An old sugar factory welcomes a bright new future.
The renovated station building is maintained as part of the park’s valuable cultural heritage. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
At Suantou Sugar Factory Culture Park in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County, trains provide a window into the country’s sugar production past. Visitors who board the Suantou Sugar Railway, launched in October 2022, are regaled with anecdotes about the passing scenery and infrastructure as they learn how the sweet substance was refined. Operated by state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp. (Taisugar) from its headquarters in the southern city of Tainan, the park is situated on the grounds of a sugar processing plant built in 1906 and decommissioned in 2001. The facility has been managed and maintained as a valued industrial landscape since 2015 under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act and has received additional support in recent years from the Ministry of Culture’s Regeneration of Historic Sites Project, which aims to revitalize significant locations across the country.
Modern cars are designed and painted to match old Taiwan Sugar Corp. trains, which carried both cargo and passengers. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Last autumn saw the completion of the sugar railway’s extension to the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum. For Chiayi Magistrate Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁), the route between the museum, the cultural park and the county’s high speed rail station creates a new axis for local tourism and regional development in southern Taiwan. He expects that the ongoing tree planting projects along the railway, to be completed by the end of this year, will draw additional attention to the park’s scenic biking and walking trails along Taisugar’s defunct railroad tracks. “Chiayi has long maintained a robust agricultural sector, and now we’re working toward a multifaceted development style,” said Weng, referencing both the cultural draw of the sugar factory and the construction of a science park underway at Taisugar’s nearby Taibao Farm.
A train brings sugarcane to the Suantou plant in 1908. (Courtesy of Suanto Sugar Factory Culture Park)
Looking Back
Sugar production in Taiwan predates Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945), but the imperial government’s policies developed the island into a supplier of agricultural staples including sugar and introduced modern sugar-processing machinery and techniques. The first industrialized sugar factory commenced operations in 1902 at Qiaotou in the southern city of Kaohsiung and was followed five years later by the first rail line, which brought sugarcane to the Qiaotou plant. The opening of Suantou and other factories across central and southern Taiwan ushered in the country’s golden age of sugar production. At its peak, Suantou Sugar Factory was the country’s third largest manufacturer, processing sugarcane from fields across what is now Chiayi County. The small trains that served the busy economic hub were used not only to facilitate delivery of raw material and finished product, but also to transport commuters and travelers.
Suantou plant’s train station in 1930 (Courtesy of SSFCP)
“Trains are both a repository for locals’ collective memories and a testament to regional development history,” said Roger Chang (張榮吉), head of Taisugar’s Department of Land Development. Like Suantou Sugar Railway, other lines in Tainan and the central county of Changhua that have been converted into tourist attractions play a similar role, as does the single remaining active line that serves the Huwei plant, from December to April.
The park preserves machinery and mills that were used in making sugar. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
As industrialization in the 1980s drew labor away from the agricultural sector, Taisugar closed more of its factories and underwent restructuring, moving into floriculture, food biotechnology and tourism. The company aims to incorporate its diverse facilities, including historical sites and cultural landscape resources, into a network of recreational and hospitality businesses. According to Chang, Suantou offers great scope in this respect, hence the ongoing expansion of the site’s museum areas. “In addition to sugarcane fields, Suantou preserves a host of machinery, mills, warehouses, office buildings and transport facilities,” he said. “To enrich the exhibits, we’re also collecting items from other sites such as different types of small train locomotives and cars.”
The park contains buildings from the Japanese colonial era that were built to house management and important visitors. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Show Business
The culture park’s architectural resources have provided diverse revenue streams. The 11 buildings constructed from the Japanese colonial era to the 1960s as residences for employees, visiting officials and high-ranking management reflect their respective periods. “The structures are great candidates for restoration, which will ensure the facilities meet their full creative, educational and recreational potential,” Chang said.
In their current state, though, the cluster of buildings and the park’s century-old train station are perfect for couples seeking a romantic setting for wedding photos, as well as for photographers or models looking to add historical elements to their portfolios. Films and TV programs recorded on the site have also taken advantage of the authentic mid-20th century feel of the park, with two of the most popular being “A Touch of Green,” released in 2015 by the government-sponsored Public Television Service, and “The Love Story in Banana Orchard,” broadcast in 2019 by Sanlih Entertainment Television Co. in Taiwan, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and the U.S. Visits to Suantou have increased as fans come to spend a day immersed in the world of their beloved shows, and Chang expects to see media continue to be a valuable driver of publicity for the park.
Visitors to the park take a stroll along its rail track. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Collaboration in government initiatives also draws new opportunities to the area. In January the facility set aside a warehouse to host the newly established Chiayi Culture x Technology Innovation Hub, a county government project to cultivate a local digital industry network. A few months later, a redesign of the park’s entrance was selected for a national campaign set in motion by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Industrial Development Administration to enhance urban aesthetics governance. In total, 12 proposals from eight cities and counties across the country were chosen, and Suantou’s project will improve visitor experiences by revamping the tourist center, gift shop, restrooms and entry roads.
Traditional ice cream flavors sold at the park include peanut, taro and green mango. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Su Chien-yuen (蘇建元), who heads Taisugar’s Yunlin-Chiayi branch office, said the park also plans to cooperate with the county government to draw crowds by organizing candy festivals. “With over a century of history, the sugar factory has withstood changing economic fortunes, and the latest transformation will bring the facility into its next era,” he said. Su is glad to see a unique chapter in Taiwan’s agricultural and industrial history find its place between an emerging science park and a prestigious national museum. “When old meets new and tradition greets high-tech, diverse features come together for the benefit of current and future generations,” he said.
Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw