Chiayi Cultural and Creative Industries Park Introduction
One of the five major creative cultural parks in Taiwan, the Chiayi Old Distillery is located next to the Chiayi Railway Station. It is recognized as the birthplace of Kaoliang liquor in Taiwan, earning Chiayi the title of "Hometown of White Liquor." In 1916, Japanese entrepreneur Akashi Shōtarō established the Taisho Distillery Co., Ltd. Chiayi Factory. However, due to the implementation of the Monopoly System in 1922, the factory was taken over and became subordinate to the Taiwan Monopoly Bureau Tainan Branch. After Taiwan's retrocession, the National Government continued the Monopoly System, and in 1957, it was renamed "Taiwan Provincial Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau Chiayi Branch Chiayi Distillery." The Chiayi Distillery relocated to the Minxiong Industrial Zone in 1982, leaving behind a significant amount of production machinery and related equipment, including bottle washing machines, storage barrels, bottle conveyor belts, chimneys, and sorghum storage silos, which are valuable witnesses of the liquor-making culture. Seven buildings have been designated as city historical sites, and the boiler chimney, which once stood at 53 meters, was one of the early landmarks of Chiayi City. In 2013, the Ministry of Culture completed restoration and reutilization projects, transforming it into the Chiayi Creative Cultural Industry Park. Among the five major creative cultural parks in Taiwan designated by the Ministry of Culture, the Chiayi Creative Cultural Industry Park is highly regarded due to its prime location in the commercial and geographical center of Chiayi City. It serves as the starting point of Chiayi City’s cultural facilities, integrating with the city-designated historical site of the Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau Chiayi Branch, and links to the Chiayi Railway Station (a city-designated historical site), the Railway Warehouse Art Village, the Cultural Center, the Hinoki Village, the Forestry Club (a city-designated historical site), the Alishan Entrance North Gate Station (a city-designated historical site), and the Prison Museum (a nationally designated historical site), forming a shining cultural pearl of Chiayi, with the Chiayi Creative Cultural Industry Park being the largest and brightest amongst them.
