Chiayi, is one of those special places in Taiwan that everybody just seems to love. Sure, it often gets overshadowed by its neighbor to the south, Tainan, but similar to Tainan, Chiayi is home to a plethora of historic places to visit, and is home to some of Taiwan’s most well-loved dishes. One of the other similarities that the two cities share, however, is that in recent years, the younger generation, most of whom migrated north to Taipei (or elsewhere) for better opportunities have returned, and they’ve brought with them a really cool hipster vibe that both cities have been more than happy to cash in on, bringing about exponential increases in domestic tourists.
Sometimes when these things happen, its just a stroke of luck, but in Chiayi’s case, I’d argue that it was also excellent timing. The young people from the area saw what was taking place in Tainan, with all of the restaurants and coffee shops opening up there, and thought, why can’t the same thing be done at home in Chiayi? Fortunately, when they returned, they also found themselves with a very willing partner in the local city government, which had invested considerably in the city’s historic properties, making them tourist-friendly, as well as improving the city’s public transportation infrastructure, which makes it even easier for people from all over the country to visit.
When Netflix’s “Street Food: Asia” series was released, to the surprise of no one, cities that are traditionally known for their food scenes, such as Bangkok, Osaka, Delhi, Seoul and Singapore were featured. Amazingly, though, both Taipei and Tainan, which usually hog all the limelight, were skipped, and the series featured a heartwarming story about Chiayi, its street food scene, and a special focus on how the younger generation returned and helped to bring the city back to life. For a lot of people, Chiayi was always just the gateway to the spectacularly beautiful Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, but thanks to the Netflix series, and the contributions of the local government and young entrepreneurs, the city currently provides visitors with a lot more incentive to stick around for a while.
Throughout all of the changes that have taken place in Chiayi in recent years, one of the things that has remained constant, at least for the past century or so, is the means by which most visitors arrive in the city. The city just so happens to be home to one of the few of Taiwan’s major Japanese-era railway stations that remains in operation today. The station, which is absolutely beautiful, is one of the city’s most iconic buildings, and whenever you see an image promoting Chiayi, the station is likely to feature prominently as it so well-known and well-loved.
Suffice to say, if you’ve been following the articles published on this blog over the past few years, you’re likely well-aware that the railway is an incredibly important aspect of everyday life in Taiwan, and has been instrumental in fueling the nation’s rapid development. However, as the country around it has developed, the railway has also had to constantly evolve to meet the needs of the ever-changing population. Sadly, the modernization of the railway has meant that most of the other major Japanese-era stations in Keelung, Taipei, Changhua, Kaohsiung and Pingtung have succumbed to the changing environment, while only the stations in Hsinchu, Chiayi and Tainan remain in operation.
But for how much longer is the real question.
Link: Taiwan’s Remaining Japanese-era Train Stations (台鐵現存日治時期車站)
Fortunately, we’ve entered a period in Taiwan’s national development where citizens actively pay a lot more attention to the preservation of the nation’s heritage buildings, so local governments, in partnership with the national government are held accountable in ensuring that public funding is made available for both their protection and preservation. Thus, when it came time for the historic Taichung Railway Station to be phased out of service, the local government preserved the station and created an absolutely beautiful railway culture park next to the new station, which has become an incredibly popular tourist attraction within the heart of the city.
While Chiayi’s historic station remains in operation today, that situation is ultimately going to change as the railway within the city is going to go through the same type of modernization as has taken place in Taichung, which will help to ensure faster and more efficient travel times for passengers. When that happens, you can be sure that when this station is phased out, plans will be made to mirror the success of Taichung’s Railway Culture Park, with efforts already underway to coordinate the future park to include the Alishan Forest Railway Garage Park (阿里山森林鐵路車庫園區) and Beimen Station (北門車站), which will make for one of Taiwan’s largest railway culture parks.
Today, though, I’m going to introduce Chiayi Station as it is now, introducing you to its history, and its architectural design so that you can better understand this significant piece of Taiwan’s history.
Kagi Station (嘉義驛／かぎえき）
To introduce the history of the railway station, I’ll have to start by offering a bit of a backstory of events leading up to the arrival of the Japanese in Taiwan, and the development of the railway, which ushered in an era of modernity, development, and economic opportunity. The railroad not only offered the people of Taiwan with a means of public transportation, but allowed for the transport of goods and services allowing for a level of connectivity that the residents of Taiwan had yet to experience. While there were obvious benefits for the residents of the island, the railroad also became an instrumental tool that helped to fuel the fledgling empire’s goal of extracting the island’s precious natural resources, and there are few places in Taiwan where that was more evident than in Chiayi.
