Taiwan, the Shinchiku-Taichū earthquake (新竹‧台中地震 / しんちく‧たいちゅうじしん) of 1935, one of recorded history’s deadliest quakes in Taiwan, was a disaster of epic proportions destroying homes and infrastructure across the island.

With the epicenter of the earthquake located in Houli (后里), a short distance from the station, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the original station was destroyed in addition to much of the railway infrastructure in the area. 

As reparations took place across the island, it would take two years for Tai’an Station to make its return with a freshly constructed station officially re-opening to the public on August 15th, 1937 (昭和12年). This time however, the station was constructed using a modern approach, making use of reinforced concrete and an Art-Deco style of architectural design, which became the standard for many of the stations destroyed by the earthquake. 

Note: Today you’ll find several of these Japanese-era stations featuring almost identical architectural style still in operation. They are: Zaoqiao Station (造橋車站), Tongluo Station (銅鑼車站), Qingshui Station (清水車站), Ershui Station (二水車站), Luzhu Station (路竹車站) and Qiaotou Station (橋頭車站), each of which dates back to the Showa era. 

Interestingly, when the Japanese Colonial Era came to an end in 1945, things at the station remained pretty much the same until it was once again renamed a decade later in 1955 (民國44年).

This time, the rename ended up becoming an issue that could have possibly ignited tensions with the local community, so the Taiwan Railway Administration made a decision that remains quite surprising - Instead of simply changing the name of the station to ‘Da’an Station’ (大安車站), the Mandarin pronunciation of the original name - they changed the Chinese characters to “泰安“ (tài ān).

The change was somewhat ingenious as in Mandarin these two character can be considered an abbreviation of the phrase “國泰民安“ (guó tài mín ān), which translates into English as ‘a safe and prosperous nation’. More importantly however, the characters maintained the original Japanese-language pronunciation that had been used for half a century. 

While this ‘renaming situation’ wasn’t unique with the changes brought by the new regime, it is a particularly interesting one if you’re interested in linguistics. 

Tai’an Station remained a relatively quiet one for the following decades given that it was classified as a Simple Station, which meant that only Local Commuter Trains (區間車) would stop by to pick up passengers.

As Taiwan modernized and the population continued to grow however, the bottleneck caused by the single-rail bridge between Miaoli and Taichung caused issues that were rectified by the construction of an entirely new line located to the west of the current station. That line, which officially opened for service in 1998 (民國87年) shifted service from the old Tai’an Station to a newly constructed elevated station about a kilometer away.

When this happened, the historic station was left abandoned for a short time before it was converted into the ‘Tai'an Railway Cultural Park’ (泰安鐵道文化園區), so that tourists could visit and learn about the history of Taiwan’s railways and the history of the local area.

Before I get move onto the architectural design of the station, I’m going to offer a brief timeline of important events at the station over the past century from when it was first constructed until now: 

Timeline

  • 12/01/1910 (明治43年) - The Tai’an River Signal Station (大安溪信號場) opens for operation.

  • 07/01/1912 (大正元年) - The Signal Station is upgraded to Tai’an River Station (大安溪停車場）

  • 10/01/1920 (大正9年) - The station is officially renamed ‘Tai-an Station’ (大安驛).

  • 04/21/1935 (昭和10年) - The magnitude 7.1 Shinchiku-Taichū earthquake (新竹‧台中地震 / しんちく‧たいちゅうじしん) with an epicenter in Houli rocks the island becoming the deadliest quake in Taiwan’s recorded history and causes massive damage around the island.

  • 04/21/1935 (昭和10年) - The wooden Tai-an Station is destroyed by the earthquake.

  • 08/15/1937 (昭和12年) - Tai-an Station reopens for service with a completely reconstructed station hall with an architectural design similar to Zōkyō Station (造橋驛 / ぞうきょうえき) in Miaoli, known today as Zaoqiao Station.

  • 07/15/1938 (昭和13年) - The Earthquake Memorial is installed near the tracks at the station.

  • 08/15/1945 (昭和20年) - The Second World War comes to an end and the Japanese surrender control of Taiwan to the Chinese Nationalists.

  • 03/01/1955 (民國44年) - The station is officially renamed “Tai’an Station” (泰安車站).

  • 03/01/1967 (民國56年) - The underground tunnel between the station and the platform area is constructed.

  • 09/24/1998 (民國87年) - The new elevated Taichung Line (台中縣) is completed and the railway is re-routed west of the original line. The newly constructed Tai’an Station (泰安火車站) officially opens for service and the historic station is abandoned.

  • 11/26/2002 (民國91年) - Tai’an Station is registered as a Taichung County Historic Property (臺中縣市定古蹟)

  • 06/05/2010 (民國99年) - The Old Mountain Line is resurrected for a day with a special CK124 Steam Engine nostalgia trip from Sanyi (三義車站) to Tai’an.

  • 06/01/2017 (民國106年) - The Tai'an Railway Cultural Park (泰安鐵道文化園區) opens to the public, adding another attraction to the already popular village where you’ll find cherry blossoms and bald cypress trees throughout the year.

Architectural Design

For the first few decades of the Japanese Colonial Era, the majority of Taiwan’s relatively smaller railway stations were constructed primarily with wood, and made use of traditional Japanese architectural design. Only the larger stations in major cities such as Keelung, Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung and Kaohsiung would have received additional funding for the construction of a concrete structure on a larger and grander scale. 

After the devastating earthquake in 1935 toppled infrastructure around the island, the Governor General’s office was forced to come to terms with the fact that attitudes toward building standards in Taiwan would have to be changed and earthquake-proofing would have to be on par with the rest of Japan.

By the beginning of the Taisho Era in 1912, changes had started taking place around the island with more and more buildings constructed using reinforced concrete. However, if it wasn’t already falling apart, authorities weren’t all that keen on constructing anything new until absolutely necessary.

Then, in 1933 (昭和8年), the second generation Nisui Station (二水驛／にすいえき) was constructed in southern Changhua (彰化). Making use of reinforced concrete with designs by famed architect Ujiki Takeo (宇敷赳夫 / うじき たけお), the station (Known today as Ershui Station) would be the model for an architectural style that would become a standard around the island for the next few years.

Note: Ujiki Takeo is also credited with other important buildings, many of which still exist today including, Kagi Station (嘉義驛), Shin'ei Station (新營驛), Tainan Station (臺南驛), Hsinchu Library (新竹州圖書館) and the Songshan Railway Workshop (松山機廠). He’s also credited with a few historic buildings that aren’t around anymore, most notably including the Third Generation Taihoku Station (第三代臺北驛). 

Link: 日治後期火車站、鐵道大多出自他之手──現代Art Deco風格設計者「宇敷赳夫」 (Story Studio)

Holding a number of positions throughout his years in Taiwan, Ujiki was appointed to Taiwan Railway Department of the Bureau of Transportation (臺灣總督府交通局鐵道部 / たいわんそうとくふてつどう) in 1929 (昭和4年), and it was from there that his influence on the construction of several important railway stations started to appear across the island. Known for his appreciation for Art Deco and a modernist approach to architectural design, the stations constructed with his designs are known for their usage of reinforced concrete, western-fusion design and flat roofs. 

Prior to 1935, Ujiki oversaw the construction of Nisui Station as mentioned above, followed by the similarly designed Shin'ei Station (新營驛 / しんええき) in 1934 (昭和9年). After the devastating earthquake, several stations around the island had to be rebuilt, especially in the Miaoli and Taichung area, and it was decided that the standard set by the architectural design of both Nisui and Shin’ei stations would be used for all of them.

The rebuilding project starting with Zōkyō Station (造橋驛 / ぞうきょうえき) in 1935 (昭和10年) and was followed by Dora Station (銅鑼驛 / どうらえき), Kiyomizu Station (清水驛 / きよみずえき) and Tai’an Station.

The usage of reinforced concrete in the construction of these buildings was a game-changer when it came to ensuring the longevity of these train stations, but what few people realize with regard to the biggest accomplishments of Ujiki’s architectural design influence was their people-centric shifts. Designed in a way that allocated increased interior space for passengers within the station hall in addition to providing a larger and more comfortable space for the staff working at the station. These ‘modern’ stations improved upon the earlier traditional Japanese-style stations by offering a comfortable space to wait for the arrival of the trains.

