台東

The role of Public-Private Partnerships in Conserving Historic Buildings in Taiwan

When I first started writing about all of these historic buildings from the Japanese Colonial Era a few years back, I hadn’t realized that my interest in these buildings was something that was widely shared and that the central and local governments all across Taiwan were simultaneously in the process of investing a lot of time and money into their restoration. 

Fast forward more than five years and it’s almost like they want to ensure that this little project of mine is never going to end. 

Now that there are so many exciting things happening with regard to the restoration of historic places of interest all across the country, I’ve had to keep my ears close to the ground and have become rather adept at keeping track of all the on-going and future restoration projects. So when I plan my monthly schedule, one of the things that I make sure to keep in mind is all of the newly restored buildings that are opening to the public, so that I can get to them in a timely manner.

That being said, I’ve had this burning question in the back of my mind about these things for quite some time.

Maybe it’s just because I’m getting older and these are the things that you think about as you age.

The government has been very noticeably busy in its efforts restoring a very long list of historic structures all over the country, and I’m sure you can imagine, each of which tends to be quite expensive. 

So where does all the money come from and how can the government continue to invest so much in these historic properties when they could be investing more elsewhere?

Taiwan currently enjoys a very healthy and active democratic environment where transparency and accountability have become major considerations for taxpayers wanting to ensure that their hard-earned dollars are being spent responsibly. Gone are the days of the former authoritarian-era where the government could do pretty much whatever it wanted and get away with it.  

Understandably, given the controversial history of the five decades of Japan’s colonial rule, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that society is often divided on the subject of restoring these old buildings. Certainly, not everyone agrees that precious public funds should be spent on the restoration of all of these Japanese-era structures around the country.  

This means that there is a considerable amount of bureaucracy and red-tape involved in all of these projects, and from start to finish, the public is consulted and constantly kept informed (if they are so inclined to pay attention that is).

Obviously the government doesn’t focus entirely on buildings from the Japanese-era with all of these restoration projects. There are a multitude of others that focus on Indigenous cultural preservation as well as the restoration of buildings that date back even further to the Qing Dynasty and beyond.

My focus here though is on the buildings remaining from the colonial era.

To better illustrate the point of what I’m going to try to make, allow me for a moment to use the recent completion (and re-opening) of the Zhongli Police and Teachers dormitories as an example.

Both the Zhongli Teachers Dorms and the nearby Police Dorms have been converted into culture parks (文化公園) by the Taoyuan City Government. Both of these parks consist of three former Japanese-era dormitories, which have been completely restored and re-opened to the public.

This means that within a city block there are currently six historic buildings that have been restored and reopened. 

To stay accountable to the public, the government can’t just leave the buildings empty, which means that they have to serve some purpose.

The problem for the government in this case is that they’ve already spent a considerable amount of money in Zhongli (中壢區), as well as in Taoyuan (桃園區), Daxi (大溪區) and other districts restoring similar historic buildings.

With so many new culture parks, I’m sure you can understand that they have been hard-pressed to come up with sustainable ideas for what to do with all these buildings. 

So, in the case of both of these parks (in addition to many others around the country), you’ll find that the government has reserved space for historic and cultural displays in some of the buildings while also making use of existing laws to allow local entrepreneurs to set up shop within the others.

Relaxing at the Zhongli Elementary Teachers Dorm

The Zhongli Police Dorm Culture Park currently features two buildings dedicated to local cultural and historic exhibitions while the other is currently occupied by a classy hot pot restaurant. The Teachers Dorms likewise feature similar exhibition space, but one of the buildings is currently home to a nice coffeeshop.

This is something that has been happening en-masse all over the country as the government has been investing heavily in buildings of cultural and historical significance. 

So here’s the purpose of this case study: In order to remain accountable and transparent, as well as attempting to attract a constant flow of visitors to these newly established culture parks, local governments have started to employ ‘operational transfer’ agreements for these historic properties.

This gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to set up shop in one of these recently restored buildings and provides the government with revenue in order to recoup some of their investment over time.

Japanese dorm prior to restoration

Today, I’m going to focus on how these operational transfer schemes work, because they have become an integral part of the cultural and historic preservation process and are an extremely important tool which allows the government to continue contributing funds for the preservation of historic buildings.

This is something that we can all benefit from for generations to come.

To do this, I’ll be using a combination of the dorms mentioned above as well as the beautiful Taimali Coffee Shop (太麻里文創咖啡館) in Taitung as examples of how these agreements work, and how they can be successful. 

As is the case with the things I find interesting, very little has been covered on the topic in English, or even mentioned very often in Chinese for that matter, so the information I’m going to be providing here required quite a bit of translation and research directly from government-provided resources.

I hope you’ll find it interesting, too!

Public-Private Partnerships in Taiwan

Families enjoying lunch at the newly opened Hsinchu Lakeside Ryotei

Families enjoying lunch at the newly opened Hsinchu Lakeside Ryotei

In order to better facilitate legal partnerships between the private and public sectors, the Taiwanese government makes use of the ‘Build-Operate-Transfer’ model as a method for ensuring transparency in public construction projects, and allowing for short and long-term leasing of historic properties. 

Link: Build–Operate–Transfer (Wiki)

Starting in the year 2000 (民國89年), the government passed the “Law of Private Participation in Public Construction” framework (民間參與公共建設法), which was initially meant to allow the public sector to assign publicly funded construction projects to private enterprises, and ensuring that the financial resources are efficiently made available for construction projects. 

The promulgation of this law was considered to be a win-win strategy for both the public and private sectors as it would ensure the vitality of private enterprises contracted by the government. It would also help to improve the quality of public infrastructure, and most importantly reduce the burden of government expenditures and bureaucratic red tape.

Link: Enforcement Rules of Act for Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects | 促進民間參與公共建設法施行細則 (Ministry of Finance / 財政部)

In the two decades since the law has been enacted, it has been amended almost a dozen times (most recently in 2019) to reflect the evolving situation with regard to these partnerships, which don’t necessarily always have to involve large construction projects and huge sums of money.

Some of the recent success stories with these partnerships include none other than the construction of Taiwan’s High Speed Rail (臺灣高鐵路), Kaohsiung’s Mass Rapid Transit System (高雄捷運) and Taipei 101 (台北101), among others. 

Unfortunately, even though these policies are considered a winning strategy for interaction between the government and the private sector, there is also a dark side that has led to rampant corruption within the public procurement sector - Most often caused by government officials showing favoritism to conglomerates that are both ready and willing to bribe them.

Restaurant space at the Hsinchu Lakeside Ryotei

In one such case, Taipei City Councillor, and high-ranking Chinese Nationalist Party member Lai Su-ju (賴素如) was convicted and sentenced to ten years imprisonment for seeking NT$15 million (US $472,798) in kickbacks. In return, Lai would ensure that a ‘certain’ company would win a contract to develop the proposed Taipei Twin Towers Project (台北雙子星大樓) next the Taipei Railway Station. 

Link: Lai Su-ju guilty verdict upheld by High Court (Taipei Times) 

Even though on paper the system was set up to prevent corruption from taking place, controversies continue to persist; The Taipei Dome (臺北大巨蛋) project is another recent example of how problems can arise with the government interacting with the private sector.

In this case we have city councillors all the way up to a former president becoming complicit in the scandal. 

The ongoing case is one that has been widely covered by the media and has focused the collective anger of the public on the government, the FarGlory Group (遠雄集團) and the “deeply entrenched crony capitalism in Taiwan, with bribes paid by development companies to local politicians in order to secure lucrative infrastructure construction bids, and the use of organized crime by development companies to intimidate local opposition.” 

Link: The Taipei Dome Controversy and Issues of Entrenched Political Corruption in Taiwan (New Bloom)  

While it is important to be aware that even though mechanisms have been in place for a couple of decades, with watchdogs and amendments to the laws, corruption still rears its ugly head.

This means that “guanxi” (關係) is still a pervasive factor when awarding contracts, even in the smaller cases that are the focus of what I’m covering today.

Fortunately, what I’m focusing on here with Taiwan’s historic buildings are (considerably) smaller cases that aren’t likely to involve large corporations, bribes and kickbacks. They are however extremely competitive and are just as likely to suffer from the same issues, albeit on a much smaller scale than others.