The history of the railway in Taiwan dates back as early as 1891 (光緒17年), just a few short years prior to the Japanese take over of the island. The railway project turned out to be one of the most ambitious development projects undertaken by the Qing government, under the leadership of then governor, Liu Mingchuan (劉銘傳). The Qing-era railway stretched from the port city of Keelung (基隆) to Hsinchu (新竹), but even though the project was led by foreign engineers, the final result turned out to be rather rudimentary, and ultimately came at far too high of a cost for the Qing to continue financing. Given that the Qing never particularly cared very much about developing the island, the high cost of the construction of the railway, and the fact that they were also preoccupied with war (and revolution), the project wasn’t particularly a serious one.
The Qing Dynasty was established during a period when China’s previous rulers had become far too weak to contend with the constant rebellions and civil disorder that were erupting around the country. Then, a hundred years later, in what may seem like a case of history repeating itself, by the late 1800s, Qing rule had similarly become incompetent, and corruption was rife throughout the country. The corruption that was prevalent throughout China’s bureaucracy not only prevented the Qing from modernizing its military, but also resulted in some diplomatic missteps that ultimately led to war with Japan, which itself was going through its Meiji Revolution (明治維新), and was in the process of transforming itself into a major military power. That war, known today as the first ‘Sino-Japanese War’ (1894-1895), ended about as quickly as it began, resulting in considerable embarrassment for the Qing rulers, who were completely unprepared to wage war against a much better, modern equipped Japanese military.
The war ultimately shifted the balance of power in Asia from China to Japan, and ultimately became the catalyst for revolution in China, which would within a little over a decade bring imperial rule to an end. Unable to compete with might of the Japanese military, the Qing elected to negotiate for peace, just a little more than six months into the war, formally ending with the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki (下関条約). Most notably, the key stipulations of the treaty were that China would be forced to recognize the independence of Korea (which until that time had been a tributary state), and that Taiwan and the Penghu Islands would be ceded to Japan, in addition to paying reparations that amounted to 8,000,000 kilograms of silver.
Shortly thereafter, the Japanese set sail for Taiwan, landing in Keelung on May 29th, 1895. Upon arrival, Japanese forces were met with fierce resistance from the remnants of the Qing forces stationed on the island, local Hakka militias, as well as indigenous groups. Over the next five months, the Japanese made their way south fighting a guerrilla war that ‘officially’ came to an end with the fall of Tainan in October. That being said, even though the military had more or less taken control of Taiwan’s major towns, the insurgency against their rule lasted for quite a while longer, resulting in some brutal massacres against the people of Taiwan. Nevertheless, similar to the war with China, the superiority of the modern Japanese military easily dispatched the local armies. The campaign to take control of Taiwan, however, taught the Japanese a hard, yet valuable lesson, as figures show that over ninety-percent of the Japanese military deaths during those first few months were mostly due to complications related to Cholera, Dengue Fever, and Malaria.
Link: Disease and Mortality in the History of Taiwan (Ts'ui-jung Liu and Shi-yung Liu)
History has shown that for the majority of time that the Qing controlled Taiwan, they were mostly uninterested in the island referring to it as a "ball of mud beyond the sea" which added "nothing to the breadth of China" (海外泥丸，不足為中國加廣). The hostile environment on the island was likely one of the reasons why they were so ambivalent about doing much during their time here, but that probably wasn’t something they were actively reminding the Japanese about prior to their arrival. Learning this the hard way, the Japanese were intent on addressing these issues, which had plagued Taiwan for much of its modern history, especially since they were invested in extracting the island’s vast treasure trove of natural resources.
To accomplish that mission, they would first have to put in place the necessary infrastructure for combating these diseases.
In Actuality, it would take several years for the Japanese to fully take control of Taiwan, and their losses were quite heavy, however, it would be the people of Taiwan who suffered the most, especially with the heavy-handed tactics that the Japanese took to suppress dissent to their rule. That being said, when the dust of war settled and the island started to develop, living standards on the island in turn started to improve, and the frequency of rebellions decreased.
