Chaojhou Sugar Factory (Taiwan Sugar Museum) Introduction
With the selected package from Kaohsiung, enjoy a leisurely experience at Qiaotou, where peace and tranquility are the essence. Step into the unique aesthetic thinking of Japan and explore the historical site of the Qiaotou Sugar Factory Manager's Residence. Experience the beauty of Japanese wabi-sabi through seasonal wagashi, Japanese tea products, tea ceremonies, and flower arrangements. Purchasing information: Qiaotou Sugar Factory, formerly known as "Qiaotaitou Sugar Factory," is Taiwan's first modern mechanical sugar factory, inaugurated during the Japanese rule in the 34th year of the Meiji era (1901), leading Taiwan into a glorious sugar era. Over the years, it has set several records in Taiwan's sugar industry and was a pioneer in applying steel construction techniques during the early years of Japanese rule, designated as a municipal historic site. The park preserves well the old sugar factory, Japanese wooden houses, air raid shelters, red brick water towers, and other ancient artifacts. In 2006, the Taiwan Sugar Corporation established the Taiwan Sugar Museum on-site, preserving part of the wall of the century-old sugar factory building, allowing visitors to experience the entire process of sugar production from transportation, extraction, cleaning, evaporation, crystallization, honey separation, to packaging. Park features: The park boasts both Japanese and Baroque-style tropical colonial architecture, along with 19 ancient sites, including red brick water towers, ammunition depots, and life-sized Guanyin statues, illustrating Taiwan's economic industrial development. The rich public art creations and cultural display spaces add a contemporary cultural dynamism to the nostalgic setting. The vast park also has abundant natural ecological resources, where birds, dragonflies, butterflies, and squirrels are common visitors. A stroll on a summer afternoon allows you to feel the refreshing breeze, followed by enjoying traditional ice products from Taiwan Sugar at the sales department, making it a perfect choice for family and friends. Manager's Residence: Built in 1940, the residence was constructed by the manager of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation, Kimuki Sanjiro, as a standard Japanese wooden house with a tiled roof. It is currently the best-preserved and most representative Japanese dormitory within the factory area. Architectural features include a Taiwanese cypress roof framework, elevated floors, wooden bed bundles, front and back yards, and a Japanese water feature, along with a rare independent brick foundation found in Taiwanese Japanese homes. In 2011, the Taiwan Sugar Corporation completed restoration, and since 2015, the external space has been opened for visitors and photography, while internal guides are available by reservation. This elegant old Japanese house was a filming location for the award-winning movie "Bloodsucking Bastards" at the 54th Golden Horse Awards, turning it into a popular spot for photo-taking and celebrity chasing. Social Housing Office: Built in 1901, this significant structure from the Japanese era features a combination of wooden, brick, and reinforced concrete construction, marking an important project in Taiwan's architectural history. The exterior imitates Dutch colonial architecture in Southeast Asia, characterized by an elevated foundation for ventilation, corridors, and continuous arches demonstrating European style. Additionally, the square holes around the building are not decorative but serve as gun ports for defense against "bandit" attacks. This location has gained popularity as a social media check-in spot following the film "Bloodsucking Bastards." Qiaotou Sugar Factory Club: In 1902, the then-president Suzuki Tozaburo established this club within the sugar factory for employees who came from Japan, providing a place for them to gather, chat, and enjoy drinks. The building primarily features a "tropical colonial style" combined with Japanese wooden construction techniques. It has now been transformed into a museum for sugar culture, a café, and a pig-themed museum, which showcases over 1,300 themed collections, thanks to donations from NTU Professor Chen Shih-Meng and former director of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation's Animal Husbandry Research Institute, Ge Fujiang. Rain Tree Square: Once a target range for the Japanese army during their rule, after Japan's defeat in 1958, the Nationalist government built a dormitory behind the rain trees for training staff exchanging with Vietnamese students. Below the rain trees lies a spiraling stone stairway made of stacked stones, forming a natural performance stage for the square. Iron Love Park: Constructed from leftover iron plates, chains, disks, washers, and bolts from Xiaogang Refinery and Gangshan Incineration Plant, the sugar factory designed and created six iron art pieces themed around "love," transforming the resilient image of steel into romantic installation art. Shigu Bridge Sugar Cultural and Creative Park: Established in October 2010, located in Qiaotou Sugar Factory (North Warehouse Cluster) in Kaohsiung, it is operated by Shigu Cultural and Creative. The park revitalizes idle century-old factory spaces, preserving the historical appearance of the sugar factory while infusing new life into drum art, known especially for its impressive water theater with stunning sound and light effects. Speaking for human rights: In August 1978, former Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yu Dengfa and his son Yu Ruiyan were labeled by the government as "bandit spies," facing charges of "failing to report bandits" and "propagating for bandits," resulting in an eight-year prison sentence. On January 22, 1979, Xie Xinliang, Huang Xinjie, Chen Qiu, He Chunmu, Zhang Junhong, and Zeng Xinyi held a protest march in Qiaotou Township, marking the first political demonstration in Taiwan since the Nationalist government imposed martial law for over forty years, known as the "Qiaotou Incident."