In particular, one of the major issues when it comes to the leasing of these historic buildings is that the contracts are often awarded by local governments, which means that the mechanisms for ensuring equality and fairness may not be on par with those on the national level. This is especially the case with contracts and agreements that are more widely scrutinized when they are over a certain dollar limit.

Gift shop at the Hsinchu Lakeside Ryotei

First though, let me introduce the basic methods that the Taiwanese government has set up under the Ministry of Finance (財政部) within the framework of the “Act for Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects” mentioned above. 

  1. Build-Operate-Transfer” BOT (由民間機構投資新建並為營運;營運期間屆滿後,移轉該建設之所有權予政府) is when the government grants a concession to a private organization to finance, build and operate a project for a specific period of time (in order to recoup its investment) before control is transferred back to the government.

  2. Build-Transfer-Operate” (由民間機構投資新建完成後,政府無償取得所有權,並由該民間機構營運;營運期間屆滿後,營運權歸還政府) essentially means that after an investment by a private organization, the government takes ownership of the property, while entrusting the organization with its operational rights for a specific period of time before control is returned to the government. There are variations on this scheme with the government eventually taking ownership of a property for free (無償BTO) and another where the government is required to reimburse the private institution for construction costs (有償BTO).

  3. Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer” ROT (民間機構投資增建、改建及修建政府現有設施並為營運;營運期間屆滿後,營運權歸還政府) often referred to as “rehabilitate” or “restoration” in English, this is a method by which private institutions invest in the reconstruction or restoration of an existing government-owned property and operates it for a specific period of time before it is returned to government control.

  4. Operate-Transfer” OT (間機構營運政府投資興建完成之建設,營運期間屆滿後,營運權歸還政府) contracts are essentially the main focus of this case study and are a scheme for which the government invests in and completes a project and then entrusts private organizations to operate it (for a set period time) until control is eventually returned to the government or the lease is renegotiated.

  5. Build-Operate-Owner” BOO (配合國家政策,由民間機構自行備具私有土地投資新建,擁有所有權,並自為營運或委託第三人營運) are contracts that allow private institutions to invest in the construction of a new project and upon completion owning it and operating it (or entrusting a third party with its operation) with the inclusion of government oversight, which may or may not include financial incentives or tax-exempt status.

Restaurant seating at the Zhongli Police Dorms

When it comes to the leasing of historic properties that have been restored by the government and their operational control being handed over for private operation, we need to focus on the Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer and Operate-Transfer method.

ROT/OT schemes allow the government to have a hand in the restoration of historic and culturally significant structures, as well as providing for the opportunity to lease them out for commercial use. 

The statute that governs these partnerships is outlined in Article 8, Paragraph 5 (第8條第5點) of the ‘Act for Promotion of Participation in Infrastructure Projects’ law which is as follows: 

“5. The private institution operates an infrastructure built with investment from the government. Upon expiration of the operation period, the right to operate reverts to the government;” (民間機構營運政府投資興建完成之建設,營運期間屆滿後,營運權歸還政府。)

As mentioned above, in order to help you better understand these partnerships, I’m using the Zhongli Police Dormitories as an example of how the ‘Operate-Transfer’ agreements work with regard to the leasing of historic structures to the private sector.

The reason for this is two-fold: I’ve already published articles on these dorms on two occasions, prior to their restoration and most recently after the restoration was completed.

More importantly is that the ‘licensing bid’ for the dorm (that was made available to the public) was published by the Ministry of Finance, and is easily accessible through the link below.

It provides the information necessary to help illustrate my point. 

Link: 桃園市中壢警察局日式宿舍群營運移轉案 (民間參與公共建設資訊)

Restaurant at the Zhongli Police Dorms

After a period of restoration, the Zhongli Police Dorms re-opened in 2020 as a Cultural Park which seeks to promote tourism in the area by featuring exhibitions focused on local history that are attractive to the public.

As mentioned earlier, two of the dormitories in the park have been reserved as a cultural space and their operational control is taken care of by the Taoyuan City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs (桃園市政府文化局). 

The third (and the largest of the dorms) on the other hand was reserved for ‘private use’ as part of the government’s ‘Operate-Transfer’ program which helps to ensure that some of the public funds that were invested in the restoration of these three buildings is recouped.

The space is currently occupied by “Jing Ding House” (景町文煮), a Japanese-style restaurant and cafe operated by the ArtGo Cultural & Creative Company (雅鴿文創公司), which won the bid linked above for the operational rights for the building.

The bidding process that was published by the Ministry of Finance (in the link above) provides us with some some important information about how these operational contracts are formed. 

However, since not everyone can read Chinese, I’ll summarize below.

What we can see is that the ‘Operate-Transfer’ Agreement is licensed for a period of six years between 2019 (民國108年) and 2025 (民國114年), with the contract winner proposing a plan that would include a total investment of NT$9,757,066 (US $350,000) over that period.

As to whether or not the government will continue the lease when it is up, or make the space available to another private contractor is part of the risk that is taken when it comes to these Operational Transfer agreements. 

Similarly, unlike typical companies, which are generally free to decide if and when to close shop, if business isn’t going well, these agreements ensure that the space will be occupied for the period that the contract is valid, otherwise a large fine will be incurred. 

This obviously makes bidding for one of these projects somewhat precarious for the average person wanting to operate a business within one of those government-owned historic buildings.  

Generally speaking, for those interested in applying for one of these ‘OT’ cases that the government makes available, it is important that they pay close attention to the bids, which are published on the “Promotion of Private Participation” (民間參與公共建設資訊) website. 

Enjoying tea at the Taichung Martial Arts Hall

Each of which generally includes the following information and stipulations: 

  1. Public Announcement for bids (公告招商)

  2. Case name (案件名稱)

  3. Case Provider (主辦機關)

  4. Case Category (公共建設類別)

  5. Operational Contract Period (公告時期)

  6. Terms and Conditions for bidding (招標條件)

Most of these are pretty self-explanatory, but the frustrating part are the ‘conditions’ for bidding as they generally ensure that the majority of those who apply for the contract are automatically eliminated from contention, due to the strict stipulations that are put in place.

As I’m sure you can imagine, it is already difficult enough working with the government, but when it comes to protected historic structures, there are quite a few rules as to what you can and cannot do with the space and the liability for violating them can be quite high. 

At this point you’re probably thinking that the regulations for these OT agreements for historic structures come across as far too rigid and aren’t very cost-effective.

Surprisingly though, the opportunity to actually win a bid to operate one is low as competition is fierce.

The risks may be high, but running a business in a historic building within a culture park is an excellent one. 

The good news is that whether you’re running a coffeeshop, restaurant, bookstore, etc. You should have no problem attracting customers as people are generally interested in these spaces, and since they’re already part of what is sure to become a tourist attraction, its unlikely that there will ever be a shortage of business and/or that you’ll be able to recoup your investment.

There are of course exceptions to the rule, but it’s difficult to imagine that the majority of private companies that win these public contracts aren’t going to attempt to negotiate an extension on the lease when their time is up.

Private dining room at the Zhongli Police Dorms

What’s important to remember about the preservation of buildings of cultural and historic significance is that even though the government is willing to invest in their restoration, the involvement of governmental, non-governmental and private enterprises is required to ensure the success and viability of these projects.

If you’ve travelled anywhere in Taiwan over the past few years, you’ll have seen these OT agreements in action, but probably weren’t aware of what was going on.

Whether its one of the coffeeshops, restaurants or concert venues at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區) in Taipei, Miyahara Ice Cream shop (宮原眼科冰淇淋) in Taichung, or any of the galleries and shops at the Pier2 Art Center (駁二藝術特區) in Kaohsiung, these partnerships have become integral in the preservation process.

So while it’s tremendous that the Taiwanese government on the local and national level has a renewed interest in the preservation of historical sites, without these public-private partnerships, it would be difficult to actually be able to preserve these heritage assets in a cost-effective way.

Most importantly these partnerships ensure that preservation continues to take place around the country and on a macro level gives the general public have more incentive to visit. 

After all, cultural parks are likely to start getting boring after you’ve seen enough of them.

Taimali Coffee (太麻里文創咖啡館) 

While I’ve had all of this in the back of my mind for quite a while, what actually cemented my interest in getting to the bottom of these Public-Private Partnership schemes was my visit to the beautiful Taimali Coffee Shop in Taitung City.