For the Chiayi area, one of the major turning points in the city’s history came in 1906 when the Meishan Earthquake (梅山地震), the third deadliest earthquake in Taiwan’s history reduced the town to rubble. In response, the government quickly dispatched military and medical personnel to the area to assist in recovery efforts. As a major economic center for agriculture, timber and sugar, and Taiwan’s fourth-most populated town at the time, the colonial government placed a considerable amount of attention on the urban development of the city, and the response of the Japanese authorities to the earthquake in regard to both their humanitarian efforts and the reconstruction of the town was something that brought people together in a way that after a decade of violence, many people would have imagined unlikely. The earthquake may have devastated the city, but despite all the suffering and destruction it caused, it also brought with it opportunity, as reconstruction allowed the government to alter the town’s urban planning structure and developed it at such a rapid pace, that it started to flourish as it never had before.
Note: Let me take a minute to explain the terms I’ll using here for the town, and the station, so that you don’t get too confused. The area we refer to today as “Chiayi” (嘉義) was originally known either as ‘Tsulosan’ or ‘Tirosen' (諸羅山) in the local indigenous language, and slowly started being settled by Hokkien immigrants from Fujian during the Qing Dynasty. As I referred to earlier, the Qing, though, weren’t all that interested in Taiwan, and in addition to the pejorative phrase used to describe Taiwan above, they also had another saying about Taiwan, that translated literally was "every three years an uprising; every five years a rebellion" (三年一反、五年一亂), referring to the constant civil strife in Taiwan with regard to their governance, or lack thereof.
One of the most well-known of those uprisings was the ‘Lin Shuangwen Rebellion’ (林爽文事件) in 1786, which ended up being one of the more successful attempts at ridding Taiwan of Qing influence. It was during this time that the residents of Tsulosan banded together and fought bravely to defend their town from Lin’s militia, and when the rebellion finally came to an end, Emperor Qianlong (乾隆皇帝) rewarded the people of the town by changing its name from the original indigenous name, to “Chiayi” (嘉義), which pronounced in Hokkien as “Kagi”, and is literally translated as “Commended Righteousness.”
When the Japanese arrived in Taiwan, the name of the town was one of the few that didn’t have to be changed, because the Hokkien pronunciation and the Japanese pronunciation were exactly the same. So, the area was more or less referred to as “Kagi” (嘉義 / かぎし) from 1787 to the late 1940s when it was officially changed to its Mandarin pronunciation of “Chiayi,” although most of the area’s residents are likely still to refer to it as Kagi.
One of the colonial government’s first major development projects got its start shortly after the first Japanese boots stepped foot in Keelung in 1895. The military had brought with them a group of western-educated military engineers, who were tasked with bringing the existing Qing-era railway back online, as well as coming up with proposals for the extension of the railway across the island. As the military made its way south, the engineers followed close behind surveying the land for the future railway. By 1902, the team came up with a proposal for the ‘Jukan Tetsudo Project’ (縱貫鐵道 / ゅうかんてつどう), otherwise known as the ‘Taiwan Trunk Railway Project,’ which would have a railway pass through each of Taiwan’s established settlements, including Kirin (基隆), Taihoku (臺北), Shinchiku (新竹), Taichu (臺中), Tainan (臺南) and Takao (高雄).
Construction was divided into three phases with teams of engineers spread out between the ‘northern’, ‘central’ and ‘southern' regions of the island. Amazingly, in just four short years, from 1900 and 1904, the northern and southern portions of the railway were completed, but due to unforeseen complications, the central area met with delays and construction issues. Nevertheless, the more than four-hundred kilometer western railway was completed in 1908 (明治41), taking just under a decade to complete, a feat in its own right, given all of the obstacles that had to be overcome. To celebrate this massive accomplishment, the Colonial Government held an inauguration ceremony within the newly established Taichung Park (台中公園) with Prince Kanin Kotohito (閑院宮載仁親王) invited to take part in the ceremony.
The Japanese government at the time touted the completion of the railway as a major accomplishment that would usher in a new era of peace and stability in Taiwan, and one that would help to bring about a period of modernization, and economic stability to the people of the island, and for the most part, they were right about that.
As mentioned earlier, the northern and southern portions of the railway were completed the fastest, with the engineers having the most trouble with the central region, mostly in Taichung, due to the necessity for the construction of several bridges. The southern section, originally between Kaohsiung and Tainan opened for service in 1900, and just two years later, the railway was extended to Kagi, where the First Generation Kagi Station (第一代嘉義驛) officially opened on April 20th, 1902 (明治35年). The opening of the station would be instrumental in connecting one of southern Taiwan’s largest settlements, but also for the colonial government’s future plans to start extracting natural resources from the Alishan Mountain region.