The stations of the late 1930s continued with the modernist approach to architecture and expertly fused western-style design, or more specially Art-Deco and baroque elements. For some, this architectural style was sleek and modern, but detractors noted the lack of decorative elements as a departure from traditional Japanese design. 

That being said, even though the stations designed by Ujiki appear relatively similar in their architectural design, there are still some slight variations in their layouts which varies based on the length and height of the stations. That being said, within each of the stations constructed after the 1935 earthquake you’d find the following rooms, divided between the ‘administrative section’ and the ‘passenger section’.

  1. Administration Office (事務室 / じむしつ)

  2. Station Hall (待合室 / まちあいしつ)

  3. Tea Room (湯沸室 / ゆわかししつ)

  4. Kerosene Room (洋燈庫 / とうゆしつ)

  5. Storeroom (物置 /ものおき)

  6. Portico / Walkways (廊下 / ろうか)

The largest of the three stations constructed after the earthquake, Tai’an’s interior was quite spacious with the passenger section featuring a large waiting room and service counter. The Station Hall featured five meter high ceilings and relied on the large windows located on three sides of the room to provide most of the light. However, given that the covered portico walkway on the exterior of the building would have blocked some of the light coming into the building from the larger windows, an extra layer of windows was positioned above offering an extra layer of natural light.

Set along the walls against the windows were three long wooden benches provided for the passengers who were waiting for the trains. In what would have been the only real decorative element of the interior, there were permanent flower pedestals (花台 / はなだい) located on both of the corners of the eastern side of the building. The pedestals helped to separate the three benches, and would have allowed to add a bit of nature to the concrete building. 

The western end of the Station Hall was home to the ticket booth, a train schedule and another window where passengers could better interact with the staff. Finally, on the southern side was the beautiful wooden turnstile (which still exists today), allowing passengers to make their way through to the stairs to the platforms. 

The Administrative Section of the station included the Administrative Office and a Tea Room where employees could relax. While not as large as the Station Hall, this area was still quite spacious given the amount of passengers who would have passed through the station. Part of the reason for this was because the station continued to act as a Signal Station for several decades, meaning that there would have been more employees than a typical station. To the rear of the Administrative Section you’d also find another couple of rooms, one was simply a storeroom and the other was used as a room to store kerosene (prior to the electrification of the area).  

Coincidentally the only room that isn’t currently open to the public is the kerosene room, so I’m assuming that it was later converted for another usage and the interior is home to electrical devices (likely the security camera console) that they don’t want a bunch of tourists playing with

Finally, the covered portico that stretches from the front entrance to the eastern side of the building and around to the rear is probably one of the more noticeably ‘Japanese’ inspired elements of the architectural design. While this covered walkway features a similarly flat roof as the rest of the building, its addition adds to the Art-Deco design while also allowing for some traditional design elements.

Porticos of this nature are common throughout traditional Japanese architectural design and can be found on temples, shrines and other important buildings throughout Japan. In this case, the covered roof is supported by beautifully designed cement pillars on the exterior of the building.

While walking along the eastern side of the building, the portico extends quite a bit further and would have been a pretty great place to escape the hot central Taiwan sun while waiting for friends and loved ones. 

When you pass through the turnstiles you’re met with an underground walkway that brings you to a set of stairs where the platforms are located. This underground walkway was constructed in 1967 (民國56年), replacing the steep set of stairs that brought passengers to the platforms, and ultimately required them to (dangerously) walk across the tracks.

Today you can walk around the platform area and can hop onto the tracks where you’ll find an old wooden building that served as the Signal Station for as long as the station was in operation. I’m guessing at some point they’ll likely restore the building and open it up to the public, but as of now it’s not currently open to the public.  

Now that I’ve spent some time talking about the architectural design of the station, there are a couple of other things to take note of when you visit the station, but it seems like most people miss them because they don’t explore (or feel like walking around), so allow me a minute or two to introduce each of them below. 

Da’an River Iron Bridge (舊山線大安溪鐵橋)

Constructed in 1908 (明治41年), the 637 meter long Da’an River Iron Bridge crosses the Da’an River that geographically separates Miaoli and Taichung. The single rail bridge was in operation from February 20th, 1908 until September 24th, 1998 when the old Mountain Line (舊山線) ceased operations in lieu of the newly constructed Taichung Line (台中線). 