In fact, Taitung is one of the areas of Taiwan where you can see these Public-Private partnerships on display in a very noticeable way - From the shops that have set up within the Rail Art Village (鐵花村), the Taitung Sugar Factory (臺東糖廠) and the hip coffeeshops that have opened in the old dorms near the Baoting Art And Culture Center (寶町藝文中心), you’ll find that quite a few entrepreneurs are taking advantage of partnering up with the local government in promoting Taitung to the rest of the country - and the world.

This coffeeshop in particular, located within the downtown core of Taitung city (not actually in Taimali Township (太麻里鄉) to the south), is the brainchild of the famed Taiwanese Film Director Huang Chao-liang (黃朝亮), who grew up in the area and is well known for telling stories about his home. 

One of his most recent films “Han Dan” (寒單), for example was set amidst Taitung’s iconic Bombing Master Han Dan (炮炸寒單爺) festival and tells an interesting story while also highlighting one of the most important religious festivals of his hometown. 

Link: Bombing Lord Handan (Taiwan Gods)

Admittedly, what drew me to the coffeeshop wasn’t the coffee. 

I was however quite surprised to find out when I sat down that all of their coffee is locally sourced from ranches in the mountains of nearby Taimali, and that the coffeeshop was more or less a showroom for the award winning coffee beans harvested in Taitung.

The beautiful interior of Taimali Coffee

Known as “First Rays Coffee” (日升之處咖啡) and “Taimali Ocean Coffee” (太麻里海洋咖啡), the area’s coffee beans are harvested at an altitude ranging between 600m and 1000m above sea level in Taimali’s Huayuan Village (華源村), south of Taitung City.

Apparently this is also where the ‘first rays of sun’ hit Taiwan every morning, hence the name.

Given that the climate is well-suited for growing coffee, the high-quality beans that are grown in Taimali are considered to be well-balanced in their acidity, sweetness and bitterness and deliver smooth flavors.

Over the past decade, Taiwanese-grown beans have won several international awards and Taitung’s beans are helping to ensure that Taiwan’s coffee export market will continue to grow as the nation makes more of a name for itself on the market.

Most of this wouldn’t have been possible however without the leadership of Director Huang, who has not only seized upon the opportunity to open this coffeeshop, but also to help consolidate Taitung’s various coffee beans producers and promote them to the world in a professional manner.  

Link: Taimali Coffee Brewing up a Name for Itself (Taiwan Today)

Guests enjoying the coffeeshop

Given that I spend so much time sitting in coffee shops writing all of these articles, you’d think that I’d be more aware of Taiwan’s resurgence on the international coffee market, but I actually had no idea before walking into this beautiful coffee shop. All I knew was that Taiwan has one of the best coffee-drinking cultures around and that many baristas here have achieved international acclaim.  

Located within a Japanese-era Police Dormitory that dates back to 1940 (昭和15年), the Taitung City Government spent NT$12 million (US $400,000) restoring the building. A hefty figure.

Upon completion, a PPP bid was opened to the public and was initially awarded to a Japanese-style Oolong Noodle (烏龍麵) franchise, which quickly set up shop inside.

According to what we learned above, these contracts typically last for a period of five years or more, so the fact that the noodle shop closed within two years of opening says a lot.

Business may not have been very good, but given that they were willing to take the loss on their investment to close up shop years before the contract expired is pretty serious.

The early closure likewise put the local government in a difficult position as the considerable amount of public funds used to restore the space weren’t being put to good use. This and the fact that there were other restoration projects simultaneously taking place around the city meant that there was a lot of pressure to resolve the situation quickly.

With the building empty, Director Huang seized upon the opportunity and submitted a proposal to the Taitung City Government to set up the coffeeshop inside. Given the government’s investment in the restoration of the building and the recent failure of the noodle restaurant, I’m sure that the opportunity to have a well-established film director open a business that would promote locally sourced coffee to the tourists who visit Taitung was probably too good to be true. 

Re-opening in 2018 as the “Taimali Creative and Cultural Coffeeshop” (太麻里文創咖啡館), it has become one of Taitung’s hippest tourist spots, especially with young people who come to enjoy the locally grown coffee in a nostalgic setting. 

As mentioned above, there are strict limitations within what those who lease these historic buildings can do with the interior design. While that might seem rigid for anyone wanting to bid for the operational rights to one of these buildings, it is also to their benefit as the majority of people who want to visit are coming to enjoy the simplicity of old-fashioned Japanese design. 

The interior of the coffeeshop remains true to that in that it features retro-style seating with carefully selected chairs and tables. The shelves used to showcase the coffee are made of wood, like the rest of the building and while they’re obviously an addition, they don’t take away from the rest of the interior design.

Save for the air conditioner and the kitchen area, the only modern additions to the building are some of the decorations on the walls, which for the most part include posters of Director Huang’s films.

The great thing about this dorm, similar to the nearby Baoting Art and Culture Center (寶町藝文中心) is that the interior, constructed from Taiwanese cedar (杉木) absolutely shines in the sun. The natural light that comes into the building in the afternoon is spectacular and makes the ambiance of enjoying a coffee inside well worth the price of your visit!

The exterior of the building is also quite beautiful and features a yard with ‘actual’ grass, something that is quite uncommon in cities in Taiwan.

Even though the building is located on the corner of Tiehua Road (鐵花路) and Fujian Road (復健路), the main entrance is located in a courtyard that faces away from the road.

The entrance features a beautiful Japanese-style covered porch and the walls are covered in beautiful sliding glass windows. 

The courtyard is large enough to allow for some outdoor seating and a covered pavilion where customers can wait for seating. It is also tree-covered with trees that were planted when the building was originally constructed in the 1930s. The tall trees offer quite a bit of shade, making the wait for a seat a lot more comfortable on hot days. One of them even has a swing hanging from it, which is pretty much Instagram gold, if you’re into that kind of thing.

On the opposite side facing the street, you’ll find a washroom where the original outhouse used to be located. These days however, the building has been upgraded with modern bathrooms.

Still though, to access the washroom you have to walk outside to the back entrance of the building.

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably wondering why I’m not including photos of the coffee or food thats available at the coffeeshop.

I won’t be including any of that. Simply put, I’m not a food blogger and my purpose here isn’t really to introduce or promote the products you’ll get at the coffeeshop.

What I will say however is that the coffee was tasty and the ambiance of sitting inside this historic building was worth the price of admission!

If you’re in Taitung, I highly recommend stopping by this beautiful coffeeshop to learn a little about Taitung’s coffee bean production, enjoy some coffee and more importantly, the former police dormitory which has been completely transformed - and a great example of how these public-private partnerships can be successful!

Getting There

 

Address: #307 Fujian Road, Taitung City (台東市福建路307號)

GPS: 22.75353240966797 121.15357208251953

Located within the downtown core of Taitung City, getting to Taimali Coffee shouldn’t pose any trouble for the average traveller.

The cafe is within walking distance from some of the city’s other popular tourist attractions including the Railway Art Village (鐵花村), Taitung Martyrs Shrine (臺東忠烈祠), Liyu Mountain (鯉魚山), Taitung Bus Station (臺東轉運站), the Taitung Night Market (台東夜市), the famed White House (台東阿伯小白屋) and even the Baoting Art and Culture Centre (寶町藝文中心). 

If you’re staying within the downtown core of the city during your visit, I highly recommend just walking over to the cafe.

If you’ve got a car or scooter, you should be able to find street-side parking nearby, but if you’re visiting during a national holiday, you may be a little trouble parking a car. 

That being said, if you’re staying outside of the city and want to visit, the best way to get there is to take any of the buses that terminate at the Taitung Bus Station, of which there are about 36 and far too many to list here. 

Unfortunately the website for the Taitung Bus Station is only available in Chinese, but you can still check it out to help plan your trip. Your best bet though is to simply click on the bus station on Google Maps to get the full list of buses that stop there and the one that is most suitable for you!

Link: Taitung Bus Station (臺東轉運站) 

You won’t actually find any bus stops along Fujian Road (復健路) where the cafe is located, but this is because the walk from there to the bus station only takes a couple of minutes. 

One thing that is important to note is that the coffee shop tends to be pretty busy, so if you are planning to stop by, I highly recommend heading to their Facebook page that I’ve linked below where you can easily make a reservation.

It would be pretty disappointing if you showed up and the place was so busy that you don’t have the opportunity to enjoy some coffee and a dessert in such a beautifully restored Japanese-era home! 