Prior to the completion of the main line, construction on the Alishan Railway commenced in 1907, with a terminus for the branch line at Kagi Station. That being said, the construction of the railway, which is now considered to be one of the most beautiful rail lines in the world, met with considerable financial difficulties and delays. Nevertheless, the 86km branch railway was completed in 1913, and offered not only passenger service access to the Alishan region, but was instrumental in the extraction of the area’s prized cypress.
It should be noted, however, that what often gets overlooked in discussions about the history of Kagi Station is that the station wasn’t solely home to the Alishan Forest Branch Railway. There were also other branch railways that connected to Kagi Station, most of which traveled west toward the communities closer to the coast, in what we now refer to as Chiayi County. These branch railways offered passenger services, but were for the most part privately run enterprises belonging to the various sugar factories operating in the region, but made use of Kagi Station for purposes of transporting freight.
After a few decades of use, the First Generation Kagi Station had become far too small for the community that had grown around it, as well as for the amount of freight passing through, so the expansion of the station and the railway became necessary. The station we know today, the Second Generation Kagi Station (第二代嘉義驛) was completed in 1933 (昭和8年), and was considerably larger than its single-story wooden predecessor. The new station, designed by architect Ujiki Takeo (宇敷 赳夫／うじき たけお) was constructed in a style that was considered to be quite contemporary for its time, and displayed just how much Taiwan had progressed in the few short decades since the Japanese took control of the island.
Japanese-era photo of the Second Generation Kagi Station
Just to give you a better indication of architect Ujiki Takeo’s contributions to Taiwan, he was also the mastermind responsible for Tainan Station (臺南驛), Taihoku Station (第三代台北驛), Tai’an Station (泰安驛), Kagi City Hall (嘉義郡役所), the Taipei Railway Workshop (臺北機廠), and the Shinchiku Prefectural Library (新竹州圖書館), among others.
When the new, much larger station was completed, it was part of an urban development plan that transformed the face of the downtown area of Kagi, with a number of beautifully designed civic buildings and industrial buildings nearby, making the station the literal beating heart of the ever-growing city. That being said, the importance of the station to the residents of Kagi is something that evokes both positive and negative memories.
To this point, I’ve only focused on the events that took place regarding its construction, but it has to be noted that when the Japanese surrendered control of Taiwan at the end of the Second World War, the regime that took over used the station’s importance to make a bit of a point to the people of the town about how much they were willing to put up with. By now, most people who have studied Taiwanese history have learned about the terrible events that took place during the February 28th Incident (二二八事件), something which is now commemorated as an annual national holiday in Taiwan.
However, some of the things that happened during this infamous moment in Taiwanese history aren’t very well-told, and the ‘Kagi Station Incident’ might only be one that lingers in the memories of the residents of the city. Essentially, what took place was that in 1947, the Chinese Nationalist Military found itself trapped within the Chiayi Airport, due to protests from local residents because of what was taking place in other parts of Taiwan.
One of the Kagi’s most influential citizens, famed painter and politician, Tan Teng-pho (陳澄波), partnered with a group of the city’s other well-known residents and formed the ‘February 28 Incident Committee’ (二二八事件處理委員會), and after much debate came to the conclusion that they would approach the military under the banner of peace in an attempt to mediate a solution to the conflict. Things didn’t go as planned, though, and instead, they were arrested, and once the military was able to make its way out of the airport, members of the committee were forced to march from the local police station to Kagi Station, where they were then executed in front of a crowd of people. The military and the police forbid family members from removing their corpses, and their bodies ended up being left rotting in the square in front of the station for three days as a warning to the residents of the city not to mess around.
Bloodstained Station Square (血染車站廣場) by Ouyang Wen (歐陽文)
In what has become a well-known work of art depicting what happened, artist Ouyang Wen (歐陽文), a resident of Chiayi, and an eventual political prisoner himself, depicted Tan Teng-pho and others being shot from the back of a truck by Nationalist soldiers. Sadly, this was just one example of the atrocities that the people of Taiwan had to endure during the long-period of martial law, known as the White Terror Period (白色恐怖) that followed.
