Dou-Nan Station Introduction
The last remnant of the Japanese colonial period, DouNan Station was established in the 36th year of the Meiji era, originally known as Taliwu Station. Towards the end of World War II, it was renovated into a brick station building and is recognized as the last train station remodeled during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan. In its early years, sugar produced by the Hu-Wei Sugar Factory was transferred to DouNan via the Sugar Train and then distributed to the port for export through the main line. DouNan Station, initially known as Taliwu, had its railway open on December 15, 1903 (the 9th year of the Republic of China) between Chiayi and Taliwu, establishing a basic wooden station building at the current site. On October 1, 1920, with the reform of the local governance system, "Taliwu" was renamed "DouNan." In March 1945 (the 34th year of the Republic of China), it was reconstructed into a palace-style brick building with a sloped roof. The main body of the station features a long space and a sloped roof with varying heights, while the lobby is designed with a heavy overhanging eaves, creating a porch with a four-sided sloped roof above. Towards the end of the Japanese rule, reinforced concrete brick construction became common, and due to the scarcity of war materials, the quantity of buildings decreased, leading to increasingly simple decorative facades. As a result, DouNan Station’s architectural form is characterized by simplified decoration, straightforward geometric lines, and baseboards. The building of DouNan Station is simple, distinctly different from other architectural styles of different eras. The station hall is designed with a heavy overhanging eaves, featuring a four-sided sloped roof above and a protruding eaves below, forming a porch that strongly reflects Japanese architectural style, making it worthy of preservation.