Hours

From 10:00 to 18:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. 

From 10:00 to 21:00 on Saturdays and Sundays. 

Contact: 089-330398 | Website | Facebook | Instagram

Some of Director Huang’s past work on display

Some of Director Huang’s past work on display

If you are as interested in the preservation of Taiwan’s cultural heritage as I am, this is a topic that should be of particular interest as it is the method by which the government has used to successfully fund restoration projects all over the country.

With hundreds of these projects completed over the past decade, heritage preservation in Taiwan has become a focal point for the rejuvenation of a cultural identity that was once on the decline.

While I’m sure that you’ll excuse me for painting a rosy picture here with regard to the preservation of historic buildings in Taiwan, the sad fact is that we have already lost countless buildings of cultural and historic value. As time passes, the number of historic structures remaining in Taiwan continues to decrease, so if we want to see all of this preservation continue, we should also do our best to support the businesses that set up shop within these places of cultural interest. By doing so, we ensure that these public-private partnerships remain healthy, and also contribute to the local economy.

Possibly the best seats in the house?


Chishang Rice Fields (池上伯朗大道)

I know what you’re thinking! 

“Finally, he’s posting an article that has nothing to do about the Japanese Colonial Era!”

“We’re finally going to get to read something about a popular tourist destination with some pretty photos that has nothing to do with history.” 

C’mon. Don’t fool yourself.

You know I’ll find a way to mix the two! 

Today I’m going to be introducing the famed Brown Boulevard in Taitung’s historic Chishang Village.

Keyword: Historic!  

If you’ve been in Taiwan long enough, you’re probably familiar with the iconic Chishang Bento Box (池上飯包), which likely has more branches around the country than McDonalds. 

While it should be obvious that these historic lunchboxes originated in Chishang, the better questions is to ask why are they so highly regarded? 

The easy answer is because Chishang produces arguably the best rice in all of Taiwan. 

Rice that is so awesome that it was apparently eaten by the emperor of Japan himself. 

And thus, you probably see where I’m going to go with this one. 

Chishang’s rice, Chishang’s bento boxes and all of what we’re able to enjoy today is a direct result of the five decades that Japan ruled over Taiwan and developed the island. 

So before I start talking about Brown Boulevard, give me a few minutes to help you better understand how one of Taiwan’s most prolific agricultural industries got its start! 

I’ll try to be brief, but let’s be honest, that’s never really been my strong point. 

Ikegami Immigrant Village (池上移民村) 

The Japanese Empire took control of Taiwan in 1895, and after a period of instability and heavy-handedness, life in Taiwan (for better or worse) eventually settled to become that of the model colony the Japanese were looking for.

For the first few years, the only Japanese citizens who came to Taiwan would have been predominately military, civil servants, engineers and business people who sought to capitalize on the treasures that the island had to offer the empire. 

When the situation stabilized, the government made the decision to start a campaign to encourage immigration to the colony, which viewed further immigration to Taiwan by ‘ordinary’ (most often lower-class citizens), especially those who were laborers or farmers. This was perceived as not only a great way to improve production here in Taiwan but also dealing with pervasive issues back in Japan, where lack of land and opportunities were causing issues for the rapidly industrializing country. 

Ultimately though, looking back through a historical lens, it is easy to see that mass immigration to Taiwan was a test for a ‘settler colonialism’ scheme in which Japanese citizens would mix with the local population, with the latter eventually being outnumbered.

The East Coast was chosen as the optimal location to start an immigration campaign for these ‘planned communities’ (移民村), due to the fact that it was sparsely populated and thanks to the ‘availability’ of land.

And to sweeten the deal, the government would provide each family with transportation, a home and a plot of land to farm on, in addition to a number of subsidies.  

The “model immigrant community” project, officially lasted from 1909 until around 1918 and achieved relative success, but no where was it as successful as it was on the East Coast with Yoshino Village in Hualien acting as the model for nearby villages like Toyota (豐田), Hayashida (林田), Yoshita (賀田), Kano (鹿野) and more importantly for this article, Ikegami (池上). 

Link: Huadong Valley Ride 2018: Hualien City to Fenglin (Spectal Codex)

Looking back, we can see that the hard work that went into developing the land used for these villages has helped to ensure that today, we continue to be spoiled with some of the best rice, vegetables and fruit in the world.

And there are few places where that is put on display more than in the former immigrant village of Ikigami, known today as Chishang (池上). 

Ikigami Village, which is the Japanese pronunciation of “chishang” (池上), the name used today literally means “by (on) the lake”, referring to the nearby Dapo Lake (大坡池), which was instrumental in the irrigation system that was set up for the cultivation of rice in the area. 

Note: Like many of the other immigrant villages on the east coast that I mentioned above, when the Japanese left Taiwan, the villages retained the same names, but were switched to the Mandarin pronunciation. Most English-speakers however fail to realize that “Fengtian” for example was the same “Toyota” as the cars!

Prior to the arrival of the Japanese, the land where Ikigami would eventually be established was home to the Amis (阿美族), who had migrated out of the area into Hualien in the early stages of the 19th century after an alliance of Siraya (西拉雅族) and Puyuma (卑南族), two of Taiwan’s Plains Indigenous groups (平埔族群) forced them out.

By the late stages of the 19th century, Emperor Kangxi (康熙) removed the longstanding ban on immigration (封山禁令) beyond the western coast of Taiwan. This prompted a wave of Chinese migration, who named the area “xin kai yuán” (新開園), which literally translates as “Newly Opened Land”, but even with a nice name like that, life really sucked for those immigrants who had little to no protection from malaria and other sicknesses let alone the constant threat of attack from the indigenous people.

It didn’t really matter very much though as a few years later, the Qing’s flimsy control of Taiwan came to an end after the First Sino-Japanese War (日清戰爭), resulting in the Treaty of Shimonoseki (馬關條約), and control of Taiwan and the Peng Hu archipelago being handed over to the Japanese. 

As mentioned above, the Japanese arrived in Taiwan in 1895 (明治28年), but what I didn’t include was that after the signing of the treaty with China in April, the Japanese army arrived in Taiwan in May and by November of that year, they claimed to had accomplished what the Dutch, Spanish and Chinese could never do - they controlled the entire island.

That being said, complete control over the island probably didn’t actually take place until some years later as they faced resistance from indigenous groups as well as the Hakka and Hokkien people who had been here for years.

Once they did control the island though, they set out to develop it and start extracting all of its many resources.

It’s hard to know for sure how many indigenous and others were killed during the period of resistance to Japanese rule, but without a doubt, thousands perished in the process. 

By 1909 (明治42年), the eastern immigration plan had been established and the model immigrant villages mentioned above started popping up along the east coast, with both public and private investments.

To facilitate the creation of an immigrant village in the ‘Newly Opened Garden’ area, an estimated 2,298 hectares (2,370甲) was reserved and was officially renamed “Ikigami Village” (池上村).

It’s important to mention that of the 2,300 hectares reserved for the village and agricultural production, the vast majority (2,143 hectares) of land was considered untamed wilderness (原野) while the rest was divided/developed into 55 hectares of dry farmland (旱田), 37 hectares of paddy fields (水田) and 7.5 hectares reserved for construction (建地) respectively. More on that later. 

Note: 1甲 = 0.9699 hectares = 2,934坪 (甲 jia and 坪 ping are Taiwanese units of measurement)

With the Taitung Sugar Corporation (臺東製糖株式會社) charged with the development of the village and bringing in new immigrants, in 1913 (大正2年) construction on over two hundred houses started with land partitioned to ensure that each of the households could contribute to agricultural production. 

Immigration to the area however didn’t start until 1919 (大正8年) when 49 families were brought to the area from Shinanogawa City (信濃川) in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture (長野縣).

Immigration slowly continued throughout the next few years, but the initial stages of the project (in addition to several of the other immigrant villages set up under the operation of the Taitung Sugar Corporation) came to a sudden end.  

By 1921 (大正10年) the Taiwan Governors Office and the Bank of Taiwan became frustrated with the lack of success of the privately run company and stopped granting them loans. With mounting debts, the Taitung Sugar Corporation was forced to restructure its business operations leaving the newly formed Taitung Business Development Corporation (台東開拓株式會社) to focus on any lingering immigration-related business, while the rest of the company would focus solely on its most important function, the production and export of sugar.