Coincidentally, issues regarding the infrastructure and planning of the Mountain Line created a bottleneck along the railway on several different occasions resulting in the necessity for the construction of the Coastal Railway between Miaoli and Taichung in 1922. Fortunately, that line had already been in use for well over a decade when the massive 1935 earthquake rocked Taiwan, causing considerable damage to the mountain line, and requiring a period of repair for this bridge. 

Link: 大安溪鐵橋 (Wiki)

In the years since the Mountain Line was abandoned, the bridge has become somewhat of a popular photo spot with Instagrammers flocking from all over the country to get a photo of themselves crossing the bridge. Unfortunately, crossing the bridge for pedestrians can be a bit dangerous, so the local authorities had to erect a barrier along the Taichung side where the bridge is most easily accessible thanks to Tai’an Station.

That being said you can still visit the Miaoli side if you’re able figure out how to get there.    

Tai’an Earthquake Memorial (台中線震災復興記念碑)

One of the things you’ll definitely want to take note of while exploring the railway area of the Tai’an Railway Cultural Park is the 1935 Taichung-Hsinchu earthquake memorial, located in a forest covered park area on the opposite side of the tracks from the station. 

The memorial is one of five sites erected by the Japanese for this particular earthquake in the Taichung and Miaoli area, but this one in particular focuses on the effects that it had n the railway, and those who died during the quake as well as during the reconstruction efforts.

It is said that some of the bodies of those who perished while assisting in the reconstruction efforts after the earthquake are buried beneath it, making it somewhat of a sacred memorial for locals. 

Link: 1935 Shinchiku-Taichū earthquake | 1935年新竹–台中地震 (Wiki)

The memorial features a Japanese-language inscribed plaque on its base with a recently translated Chinese-language plaque placed below it. Interestingly, over the years, quite a few of these historic stone inscribed objects have been vandalized with any mention of the Japanese era, or the emperor removed.

In this case though, the whole thing remains intact, which is likely a sign of respect for the efforts the Japanese authorities of the time made to help save the local population, which became one of the most endearing moments during the colonial era.

Number Eight Tunnel (舊山線八號隧道)

A short distance from Tai’an Station you’ll find the similarly abandoned ‘Number 8’ railway tunnel, another popular stop for visitors checking out the station. The tunnel is located next to the equally historic Japanese-era Houli canal (后里圳), a twenty kilometer-long water distribution network that dates back to 1913 (大正2年). The almost one kilometer-long (816m) is similar to the popular Qiding Railway Tunnels (崎頂子母隧道), but has yet to receive much attention in terms of making it a tourist destination. It’s the kind of place that you have to be in the know (or have been told about it) to know of its existence.

If you’d like to visit the tunnel while in Tai’An, it’s best to grab a YouBike and continue to ride along Fuxing Road (復興路) until you reach the very narrow Yongxing Road (永興路) where you’ll find one of the two entrances to where the tunnel is located as you pass by the Houli Canal. The easiest entrance (where you’ll be able to park your Youbike) is located along a curve in the road as it stretches up the mountain.

There is a barrier at the entrance to prevent cars from going in, but you can just walk past it and follow the canal until you reach the tunnel. 

Getting There

 

 
Address: #52 Fuxing Road, Houli District, Taichung (臺中市后里區泰安里福興路52號)

GPS: 24.323050, 120.749050

Most of the time, when I write about Taiwan’s historic train stations, I insist that if you’re going to visit one of them that you should simply take the train. In this case though, taking the train is going to require a bit of a walk, so if you plan on visiting you might want to consider grabbing one of the Youbikes outside of the current Tai’an Station in order to make your way over to the historic one. 

If you’re taking the train, you’ll have to keep in mind that most of the time only local commuter trains (區間車) make a stop at Tai’an Station. But if you’re traveling there from Taichung Station, that won’t be much of an issue as it’s only a few stops away. From the station, its about a twenty minute walk, but as mentioned above there are YouBikes available for rent in front of the new station and you can easily dock the bike next to the old station while visiting. It’s possible that you could find a taxi near the station, but I didn’t see any during my visit, and the road from the new station to the old station is pretty narrow, so taxi drivers probably aren’t really all that into ferrying people back and forth.

