Dou Nan Station Introduction
The Dou-Nan Station, originally named Taliwu Station, was established in the 36th year of Meiji (1903) and is the last railway station built during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan. In the final days of World War II, it was remodeled into a brick station building. In its early years, sugar produced by the Huwei Sugar Factory was transported via the sugar railway to Dou-Nan and then distributed to the port for export through the trunk line. The station was originally wooden and simple, with a station house set up at the current site when the railway from Chiayi to Taliwu was opened on December 15, 1903. On October 1, 1920, with the reform of the local government system, "Taliwu" was renamed "Dou-Nan." In March 1945, it was remodeled into a brick palace-style station building with a sloped roof. The main structure of the station features a long-shaped space with different heights of sloped roofs. The hall is designed with a double eave, and the upper section is formed by four sloped roofs, while the lower eaves project outwards, creating a corridor. During the late Japanese colonial period, reinforced concrete brick construction became a common feature, and due to the scarcity of materials amidst wartime, the number of constructions decreased, leading to simpler decorative facades. Consequently, the architectural form of Dou-Nan Station is characterized by simplified decorations, clean geometric lines, and baseboards. The building stands out with its simplicity, markedly different from architectural styles of other eras. The station hall features a double eave design, with a four-sloped roof above and projecting eaves below, forming a corridor that strongly showcases the Japanese style, making it worthy of preservation.