Over the next few years, with continued attempts to fill the houses with immigrants from Japan failing, the company settled on bringing in a mixture of locals and Japanese to help populate the village and contribute to agricultural production. This attempt resulted in limited success as by 1926 (昭和元年) the Eastern Rail Line (東線鐵路) had reached Ikigami and the area near the newly constructed train station became a much more attractive place to live, in addition to being the centre of economic development.

Once the rail line had been completed, Ikigami became a much more attractive one and migrants, mostly Hakka’s from Hsinchu (新竹) and Miaoli (苗栗) started to pour in with the population surging over the next decade.

Ikigami ultimately failed as an experimental immigration village for Japanese citizens, but it succeeded in becoming a much more inclusive village than many of the other immigrant villages in that it was home to the Indigenous, Hakka, Hokkien and Japanese, all of whom worked together to create a paradise for the production of rice.

Later absorbed into the Kanzan Region (關山郡 / かんざんぐん) of Taito Prefecture (臺東廳), over the next few years, Ikigami Village would turn the failure of the immigration village into one of Taiwan’s most profitable and long-standing success stories.

One that has transcended the different eras of political rule over the island.

Gone were the days where sugarcane was the main focus of agricultural production as the people of the village worked to set up a sustainable system of rice cultivation that quickly achieved notoriety around Taiwan and especially in Japan where it was lauded as Tribute Rice (貢米), cultivated and provided directly to the Emperor.

When the Japanese arrived in Taiwan, they brought with them a Japanese grain of rice known as japonica (秈米) that replaced the earlier, longer grain (粳米) that was brought here by Chinese immigrants in the 16th century.

It took several decades before they actually learned how to successfully cultivate this special kind of rice in Taiwan’s temperate climates. 

Link: Taiwanese Rice has its roots in Japan (Kyodo News) 

By 1925, the colonial government was all-in on what became known as Ponlai rice (蓬萊米), a hybrid of japonica rice (ジャポニカ米) and Ikigami was geographically one of the most ideal locations to grow it.

Located within the area we refer to today as the East Rift Valley (花東縱谷), between the Central Mountain (中央山脈) and the Coastal Mountain ranges (海岸山脈), Ikigami is blessed with fertile soil and natural river water from the Xinwulu River (新武呂溪) in addition to the Dapo Pond which provides fresh water to the rice paddies.

According to locals, the secret to the success of Ikigami’s (Chishang’s) rice cultivation is in the following: 

  1. Excellent soil that contains clay and organic matter from the mountains.

  2. Excellent water flowing from the mountain river and the pond.

  3. Excellent weather and a climate suitable for agricultural production.

While there is certainly room for debate about the claims that Ikigami’s rice production was labelled Emperors Rice (天皇米), what is true of the rice production of the colonial era is that the vast majority of the spoils were shipped back to Japan.

So, as far as the locals were concerned, Ikigami’s rice may as well have been reserved for Japanese royalty. 

Once again, even though Ikigami was a failure as an immigrant village, another area where it did succeed was in cultivating the massive amount of land that was reserved for the village into a viable location for agricultural production. It goes without saying that without the hard work of the immigrants, in conjunction with those from other parts of Taiwan, who joined them in converting over 5000 acres of land into a paradise for rice production.

Cultivation continues to this day and the quality of rice that is produced in Chishang is renowned throughout Taiwan, as well as overseas. The market however has since democratized, and even though rice is still exported to Japan, people from all over Taiwan are likewise able to enjoy the same quality of rice that was once ‘reserved’ for the Emperor. 

While talking about the village, its history and its amazing rice, I’d be remiss not to mention the famed bento boxes (便當) that Chishang is known for. Whenever you go in Taiwan these days, you’re undoubtably going to find a Chishang Bento Box (池上飯包) franchise that sells lunchboxes to the starving masses of Taiwan’s work force. 

Starting in the 1930s, shortly after the railway started passing through Ikigami, vendors would wait along the platform offering Sweet Potato Cakes (蕃薯餅) to weary travellers. This lucrative business later progressed into selling rice balls (飯糰) wrapped in peach leaves (月桃葉), which were the precursor for what we know and love today. 

Note: Lunchboxes in Taiwan are known as “biàn dang” (便當), which is a word derived directly from the Japanese bento (弁当 / べんとう). When we use the words “fàn bao” (飯包) however, we are most often referring to the bento boxes inspired by the Chishang Lunchboxes. 

Links: Even Train Rides Are a Chance to Eat Outrageously Well in Taipei (Eater)

The Biandang from Japanese Days to the Present (AmCham Taiwan) 

As time went by, the rice balls evolved to include a variety of braised pork (滷肉), roast pork (烤豬肉), pork liver (豬肝) and lean slices of pork (瘦肉片) in addition to steamed cabbage, pickled radish, tempura and rice.

Then in 1962, the wrapped rice balls started being packed in wooden boxes transforming into the Chishang bento boxes what we’re used to today. 

Even though you can enjoy a Chishang Bento Box pretty much anywhere in Taiwan, if you find yourself in Chishang, you will have certainly missed out on a great experience if you don’t take some time to enjoy one of the original bento boxes. So, if you are in Chishang, make sure to enjoy a meal at one of the following historic bento shops as you won’t find any of their vendors on the train platform these days. 

  1. Hometown Chishang Lunchbox (家鄉正宗池上飯包) #4 Zhongzheng Road 台東縣池上鄉中正路4號

  2. Woo Chishang Lunchbox (悟饕池上飯包) #259 Zhongxiao Road 台東縣池上鄉忠孝路259號

  3. Quanmei Chishang Lunchbox (全美行池上飯包) #1 Zhongshan Road 台東縣池上鄉中正路1號

And if you’re really interested in the history of these famed bento boxes, there’s a bento museum near the train station where you can learn all about their history. 

Link: Chishang Bento Museum (Taitung Tourism) 

Brown Boulevard (伯朗大道) 

While excellent soil and fresh water are certainly important factors that contribute to producing Chishang rice, one might argue that the relatively low amount of pollution in the area also has an important hand in ensuring that the rice is always going to be some of the tastiest on the market.

Rice is grown in pretty much every city and county in Taiwan, but there are arguably few places as geographically distinct as Chishang, where factories are pretty much non-existent as they are in other areas of the country. This means that the rice enjoys the benefits of (relatively) pollution-free air in addition to the fresh mineral water and fertile soil provided by the East Rift Valley. 

To ensure that this remains true for as long as possible, you’ll notice that the famed Brown Boulevard is devoid of all of the noisy cars, buses and scooters that you’ll find in other areas around the country. You’ll also notice that there is a distinct lack of street lights, electrical wires or telephone poles polluting the beautiful scenery. The vast fields are completely open and save for some roads running between the paddies, the area is completely natural. 

The popular tourist attraction might just be one of Taiwan’s largest experiments in sustainable tourism, allowing the general public to enjoy the absolutely spectacular scenery of the vast rice fields, but only if they’re willing to do so by walking or on a bicycle.

Ironically, even though the rice fields have been around since the 1920s, tourism to the area has only really exploded within the past few years. These days you’ll find crowds of tourists walking or bicycling around the zig-zagging network of roads that criss-cross the paddies. This most often includes a mixture of families on vacation, couples walking hand-in-hand, and of course Instagram celebrities modelling for photos.  

But, what happened to start bringing the massive crowds to the area? And how did the area become one of Taitung’s most popular tourist destinations? To figure that out, we need to take a look at the name of the place, “Brown Boulevard” or “Mr. Brown Boulevard” (伯朗大道). 

The craze started when the local generic coffee company, Mr. Brown (伯朗咖啡) filmed a commercial on-site in 1992, bringing the area to the attention of the masses of domestic tourists looking for something to do with their free time. However, even though the area of town where the rice paddies are located has since been nicknamed “Brown Boulevard,” the Number One reason why so many tourists have been attracted to the area is arguably thanks to an EVA Air (長榮航空) commercial from 2014 that featured international sexy man Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城武) biking through the fields and enjoying some fresh tea under the shade of a tree.

Kaneshiro, who is a Taiwanese-Japanese actor can be seen in the final minute of the commercial promoting the beauty of Taiwan to the Japanese market, speaking Japanese with his iconic deep voice. Given the history of the area, Kaneshiro was probably the perfect person to help promote Taiwan as well as the Chishang area as he is able to bridge the gap between two countries as son of mixed heritage.  