Over the next half century, ‘Chiayi Station’, as its now known, has overseen considerable changes as the city has grown around it. Not only has the city grown and continued developing, but the railway has as well, with efforts constantly being made to modernize the network. That being said, the station has also overseen long periods of economic stagnation as both the timber and sugar industries that once made it an economic powerhouse have declined. The Alishan Forest Railway has been converted into a passenger-only service, and the massive network of sugar railways that once connected to the station have (for the most part) all been torn up.
With the decline of both of these industries, which were the rocket fuel of Chiayi’s urban and economic development through both the Japanese-era, and the early years of the post-war era, the necessity for freight service out of the city had also declined. While the original freight and military rails remained in place for several decades, they were finally officially put out of service in 2023 and in the time since, construction work has started to have those sections of the railway torn up, in order to prepare for the future elevation of the railway.
Link: Chiayi Urban District Elevated Railway Project (嘉義市區鐵路高架化計畫) (Wiki)
With plans to have the railway elevated off of the ground, and the eventual construction of an MRT system within the city, there will be a considerable amount of investment in the city’s public transportation over the next several decades, and in a situation similar to what happened with Taichung’s historic Japanese-era station, Chiayi Station as we know it today will be retired within the next few years. When that happens, the station will likely undergo a period of restoration, and then re-open to the public as a railway culture park of some sort.
However, since construction projects like this in Taiwan are notorious for their delays, it’s difficult to say when the historic station will see its last day of service, but as I mentioned in my introduction earlier, if you want to enjoy the station in its original glory, now is the time to visit. Try your best to get there as soon as you can so you can enjoy both the beautiful city, and its historic station!
Before I move on to detailing the architectural design of the station, I’ve put together a condensed timeline of events in the drop-down box below with regard to the station’s history for anyone who is interested:
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1895 (明治28年) - The Japanese take control of Taiwan as per the terms of China’s surrender in the Sino-Japanese War.
1896 (明治29年) - The Colonial Government puts a team of engineers in place to plan for a railway network on the newly acquired territory.
1900 (明治33年) - The first completed section of the Japanese-era railway opens for service in southern Taiwan between the port town of Kaohsiung and Tainan.
1902 (明治35年) - After years of planning and surveying, the government formally approves the Jukan Tetsudo Project (縱貫鐵道 / ゅうかんてつどう), a plan that will connect the western and eastern coasts of the island by rail.
1902 (明治35年4月20日) - The First Generation Kagi Station opens for service along the southern portion of the railway.
1906 (明治39年) - On March 17th, the Great Kagi Earthquake (嘉義大地震), with an epicenter in Meishan (梅山) leveled much of what had been constructed in the area.
1907 (明治40年) - Construction of the Alishan Railway (阿里山林鐵) commences.
1908 (明治41年) - The 400 kilometer Taiwan Western Line (西部幹線) is completed with a ceremony held within Taichung Park (台中公園) on October 24th. For the first time, the major settlements along the western coast of the island are connected by rail from Kirin (Keelung 基隆) to Takao (Kaohsiung 高雄).
1913 (大正2年) - The 86km Alishan Forest Railway (阿里山線) between Kagi Station and Shohei Station (沼平驛 / しょうへいえき) is completed and opens for service.
1933 (昭和8年) - The Second Generation Kagi Station, designed by Ujiki Takeo (宇敷 赳夫／うじき たけお) opens for service.
March 2nd 1947 (民國36年3月2日) - Due to a violent conflict between the residents of Chiayi and the Chinese Nationalist military, which found itself trapped within the Chiayi Airport, several local residents, including famed painter and politician Tan Teng-pho (陳澄波) formed the ‘February 28 Incident Committee’ (二二八事件處理委員會) and approached the military in an attempt to mediate a peaceful solution to the conflict, but were instead arrested.
March 25th 1947 (民國36年3月25日) - Tied up with wire, the arrested members of the committee were forced to march from the local police station to the train station and were then publicly executed with members of their families forbidden from removing their corpses, which were left in the square in front of the station for three days as a warning to the residents of the city.
1988 (民國77年) - A statue of Wu Feng (吳鳳), a historic figure who had attempted to ‘civilize the natives’, located near the entrance of the station, was beheaded by members of the local indigenous community as he had been propped up by the Chinese Nationalists as a national hero, but was a constant reminder of the historic racism and stereotypes that the indigenous people of Taiwan have been forced to endure.
