Budai 543 Story House Introduction
At the entrance of the Budai 543 Story Museum, there is a piece of installation art called "Budai Mouth," which refers to the old name of Budai. The story museum was formerly the "Bureau of Customs, Kaohsiung, Ministry of Finance, Budai Detention House," commonly referred to by locals as "Customs." It now showcases the historical changes and cultural characteristics of Budai through artistic curation, providing visitors with an innovative and interesting way to understand Budai. The first floor of the museum displays paintings that illustrate the 400 years of historical changes in Budai, with each artwork representing a colonial period: the prehistoric period of Taiwan, the Dutch and Zheng periods, the Qing Dynasty period, the Japanese-occupied period, and the post-war period. During the early post-war period, Budai thrived in maritime trade with China, earning the nickname "Little Shanghai of Budai." The children's reading room in the museum is modeled after the prosperous ship houses of that time, featuring tatami flooring for children to sit and read picture books. The exterior is decorated with famous shops from that era, such as Yongle Tea House and Night Jasmine, as well as commodities like rice and sugar, which were among the highest exports at the time, highlighting Budai's former glory. The second-floor exhibition area presents the life scenes of Budai residents through old photographs and installation art, with one particular "three-dimensional painting" being remarkably stunning. It appears as a flat oil painting in photographs, but in reality, the artist has painted real objects like tables and chairs with oil paint-like colors to create a large-scale installation, making visitors feel as if they have transformed into the protagonists of the painting. Next time you visit Budai, in addition to tasting delicious seafood at the fish market and admiring the High Heel Church, don't forget to come to the Budai 543 Story Museum to learn about the past of Budai through artistic experiences.