Did I mention that he’s beautiful? Just watch the video linked below. You’ll understand. 

Link: Takeshi Kaneshiro Eva Air Commercial | Mr. Brown Coffee Commercial (Youtube)

These days, one of the most popular attractions on the boulevard is the tree where Kaneshiro enjoyed his tea.

The tree is referred to as the Takeshi Kaneshiro Tree (金城武樹) and even appears that way on Google Maps. You won’t need GPS to find it though, just look for where there are large crowds of tourists stopped to take photos. 

While not exactly a “boulevard”, the network of roads running through the rice paddies is often described in Chinese as a “jade paradise” (翠綠的天堂路) thanks to the emerald-green rice paddies in a valley that is separated by two mountain ranges. 

The thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that if you actually want to experience the emerald-green beauty of the boulevard, you’ll have to plan your visit wisely.

The best times of the year to visit the area are between May and June and October and December when the rice fields are growing. If you arrive too late in the season, the fields may have turned yellow with the rice close to being ready, or worse - having already been harvested.  

If you can’t travel to the area during those times mentioned above, never fear. The place is beautiful all year-round.

While there, you’re probably going to want to rent a bicycle to ride around the fields, so if you’re looking for information on renting bikes, keep reading!  

Getting There

 

Address: Brown Boulevard, Chishang Village. Taitung County (臺東縣池上鄉伯朗大道)

GPS: 121.21260 23.098776

Car / Scooter 

If you have access to your own means of transportation, getting to Chishang is pretty simple.

You can either input the address or the GPS coordinates provided above into your preferred GPS system and it’ll map out your route for you. 

What you’ll want to remember about driving a car or a scooter however is that you’ll have to pay for parking once you arrive at Brown Boulevard as both aren’t allowed to enter the pedestrian only area.

The car parks provided often operate as both a car park and a bicycle rentals, so if you plan on renting a bicycle to ride around the rice fields (which I recommend you do), you’ll be able to get a better deal on one of the bikes (electric or not).

The thing about the parking lots and the bicycle rental places being mixed together means that the prices or both are pretty standardized, but also allows for a little bit of tourist gouging.

These things certainly aren’t very expensive as per Taiwanese standards, but it’s unlikely that you’ll bother parking in one place and renting a bicycle from another, as that wouldn’t make much sense. 

Be forewarned that if you decide that you’re smart and you’ll instead find parking somewhere along the road near the boulevard, it’s likely that you’ll have your car towed or you’ll get a ticket.

The whole thing seems like an organized tourist racket, so if you attempt to save a bit of money by not parking in a parking lot, you may find yourself paying a lot more in fines when your car gets towed.

Train 

Taking the train is one of the easiest options for getting to Chishang as the station is served by not only the local trains (區間車) but also the faster Taroko (太魯閣), Puyuma (普悠瑪) and Tze-chiang (自強) express trains as well. 

To get there, take one of the north/south bound trains on the east coast all the way to Chishang Station (池上車站). I probably don’t have to say this, but that would be a train headed north from Taitung Station (台東車站) or south from Hualien Station (花蓮車站). 

Once you arrive at the station, the first thing you should do is stretch for a minute and then head directly to one of the famed Chishang Bento Box places to have something to eat before heading elsewhere. 

From the train station, you have the option of taking a bus, taxi, bicycle or walking to Brown Boulevard, which isn’t all that far from the station. 

Bus

If you’d like to take a bus to the area, you have a couple of options, but it all depends on where you’re starting from.

From Taitung to Brown Boulevard (台東轉運站 - 伯朗大道)

  • Ding-Dong Bus (鼎東客運) Mountain Line (山線): #8161, 8163, 8165, 8166

From Taitung Bus Station to Chishang (台東轉運站 - 池上)

From the Taitung Bus Station, you’ll want to hop on the Ding-Dong Bus Company’s Mountain Line (山線) bus and take it all the way to Chishang, which should cost about $160NT one way. 

Link: Mountain Line Map | Fare Chart

From Chishang Train Station to Brown Boulevard (池上車站 - 伯朗大道) 

From the train station walk out the front entrance and down the road where you’ll pass by the famed lunchbox vendors and onto Zhongshan Road (中山路), you’ll find the bus stop nearby. You’ll want to hop on Bus #8165 and take it to Brown Boulevard West Side. Or #8161, 8163, or 8166 in the other direction to the Jinyuan Stop.

Either way, the bus ride is about three kilometres and there are several stops for Brown Boulevard, so you’ll want to pay attention.

From Hualien to Chishang (花蓮 - 池上) 

Take Hualien Bus #1138

If you’ve read other articles that say that you can take Bus #1138 to Chishang, you may want to ignore them.

This bus route hasn’t been in service for quite a while, and even then it was only from Fuli (富里), located in Southern Hualien county to Taitung Bus Station. It wasn’t really of any use for travelers coming Hualien city. 

So, if you’re traveling from Hualien, I highly recommend taking a southbound train to Chishang and then transferring to a bus or walking from there. 

Bicycle Rentals

It doesn’t matter if you arrive at either the western side or the eastern side of Brown Boulevard, there will be an ample amount of bicycle and parking vendors vying for your attention. As mentioned above, most of the rental places include the parking fee with the price of your bicycle rental, so you won’t have to worry too much about where you’re going to park your car or scooter.

The prices of bicycles tends to only vary slightly between the different outlets, but they don’t really differ all that much, so you can pretty much expect the following prices for bike rentals, which generally allow you to have the bikes for about two to three hours.  

The great thing about the bike rental places is that they all have signs outside that clearly show their prices, which means you aren’t going to get taken for a ride when you arrive.

Remember though, the bigger than bike, the more expensive it will be - especially if its electric. 

  1. Single Person Bicycle (一人自行車): $100-150NT

  2. Double Seat Bicycle (雙人自行車): $300NT

  3. Four-Seat Bicycle (四人自行車): $500NT

  4. Double Seat Electric Bicycle (雙人電動腳踏車): $500NT / two hours

  5. Four-Seat Electric Bicycle (四人電動腳踏車): $800NT / two hours

As one of Taitung’s most popular tourist destinations, you can be sure that any time you visit Chishang and it’s Brown Boulevard that you’ll be doing so with large crowds of tourists. This is especially true during the four months of the year when the rice fields are full.

The area has become be one of Taitung’s most popular tourist attractions, but don’t worry - it’s large enough to share.

Walking or bicycling along the boulevard is probably one of the most amazing experiences you’ll have while visiting the East Coast, and all that exercise should probably make you hungry, so make sure to enjoy one of Chishang’s iconic bento boxes as well!


References

  1. 池上鄉 (Wiki) 

  2. 伯朗大道 (Wiki) 

  3. 池上飯包 (Wiki)

  4. 池上伯朗大道 (ZZTaitung)

  5. 日本移民村 (Encyclopedia of Taiwan) 

  6. 『天皇米』之說的生成興再現 (邱創裕 / 國立臺灣師範大學台灣研究所)

  7. 從日本貢米到台灣香米 (Thinking Taiwan)

  8. Japanese Immigrant Villages in Taiwan | 台灣日治時期日本移民村 (Wiki)

  9. 日本人的臺灣經驗~日治時期的移民村 (林呈蓉/淡江大學歷史系副教授)

  10. 台東第一打卡景點 竟是拍攝咖啡廣告的池上伯朗大道?(Line Today) 

  11. Taiwanese Rice has its roots in Japan (Kyodo News)

  12. Mr. Brown Avenue | 伯朗大道 (Taitung Travel) 

  13. Chishang (Foreigners in Taiwan) 


Baoting Art and Culture Center (寶町藝文中心)

While visiting Taiwan’s breathtaking East Coast, almost every traveller will quickly discover that we are blessed so many tourist destinations and things to see that one trip doesn’t even allow you to scratch the surface of what Taitung has to offer.

This makes crafting the perfect travel itinerary rather difficult as there are far too many things to see and do and never enough time to do it all.

Therefore the only solution to this problem is to visit Taitung as many times as possible!

For most tourists, Taitung City has been used simply as a base for travelling north to check out destinations like Sanxiantai (三仙台) or the scenic rice fields in Chishang (池上). Likewise, you could head south to Taimali (太麻里) and the beautiful hot spring forest resort area in Zhiben (知本) or hop on a ferry to Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (蘭嶼). 