1998 (民國87年) - Chiayi Station is recognized as a Chiayi City Protected Heritage Property (市定古蹟) on October 15th.
2007 (民國96年) - With the completion of the High Speed Railway, the Chiayi City government also establishes a bus network that connects the two stations.
2017 (民國106年) - The area in front of the station is cleaned up and a station beautification process is undertaken.
2023 (民國112年) - The non-passenger ‘platforms’ that were used for freight trains and military transport are phased out of service in order to make way for the planned elevation of the railway running through Chiayi City.
Architectural Design
As you saw in some of the historic photos provided above, for the first three decades of its existence, Kagi Station, like almost all of the ‘first-generation’ stations constructed across Taiwan, was a simple, traditionally designed wooden building. However, unlike the few Japanese-era stations that you’ll find remaining in operation today, this one was considerably larger.
If you’ve been reading my articles for any period of time, you’re likely to have noticed that I tend to focus on the more traditional-looking Japanese-style buildings, most of which were constructed with timber, and even though the Second Generation Kagi Station we know and love today is quite beautiful, the historic photos of its predecessor are the kind of thing that make you wish time travel were possible.
It would be amazing to be able to take photos of it in its original glory.
That being said, after three decades of earthquakes, typhoons, termites, and ultimately, changes in the demographics of the city, an upgrade became necessary. Coincidentally, by the time that planning started for the second generation Kagi Station, other major stations around the island were also receiving major upgrades, in most cases, due to the reasons mentioned above, but also for more practical reasons as well.
Far away from Taiwan, back on the Japanese mainland, the devastating Great Kanto Earthquake (関東大地震) in 1923, completely changed the Japanese mindset regarding construction. All of the work that had been done throughout the Meiji and Taisho eras, developing Japan into a modern nation had been reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes and due to the frequency of earthquakes, the Japanese government started to take building safety much more seriously. This was a period when ‘earthquake-proofing’ structures became paramount and as it happened, the colonial government had developed Taiwan to the point that the materials required for constructing buildings with reinforced concrete had become readily available, and considerably more affordable. Thus, many of the civic buildings and train stations that were constructed in the aftermath of the Kanto earthquake started to adapt to this method of construction as safety and longevity became paramount.
Note: Although the Second Generation Kagi Station was completed in 1933, earthquake-proofing in Taiwan didn’t actually became the law of the land until the Governor General’s official building-standard codes came into effect after the Shinchiku-Taichu Earthquake (新竹‧台中地震 / しんちく‧たいちゅうじしん) of 1935 (昭和10年), which caused tremendous damage around the island.
Ujiki Takeo (宇敷 赳夫／うじき たけお), an architect, who, shortly after his graduation from Nagoya Higher Technical School (名古屋高等工業學校), was commissioned by the Taiwan Governor General’s Office to come to Taiwan to work with the colonial government’s design team. Coincidentally, his father, Ujiki Keiichi (宇敷敬一), came to Taiwan almost a decade earlier, working in various departments prior to the arrival of his son in 1916 (大正5年). During his time in Taiwan, Takeo was shifted around a few times between different departments, working closely with Shinchiku Prefecture (新竹州), Tainan Prefecture (臺南州), and then with the Railway Bureau (鐵道部) as an architect. As noted earlier, Ujiki became an incredibly accomplished architect here in Taiwan, designing some of the era’s most beautiful buildings, several of which remain standing today.
Ujiki’s work, especially the buildings he designed for the railway, differed from the original classic architectural designs reserved for train stations, and instead made use of the European Art Deco architectural style. While not entirely European in design, Ujiki often fused with elements of Japanese style of design, creating what the Taiwan Architectural Society (臺灣建築會誌) referred to at the time as “Modern Revival Style” (近世復興式).
What’s common among the major railway stations that were designed by Ujiki, which most notably include the Third Generation Taihoku Station (第三代臺北驛), Second Generation Tainan Station (第二代臺南驛), and Kagi Station (嘉義驛), the latter two of which remain in operation today, follow his ‘Modern Revival Style’ of design. By the 1930s, the Art Deco style of architectural design had become quite popular throughout Europe and North America, and was a style of design that likely showed up at the right time given the national scars that Japan had endured due to massive earthquakes on the mainland as well as in Taiwan. Buildings constructed in this style were constructed with steel-framed reinforced concrete and were characterized by their clean lines, rectangular forms, with little to no decoration on the facades, which was a stark contrast from the Art Nouveau and Baroque styles that were quite popular with Japanese architects in the early years of the Japanese-era.
