Chiayi Cultural and Creative Industries Park Introduction
The Jiayi Old Winery, one of the five major creative cultural parks in Taiwan, is located next to the Chiayi Railway Station. It is known as the birthplace of sorghum liquor in Taiwan, earning Chiayi the title of "Hometown of White Liquor." In 1916, the Japanese entrepreneur Akashi Shota-ro established the Taisho Brewery Co. at this site. In 1922, due to the implementation of the monopoly system, the factory was requisitioned and became part of the Tainan branch of the Monopoly Bureau. After Taiwan was restored to the Republic of China, the government continued the monopoly system, and in 1957 it was renamed as "Chiayi Distillery of the Taiwan Provincial Tobacco and Liquor Bureau." The Chiayi Distillery moved to the Minxiong Industrial Zone in 1982, leaving behind a large number of production machines and related equipment, including bottle-washing machines, storage barrels, bottle conveyor belts, chimneys, sorghum storage silos, and weighing instruments, which are all valuable testimonies to the winemaking culture. Seven buildings from this site have been designated as municipal historic sites, and the formerly 53-meter-high boiler chimney was one of the early landmarks of Chiayi City. In 2013, the Ministry of Culture completed renovation and reuse projects, transforming it into the Jiayi Cultural and Creative Industry Park. Among the five major creative cultural parks in Taiwan, the Jiayi Cultural and Creative Industry Park is regarded with high expectations. It is located in the commercial and geographical core of Chiayi City and serves as the starting point for the cultural facility belt in the historical context of Chiayi City, connecting the Chiayi branch of the Tobacco and Liquor Bureau (municipal historic site) to the Chiayi Railway Station (municipal historic site), the Railway Warehouse Art Village, Cultural Center, Hinoki Village, the Forestry Club (municipal historic site), the northern gate of Alishan (municipal historic site), and the Prison Museum (national historic site), creating a shining cultural pearl in Chiayi, with the Jiayi Cultural and Creative Industry Park being the largest and most prominent one among them.