Now though, Taitung City is proudly fighting for the attention of tourists and it is waging a battle that makes it pretty hard to ignore! 

In recent years Taitung City has gone through something of a renaissance in the way it presents itself as a tourist destination and the amount of attractions for the average tourist have increased exponentially.

This means that leaving the city to drive north or south has become increasingly more difficult, especially for young people who are embracing this new Taitung. 

Starting with the downtown core, the Taitung Rail Art Village (鐵花村) is an amazing addition to the city’s tourist destinations and given its proximity to the Taitung Night Market, tourists can easily spend an afternoon and an evening browsing this artistic and culinary hot spot.

Likewise, the historic Taitung Sugar Factory (台東糖廠文創園區) has recently been restored and is quickly becoming the city’s answer to Taipei’s Huashan Culture Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區) where Taiwan’s hipster art community is free puts on exhibitions and concerts.

Nearby you’ll also find the beautiful Taitung Seaside Park (海濱公園), which is home a beach-side nature trail and the popular Taitung White House (台東阿伯白屋), where you can rent a bicycle and enjoy the beauty of a tropical wetlands. The city is also home to Liyu Mountain Park (鯉魚山) where you’ll find the Taitung Martyrs Shrine (台東忠烈祠), as well as an easy hike that provides tourists with beautiful views of the Taitung cityscape with the Pacific Ocean behind it!

That being said, the local government has also spent a considerable amount of money restoring many of the historic Japanese era buildings and has been opening them up as attractive tourist destinations where we can enjoy the beauty of these historic buildings, while also enjoying some interesting exhibition spaces. 

One of the first of these spaces to open was the Baoting Art and Culture Center (寶町藝文中心), a group of former Japanese civil servant dormitories in downtown Taitung.

Within the next few years, the small cluster of dorms is going to drastically increase with an entire city block of other dorms soon to open to the public, making this part of town an important part of the local government’s long-term plans for keeping tourists within city limits! 

Today I’ll be introducing the dorms that make up the Baoting Art and Culture Center, but as I mentioned above, I’ll definitely be heading back to city in the near future to check out all of the other dorms that are soon to open, because like almost every other traveller who visits Taitung discovers, one trip is never enough! 

Taitung Civic Dormitories (臺東市長官舍建築群)

Given that these dorms were used by the civil servants who worked within the administrative bureaucracy in Taitung, I think its probably a good idea start out by explaining the somewhat complicated administrative history of the area. 

Prior to the arrival of the Japanese, Taitung was referred to simply as “Back Mountain” (後山) or “Pi-lam” (卑南) by the Qing, and for much of the time that they controlled Taiwan, the area was more or less off-limits.

The lack of administrative control or ability to protect Han immigrants from the Puyuma (卑南族) and Amis (阿美族) indigenous people who lived there meant that few actually dared to make their way beyond the Central Mountain Range to the east coast. 

However, a few years prior to Taiwan being ceded to the Japanese, the “mountain” areas were opened up by governor Liu Mingchuan (劉銘傳) and ethnic Chinese settlers started migrating to the area, which they renamed Taitung Prefecture (臺東直隸州) in 1888. 

That version of ‘Taitung Prefecture’ however was short-lived as Taiwan was ceded to the Japanese seven years later at the end of the First Sino-Japanese War (日清戦争). 

When the Japanese arrived, they originally named the area Nankyo Village (南鄉新街), but would later establish more formal administrative districts with Taito (台東街 / たいとうがい) becoming the administrative centre of Taito Prefecture (臺東廳 / たいとうちょう), which spanned an area of 3,515.25 km². 

It goes without saying that the east coast of Taiwan was extremely important to the Japanese as it was rich in natural resources and was one of the key areas for the production of sugarcane.

This meant that for the first time the area would start to be developed as it was to become an economic powerhouse for the empire.

This meant that administrative control would have to be tightened as the construction of the railway, ports and factories required a considerable amount of bureaucratic control over the area. 

The large community of civil servant dormitories for which the dorms that make up the “Baoting Art and Culture Center” are part of were the answer to providing proper lodgings for those who came to assist in the administration of the prefecture, and its economic development.

Dating back to 1937 (昭和12年), the four dorms were constructed to coincide with the colonial government’s administrative restructuring plan (台灣廳制) that upgraded areas into ‘towns’, ‘cities’ and ‘counties’ under the prefectural system.

This meant that the administrative district of “Taito County” (臺東郡 / たいとうぐん) would include Taito City as well three villages in the areas we know today as Taimali (太麻里鄉), Dawu (大武鄉), Green Island (綠島鄉) and several mountainous indigenous localities (蕃地) as well as Orchid Island (蘭嶼). 

Taito City on the other hand would serve as the administrative capital of the prefecture, making it home to important civic buildings such as the Taito Prefectural Hall (臺東廳舍), Taito City Hall (臺東街役場), Taito Prefectural Post Office (臺東郵便局), Taito Weather Station (台東測候所), Taito Branch of the Monopoly Bureau (專賣局台東出張所) and the Taito Prefectural Shinto Shrine (臺東神社), among others.

Despite being relatively large in terms of area, the population of Taito City at that time consisted of around 17,000 people (compared to 107,000 today) and was divided up into several “machi” (町/まち), which are neighbourhoods or suburbs and included the aptly named “kitamachi” (北町), “shinmachi” (新町), “sakaemachi” (榮町), “minamimachi” (南町) and “takamachi” (寶町).

The “Takamachi” neighbourhood, which loosely translates into English as “treasure” was one of the more ‘upscale’ areas of Taito City and was home to not only these set of dorms, but a larger community nearby for the families of other civil servants living in the area at the time. 

By 1937, there were an estimated 3,000 residents who hailed from Japan, distributed between this neighbourhood and the four immigrant villages (移民村) that were set up for workers who were primarily working within the sugar industry. 

Taito’s Immigrant Villages: Asahi Village (旭村), Tomihara Village (富原村), Miwa Village (美和村), Shikishima Village (敷島村).

The four dorms, all of which are typical Japanese-style houses in terms of their architectural design are elevated off of the ground on a cement base, while the rest of the structure is constructed of Taiwanese cedar wood (杉木). The layout of each of the dorms remains relatively similar, but three of them were shared (雙併宿舍) while only was considered an single dormitory (獨棟房舍). 

The single dorm would have been reserved for the mayor (街長官邸) and his family while the other three would have been split in half, albeit with shared washroom facilities, housing the families of six high-ranking officials (高階官員) within the local government. 

Unfortunately there is very little information about the architectural design of the dorms available in print or online, but over the years I’ve become quite familiar with all of these small details, so I’ll try to explain the design differences between the two styles of dorms. 

Before I get into the differences, it’s probably easier to talk about their similarities.

Its important to note that these Japanese style dormitories follow a basic design rule in that each of them, no matter if they’re a single or a shared dwelling, must consist of the following three spaces, a living space (起居空間), a service space (服務空間) and a passage space (通行空間). 

The “living space” is considerably different than what we’re used to in western standards as what we might consider a “living room” is actually a brilliant multi-functional space where the family can receive guests, hang out, have their meals, drink tea and sleep.

This space is usually the largest part of these dorms and features “tokonoma” (床の間/とこのま) or large compartments (like a closet) with sliding doors in the walls where blankets, decorations and other necessities are stored during the day. 

Link: Tokonoma (Wiki) 

The “service space” on the other hand could include a number of rooms, which in the double family dorms might be shared spaces between both sides in order to save space. Service spaces typically include the kitchen (台所 / だいどころ), bathroom (風呂 / ふろ), washroom (便所 / べんじょ), etc. 

Finally, the “passage space” in each of these dorms varies, but generally means the front and back entrances to the dorm as well as the corridors within, between the living space and the service space.

The design of these dorms tends to differ based on where the foyer or the main entrance to the building (玄關 / げんかん) is located as the porch is used to connect the various indoors spaces.

One of the most significant design features (as far as I’m concerned at least) for each of the buildings are the beautiful ‘engawa’ (緣側/えんがわ) sliding door verandas on the rear side that allow for natural air to enter the buildings, while also offering access to the areas where the gardens (and outhouses) would have been located. 