In what would have been a stark contrast from what people were used to at the time, the Second Generation Kagi Station was constructed quite faithfully to Art Deco architectural design characteristics. It featured a large box-like main hall, with wings on both its eastern and western sides. The building’s walls were smooth, featured very little in terms of decorative design, and had mostly flat roofs, in what was meant to emphasize classical symmetrical design. While not entirely decorative in nature, the main hall of the station is characterized by its five large arched windows on the front as well as on the rear. Although they do add a decorative element to the building’s design, they’re also quite functional in that they allow for a considerable amount of natural light within the interior of the main hall. Directly above the largest window in the center of the building, you’ll find a clock, which has been part of the building’s design for more than ninety years, and unlike the clock tower that was removed from the historic Taichung Station, its not only still there, but it still works as well.
One of the things you’ll notice about both the entrance to the main hall, and the area where you go through the turnstiles to the platform is it's odd-shape, which is unlike any other railway station in Taiwan. The entrance is not only wide, but it’s also geometrically curved at the top. The border of the entrances features specially-molded curved bricks that were fired in Beitou (北投素燒面磚), which are noticeable, because they are also featured on the edges and borders of the building in the areas where the walls aren’t white washed stone. The combination of the two gives the building its iconic white and orange appearance, which is also quite unique among Taiwan’s railway stations. The clever thing about the shape of the door, with the assistance of the windows, is that during the right time of day, the light that comes in through both the entrance and the windows creates a path of light in the direction of the turnstiles, which if you know anything about the meticulous attention to detail of Japanese architecture, was entirely on purpose.
The interior space of the building is something that has changed considerably over the decades, but as I’ll mention a bit later, now that it has been cleaned up, it has more or less returned to its original interior design. The interior walls are painted with white stucco, which assist in making the space quite bright with the natural light coming in through the windows. The space was set up into different sections with only the Ticket Booth (出札室), a luggage room (赤帽室), and a canteen (賣店) located within the main hall. The western-wing was where you’d find a large Waiting Area (參等待合室), and the area where passengers would exit upon arrival.
The eastern wing, on the other hand, was a little more complicated as it also featured a Waiting Area (壹貳等待合室), but a VIP Waiting Room (特別待合室) that had a special side entrance (特別玄關), and its own special platform gate. It also featured a staff room (給仕室), and public restrooms (用便所與化粧室) for men and women.
Even though the interior design has recently been cleaned up, it’s important to note that there are still considerable differences from the original 1933 design, but that’s to be expected after so many years. The luggage room, for example, was at some point transformed into the ticket booth for the Alishan Forest Railway line, but they’ve since moved it elsewhere, and the area is currently unused. Similarly, the waiting rooms on both the eastern and western wings have been filled. Instead of providing an open space with seating for passengers, the western wing has tourist information booths, and the eastern wing currently has a Family Mart convenience store, which I’m assuming also makes use of the former VIP space as a rear entrance for deliveries.
Space within the Main Hall has remained relatively the same, but the canteen space has been removed, and was originally used for purchasing tickets from machines, but now that the railway allows passengers to swipe in and out using EasyCards, they have been removed and the space is completely open, which is quite nice.
Once you’ve passed through the turnstiles, you’ll have reached the space where I feel like the decorative elements of the station stand out the most. The platform area where you wait for the arrival of your train features an absolutely beautiful network of pillars and trusses that provide passengers with a roof-covered platform waiting area (月台構). What most people don’t actually realize is that this is one area of the station that never really changed in its design since the station first opened in 1933, as you can see compared in the photos below.
The network of pillars and trusses that hold up the canopy have been constructed using the very same rails that are used for the trains, and what’s important to note is that the the curved beams and trusses that hold up the roof were imported directly from Kyushu. Given the age of the station, and the amount of typhoons and earthquakes that have occurred in the decades since, it’s amazing that they have been been able to withstand the test of time the way that they have. If you find yourself at the station, take a minute or two to appreciate the design.