Personally, I think the best method is taking a Youbike as you’ll get to ride through the the farmland along the river on your way to the old station. It’s a nice ride and is much more enjoyable on a bicycle than it is on a scooter given that you can enjoy the scenery while also saving some time.

Officially, the old station is 1.8km from the new station, so if you’re walking, its estimated that you’ll need twenty minutes, but the bike ride is estimated at around six minutes. With a Youbike station available next to both the old and new stations.

If you’re on a Youbike, make your way to either Zhonghua East Road (重劃東路) where you’ll make a right turn and follow the riverside straight all the way, or turn left on An-mei road (安眉路) and continue straight until you find yourself in the community where the station is located. As you get off the train and make your way to the Youbike station, you’ll find that Anmei Road is the closest option with the riverside route requiring you to backtrack a bit.

If you’re in the area I recommend taking the scenic route. It may be a little extra work, but it’s certainly worth it.

If on the other hand you’re driving a car or a scooter, I recommend simply inputting the address or GPS provided above into your GPS or Google Maps and it’ll map out the best route for getting to the station.

With that in mind, it’s important to note that there is limited parking near the station, so if you’re visiting on the weekend when there are likely to be increased numbers of tourists, it’s going to be difficult to find a space.

The community near the old station is pretty small and the road is very narrow, so if you randomly park your car on the side of the road and get out to go check it out, you’re likely to get a ticket, have a photo taken of your car by one of the locals or towed.

The Tai’an Station Railway Cultural Park is an interesting place to visit and has become quite popular in recent years with tourists, especially during the cherry blossom season, or when the bald cypress trees nearby are changing colors. The historic community has marketed itself quite well with events throughout the year attracting tourists from all over the country. That being said if you’d like to see one of these train stations in action, I recommend stopping by Zaoqiao Station (造橋車站) in Miaoli or Qingshui Station (清水車站) in Taichung, which are both relatively nearby and are almost architecturally identical. Visiting Tai’an Station however allows you considerable more access to the station and the railway where you’re free to walk around and enjoy it all at your leisure.  

References

  1. Tai'an Old railway station ｜泰安車站 ｜泰安旧駅 (Wiki)

  2. 泰安鐵道文化園區 (大玩台中)

  3. 縱貫鐵路舊山線--泰安車站 (台中市文化資產處)

  4. 縱貫鐵路舊山線—泰安車站 (國家文化資產處)

  5. 舊泰安車站‧在舊山線停駛之後的鐵道文化園區 (旅行圖中)

  6. 臺中縣縣定古蹟縱貫鐵路舊山線泰安車站調查研究暨修復計畫 (臺灣記憶)

  7. 台中泰安鐵道文化園區 凝結百年時空歲月的泰安舊火車站 (微笑台灣)

  8. [台中后里] ．舊泰安車站．台糖月眉糖廠．千年樟樹公 (Tony的自然人文旅記)

  9. 日治時期台灣鐵道車站空間的形式與機能 (宋玉真/陳怡玲)

  10. 泰安車站 (臺灣驛站之遊)

  11. 泰安舊站 (鐵貓)

  12. 臺中市文化資產 (Wiki)

  13. 宇敷赳夫 - 中文 | 日文 (Wiki)

Featured
Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine (上色見熊野座神社)
Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine (上色見熊野座神社)
Usa Grand Shrine (宇佐神宮)
Usa Grand Shrine (宇佐神宮)
Hakata Railway Shrine (博多鐵道神社)
Hakata Railway Shrine (博多鐵道神社)
Hakozaki Shrine (筥崎宮)
Hakozaki Shrine (筥崎宮)
2023 in Review
2023 in Review
Sumiyoshi Shrine (住吉神社)
Sumiyoshi Shrine (住吉神社)
Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區)
Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區)
2023 Taiwan LGBT Pride (臺灣同志遊行)
2023 Taiwan LGBT Pride (臺灣同志遊行)
Cherry Blossoms in Fukuoka (福岡櫻花)
Cherry Blossoms in Fukuoka (福岡櫻花)
Railway Station Name Change Chart (臺灣日治時期火車站新舊地名對照表)
Railway Station Name Change Chart (臺灣日治時期火車站新舊地名對照表)