Link: Engawa (Wiki) 

Each of the four buildings has been constructed using the irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造) style of design, which basically means that the base of the building is smaller than the roof, the weight of which is supported by a network of trusses (屋架) in the ceiling that helps to support the weight of the four-sided sloped hip roof (四坡頂).

When the buildings were restored, the original roof tiles were replaced with concrete tiles and the ‘onigawara’ (鬼瓦) end tiles, which feature floral designs are all replacements.

Likewise, the wooden shitamiita (下見版 / したみいた) siding on the buildings has been replaced. They are currently quite dark in colour, but as they age the colours will fade.

Now let‘s talk about where these buildings slightly differ.

Mayoral Residence (街長的居所) 

The Mayoral Residence is the largest of the dorms at 109㎡ (33坪) and considering that it’s not split in half like the other buildings, it features a large porch (玄關), living space (座敷 / ざしき), living room (居間 / いま), tea room (茶之間) and maids room (女中室/じょちゅうしつ) in addition to a washroom, bathroom and kitchen. 

Given the size difference, the interior of the building is considerably more spacious than the other dorms (which have since been opened up) and would have been an excellent space for living as well as receiving important guests.

Shared Dormitories (雙併二戶建)

The exterior of each of the shared dormitories are the same size as the Mayoral Residence, but since they’re split in half, the interior space on either side is only 49㎡ (15坪).

This means that for each of the families living in these dorms, space would have been tight. The design of these houses however ensured that during the day, the common areas were large enough for a family to enjoy. 

Each of the shared dorm buildings originally featured their own entrances, but it has been suggested that after the Japanese left Taiwan, the new residents of the buildings took the liberty to add larger entrances on the sides of the buildings, which would have slightly altered the ‘passage space’ design of the buildings.

They do however continue to feature the large sliding verandas at the rear of the building and everything else remains the same as the mayoral residence save for having a dedicated living room and a private maid’s room.

The bathrooms for the shared dormitories however weren’t connected to the buildings, so even though the residents could have taken a bath within the home, they’d have to go outside to relieve themselves in a shared space. 

When the Second World War ended and the Japanese relinquished control of Taiwan, the original residents of the dorms were forced to leave Taiwan and head back to Japan.

It wouldn’t be long though before they became the dormitories for civil servants working at the Taitung City Office (台東市公所) after Taiwan’s (so-called) retrocession (光復). 

The dorms continued to house the city’s civil servants for several decades after, but as time went by the buildings started to become run down, and when their occupants ultimately moved out, they were left abandoned, leaving them to the elements. 

In the year 2000 (民國89年), then mayor of Taitung, Lie Kuen-cheng (賴坤成) proposed that the dorms become registered as historic buildings and be part of an ambitious restoration project (日治宿舍保存整修計畫) that would see several of the areas historic sites preserved and opened up for tourism.

Planning for the project took a couple of years and included specialists from Japan who came to oversee the project to ensure authenticity. 

The restoration project started in 2002 and after four years the dorms reopened to the public as the Baoting Art and Cultural Centre. 

To celebrate the re-opening of the dorms, the local government invited the three children of Akamatsu Nisan (赤松二三), the last mayor of Taito City to attend the ceremony. 

On February 28th, 2006, Sakuma (赤松佐熊), Shigeo (赤松茂男) and Ishiko (淺野石子) came to Taiwan and helped to inaugurate the cultural centre and to celebrate the rebirth of their father’s former home.

Baoting Art and Culture Center (寶町藝文中心)

The Baoting Art and Culture Centre has been reopened to the public for well over a decade and is one of Taitung City’s most popular tourist attractions.

Open six days a week, the four dorms are now the home of rotating art shows and exhibitions about the history of the local area. 

Tourists who visit the dorms often find themselves spending quite a while taking photos as they are quite picturesque and shine in the tropical environment in Taitung.

You’ll also find that the art shows and cultural activities on display are interesting enough to make you want to stick around for quite a while. 

One of my only gripes about the interior of the buildings is that some of the art shows they have on display don’t really mix with the interior design of the buildings. 

Fortunately, I was lucky to arrive on my second visit to the dorms between shows when the walls were empty. However if you’re looking at these photos and thinking that is what you’ll experience when you visit, I’m afraid that probably won’t be the case. 

I did spend quite a bit of time however enjoying the historic exhibits that have a lot of excellent information about Taitung during the colonial era, in addition to the indigenous handicrafts room that shows off some of the beautiful work of the local indigenous groups. 

As I mentioned above, the number of Japanese era dorms in the area is about to grow exponentially, so if you are planning to visit the area, I highly recommend taking a walk to the rear of the dorms to check out some of the other dorms that are currently being restored and are almost ready to reopen to the public. 

The amount of historic properties that have been restored in the area is quite amazing and although some of them will showcase local art and history, you’ll also find others that will have restaurants, tea houses and coffee shops inside. 

I’m not sure about you, but having a meal or a coffee in one of these eighty year old buildings is probably a pretty cool experience! 

For more information about getting to the dorms and when they’re open, keep reading below! 

Getting There 

 

Address:  No.184, Zhongshan Rd., Taitung City (台東市中山路184號)

GPS: 22.757823404833875 121.15302552239177

The Baoting Art and Culture Center is located on Zhongshan Road (中山路) within the downtown core of the city, but is a bit of a distance from the city centre where you’ll find most of the tourists who visit Taitung spend their time. 

If you have a car or scooter during your trip to Taitung, getting there shouldn’t be much of a problem at all. If you don’t have your own means of transportation though, don’t worry, there is an ample amount of public transportation available that will help you get there. 

Located near Siwei Nightmarket (四維夜市) and the Taitung Mazu Temple (臺東天后宮), the Baoting Art Centre is in an area of town where there probably isn’t very much for the average tourist to see, but within the next year or two there will be an entire city block of newly restored Japanese dorms just like these opening up that will feature art and cultural exhibitions, making the trip there even more worthwhile! 

Car / Scooter 

If you have a car or a rental scooter during your trip to Taitung, you should have no problem getting there. All you really have to do is follow Zhongzheng Road straight out of the downtown core of the city and you’ll find the dorms within minutes of leaving.

The roads in the area are quite large and there should be an ample amount of parking nearby. For a car, you might have to circle around the area for a while to find a space, but it shouldn’t post much of a problem. Remember though that if you park in one of the space along the road that you’ll be subject to a parking fee based on the amount of time you spend there.

If you’re driving a scooter on the other hand, you’ll be able to park directly in front of the dorms in the spaces provided for free!  

Bus 

Taking the bus to the Baoting Art and Culture Centre from downtown Taitung is pretty easy - All you have to do is get yourself to the Taitung Bus Station (臺東轉運站) and take Taitung Bus (臺東客運) bus #8102, #8119 or #8120 to the “Tiantainlai Bus Stop” (天天來站) where you’ll get off a short distance from the dorms. 

Link: Taitung Bus Station (臺東轉運站) 

You also have the option of taking Taitung’s Downtown Sightseeing Tour Bus (臺東縣市區公車) from the bus station to the same bus stop mentioned above, but its important to note that the bus doesn’t really come that often and isn’t all that convenient.

Still, if you’re at the station and the bus is about to leave, feel free to hop on! 

Link: Taitung Downtown Sightseeing Circular Bus Timetable (市區公車時刻表)

Visiting the Baoting Art and Culture Centre is free of charge, and apart from having to remove your shoes when you enter the buildings, you can easily enjoy the beautiful architecture and whatever art exhibit they’ve got on display at the time of your visit!  

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 09:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00.  

The dorms are closed on Mondays and most national holidays

I have probably mentioned this countless times on my blog, but one of the problems that has arisen as of late is that when these former Japanese era dormitories (and other buildings) are restored and opened up to the public, the government often has trouble coming up with idea about how to fill the space with something that makes their investment in the restoration of the buildings worthwhile.

In this case, the former Taitung Civic Dormitories have been repurposed into a beautiful exhibition space for artists that provides local artists with a beautiful exhibition space for their work and local residents with a constantly changing art space.

For tourists who are only in the area for a short time, the art that is featured on the walls is just one of the added bonuses of visiting these historic dorms.

There are certainly an ample amount of destinations around Taitung for tourists to enjoy on their trip to the east coast, but within the next few years the list of destinations within the city itself is going to grow exponentially. This will make spending time within the city and especially the area around the Baoting Art Centre much more attractive.