Ultimately, when the Japanese-era came to an end, Chiayi Station went through quite a few changes over the next half century, and I have to admit, on my first visit to the city, the station didn’t leave much of an impression on me. In what has become somewhat of an Internet meme in Taiwan, what happened to the station is similar to what happened to a lot of Taiwan’s other historically significant buildings in that it went through a ‘ROC-Beautification’ (華國美學) process. The jist of the joke is that a bunch of hideous things were added to more or less cover up the original design. If you do a Google search for the station and check out some of the images, you’ll likely be quite surprised at just how sad the station appeared for a few decades, mostly during the years when Chiayi’s economy was in decline.
Fortunately, the city government established the ‘Back to the Future’ program in 2021 prior to the city hosting the Taiwan Design Exhibition (台灣設計展).
Link: Back to the Future！嘉義火車站微改造2.0 重現1933全島第一摩登車站 (Taiwan Design Research Institute)
It was during this time that the decades of modifications were removed, and the ticketing hall was reorganized to restore the building to its original glory. The beautification process not only restored the interior of the station, and removed the hideous concrete that covered up the front of the station, but it also transformed the station front, which used to allow vehicles to drive up pretty close to the main entrance. Now, the square in front of the station has been completely cleaned up, and has also become a lot more pedestrian (and photographer)-friendly.
Getting There
Address: #528 Zhongshan Road, Chiayi City (嘉義市中山路528號)
GPS: 23.479436, 120.441055
Whenever I write about one of Taiwan’s historic train stations, obviously the best advice for getting there is to simply take the train. That being said, Chiayi is a pretty popular place, and there are a number of ways to reach the city, without taking the train. Obviously, though, if you want to spend some time checking out the interior space of the station, including the beautiful platform space, you’ll probably want to get on or off the train while in town.
Whether you’re traveling southbound, or northbound, as one of Taiwan’s major railway stations, Chiayi Station is accessible via each of the western trunk line’s express train services as well as the local commuter trains, so matter what train you get on, it’ll make a stop at the station.
High Speed Rail / Bus Rapid Transport
If you arrive in Chiayi via Taiwan’s High Speed Rail, you’ll probably notice that the station is located a fair distance away from the downtown core of the city. Taking the HSR to Chiayi saves a lot of travel time, especially if you’re traveling from Taipei, but once you’ve arrived, you’re going to have to either take a taxi or a bus into town. Fortunately, Chiayi Station is connected to the Chiayi High Speed Railway Station (嘉義高鐵站) through the Chiayi Bus Rapid Transit (嘉義公車捷運), an express bus service that connects the High Speed Rail station to the city.
If you arrive in the area via High Speed Rail, you can easily exit the station to the bus parking area and hop on either bus #7211 or #7212 to get yourself to the downtown core of the city.
Link: Bus #7211 and #7212 schedule (Chiayi City Bureau of Transport)
As one of only three remaining major railway stations from the Japanese-era in operation today, Chiayi Station has a long and storied history, with some pretty great things happening there, but also some pretty sad things as well. Even though the station is just a year years short of celebrating its centennial, the station as we know it today is about to undergo changes similar to what took place in Taichung, and eventually it’ll be retired.
The station is part of a dying breed of Taiwan’s historic public transportation hubs and as the city has developed around it over the past century, with its final breaths, it’ll see the downtown core of the city completely transform when the elevated railway officially starts running. Once that happens, Chiayi Station will be phased out of service, and its role will ultimately change from the city’s most important transportation hub to a place where the history of the city is celebrated for years to come, much like what happened with Taichung Station. So, if you’re interested in checking out this historic station while its still in operation, I highly recommend taking a trip to Chiayi as soon as you can. Obviously, you won’t be disappointed as the city is currently one of the hippest places in Taiwan to visit with a number of great restaurants and coffeeshops!
References
Chiayi railway station | 嘉義車站 中文 | 嘉義駅 日文 (Wiki)
Tainan Prefecture | 臺南州 中文｜台南州 日文 (Wiki)
嘉義火車站 (國家文化資產網)
嘉義火車站 (文化部)
嘉義車站 (臺灣驛站之旅)
嘉義車站 (鐵貓)
林業鐵路歷史介紹 (林業鐵道)
嘉義火車站 (Wilhelm Chang)
嘉義火車站空間微改造大變化，減法設計回歸歷史建築的原始美 (微笑台灣)
嘉義市市定古蹟嘉義火車站調查研究 (嘉義市文化局)
日治後期火車站、鐵道大多出自他之手──現代Art Deco風格設計者「宇敷赳夫」(Story Studio)
Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots)
