With the recommendation by the hotel owner, we decided to visit Qiaotou Sugar Refinery this morning. This was not in our original itinerary. We took the MRT (Red line) to Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station.
At the time when we reached the station, it was drizzling but we were not bothered by it. The moment we exited the station, we immediately noticed how the surrounding area subtly transitioned from urban transit zone to something quieter and more expansive.
This is a century-old industrial site that’s been preserved and revitalised as a rich cultural and historical park. On our way towards the refinery building, there were many points of interest to explore.
We started with a walk by the river. However, after 20 minutes of strolling along the quiet street, we realized that there is not through road to the refinery. As such, we retraced our steps and took another path.
Within the compound, there are two preserved residences (built around 1940), which were the homes of refinery leadership during the Japanese occupation period. Built based on traditional Japanese wooden architecture, the director’s home showcases elevated floors, cypress trusses and original layout, reflecting official residential standards of the era.
Below is the Taiwan Sugar Manufacturing Co., Ltd. office building that was built in 1901. It not only symbolized a milestone of Taiwan on the modernized sugar manufacturing industry but was also one of the most important buildings from the Japanese Colonial Era.
In 1902, in order to sooth Japanese technicians who were far away from home and to draw the integrity of Taiwanese farmers on the Japanese sugar corporation, President Suzuki asked people he knew to collect old copper mirrors from China and erected this statue of Guanyin in front of the Qiaotou Sugar Factory office building.
The building below was a club house when Qiaotou Sugar Factory was founded in 1902. The large space in front of the building was the training ground for Japanese troops. The architecture style of this building and the office both imitated Dutch colonial buildings in Southeast Asia.
We then arrived at the railway recreation area. There were 5 major transportation routes under the administration of Qiatou Sugar Factory. After they ceased service, a Sugar Railway Park was especially founded in the park to exhibit various kinds of retired old engines and large casting art works to bring back people’s memories.
Next we came to the Sugar Railways Repair Depot. When Qiaotou Sugar Factory was founded in 1903, oxen were used to pull wagons on tracks. Starting from 1907, sugar trains were introduced into the sugar manufacturing operation and have become a signature of the industrial railway in the agricultural villages of Taiwan since then.
The outdoor “Display of Farming Machinery” exhibits machines that were only used in sugar factories. Given that the park was designated by the former Kaohsiung County Department of Cultural Affairs as an art village in 2001, various kinds of large steel art works are still exhibited along the main paths of the park, thus creating some artistic atmosphere to it.
Following is the Exhibition Hall of Sugar Industry History, which introduced the development history of Taiwan’s sugar industry.
Starting from 2002, the former Kaohsiung County Department of Cultural Affairs (current Kaohsiung City Department of Cultural Affairs due to county–municipal incorporation) had held art village stationing activities in the sugar factory and left many pieces of steel art creations. Taiwan Sugar Corp. continued to innovate these steel compartments in various shapes by re-assembling this registered steel cultural heritage. The Iron Park was thus completed after 4 years of hard work.
The main attraction of the compound is none other than the Taiwan Sugar Museum (台灣糖業博物館). Ciaotou Sugar Factory officially started its operation on January 15, 1902 and could squeeze 200 tons of sugar cane a day, thus starting the first wave of industrial revolution in Taiwan. It led Taiwan into its glorious era of sugar gold and set many indicating records in the sugar industry of Taiwan. However, due to drastic change of economic environment, the factory squeezed its last sugar cane on February 28, 1999, ending its century-long sugar manufacturing operation.
The moment we entered the building, we were quite overwhelmed by all the heavy machineries. In fact, we felt like we were in some computer games (eg. Counter-Strike, Call fo Duty, Once Human), where we often see such setting.
Currently, it preserves a part of the wall of the first sugar factory site, which was built 100 years ago, for people to recall past memories.
The whole sugar manufacturing factory was opened to the public for visitors to experience the procedure of sugar manufacturing from transporting sugar cane, squeezing, cleaning, evaporation, crystallizing, molasses separation, and packaging in order to understand the hardship of sugar manufacturing.
Right outside the old refinery buildings at Ciaotou Sugar Refinery (桥头糖厂) stands one of the site’s most striking and atmospheric features: the refinery chimney. The chimney isn’t just a random leftover pipe, it’s a symbol of the refinery’s working era.
The entire park was very quiet and it was so relaxed to slowly take our time to explore every corner of the compound.
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