Chiayi City Historical Relics Museum Introduction
The Time Tunnel Historic Museum in Chiayi is located within Chiayi Park, which is rich in cultural and historical materials, serving as a microcosm of Taiwan's modern history. The Zhai Hall has an area of 267 square meters, while the Social Welfare Office occupies 208 square meters. A corridor connects the two buildings, and using the central corridor as the axis creates a sizable overall space. In terms of the layout of this Japanese-style "Shuyuan" structure, the architectural elements and functional forms are quite rare in the country, showcasing uniqueness, elegant artistic expression, and high craftsmanship reference value. The two buildings of the Historic Museum belong to the Japanese "Shuyuan" architectural style, featuring elements such as ceilings, sliding paper doors, and outer corridors. The roofs are in the "Irimoya" style, similar to the traditional Chinese Xieshan roof, utilizing Japanese architectural elements for the eaves, roof ridges, windbraces, hanging rafters, and main ridges. The upper part of the outer wall has boat-shaped elbow brackets, while the lower half is in the "Zhenbi" style. The foundation adopts a low dry platform style, and in terms of doors and windows, most doors are sliding, with only a few being push-pull types. Windows vary and include glass sliding windows with fixed grids, fixed grids with sliding glass windows, and paper sliding windows. The Zhai Hall, Social Welfare Office, handwashing station, and ritual instrument storehouse represent the residential culture left by Japan, with the ritual instrument storehouse featuring a concrete facade imitating wooden architecture, which is quite special. Later, the city government commissioned professional units to carry out the restoration of the buildings based on principles of "not changing the main structure," "preserving the original appearance and design," "restoring original architectural elements," and "considering harmony with the park environment." **Historical Trivia**: The two buildings of the Chiayi Historic Museum are the Zhai Hall and Social Welfare Office affiliated with the Chiayi Shrine during the Japanese occupation. The Chiayi Historic Museum is designated as a city-level historic site, created in the 18th year of the Showa era (1943). The Zhai Hall served as a place for ritual purification and preparation before worshiping at the shrine, while the Social Welfare Office was the administration office for the shrine. In October 1998, these two buildings were approved as a city-level historic site by the Chiayi City Government and named the "Chiayi Historic Museum." The museum opened on September 15, 2001, showcasing exhibitions about the people and events of Chiayi, intertwining the past and present to exhibit their respective splendor, thereby inspiring the public's love for their hometown. The Historic Museum is the best place to learn about Chiayi's history. Understanding Chiayi begins with a visit to the Historic Museum.
