Alishan Forest Village and Huai Yi Forest Village Introduction
Alishan forestry began in 1899, during the Japanese colonial period, when the Alishan Forest Railway was constructed to exploit the cypress resources in the Alishan area, starting from Beimen in Chiayi City. The timber trade brought unprecedented prosperity to Chiayi City, which was then listed as one of the four major cities in Taiwan. In May 1906, the Japanese private company Fujita Group established the Chiayi Construction Office, marking the beginning of the Alishan Forest Railway construction. However, due to the engineering challenges and budget overruns, the project was halted in February 1908. Starting in 1910, the Taiwan Governor-General's Office took over, and the construction of the Alishan Railway continued. By 1914, the main line of the Alishan Forest Railway, measuring 71.9 kilometers in length, was completed. The scale of the forestry facilities gradually expanded, including the forestry office building, the forestry club, the sawmill, and the first thermal power plant in Southeast Asia, which were completed one after another. The timber cut down was transported via the Alishan Forest Railway to "Shan Pool" in Chiayi, the largest timber reserve in Southeast Asia at that time. Due to the prosperity of the forestry industry, Chiayi was known as the "Timber City," and what is now Linsen Road was then referred to as "Timber Street." The surrounding area of forestry offices was called "Cypress Town." The forestry facilities thrived because of the timber industry, with comprehensive production and living functions, and the forestry village took shape. In 1964, the Alishan forestry business came to an end, and the sawmill industry in Chiayi City gradually declined. The nearly one-hundred-year history of forestry assets witnessed the rise and fall of the forestry development in Chiayi City and, as time passed, exuded a rich charm, becoming a precious cultural asset of the forestry industry. However, there is a risk of decay, and revitalization is necessary to restore its former splendor. The forestry club, and the national government quarters of the Forest Service on Gonghe Road and Beimen Street in Chiayi City, along with the original Chiayi sawmill (now a bamboo craft processing plant), witness the related history of Alishan forestry exploitation and were registered as historical buildings in Chiayi City in 1998 and 2005, respectively.
Photo provided by Chiayi Branch
Photo provided | Chiayi Branch
