Taiwan Railway Museum

Railway Station Name Change Chart (臺灣日治時期火車站新舊地名對照表)

September 02, 2023 in Japanese Colonial Era

The purpose of this website, and by extension this blog, has always been to showcase my photography and my travels around Taiwan. Over the years, I’ve been quite adamant that my photos should always be used to help tell the story of the places I’ve been visiting around the country. This article is thus going to be somewhat of a first for me and I’m publishing it mostly just to serve as a reference for a few of my other articles.

To start, I should offer a bit of a backstory: I don’t spend all that much time on social media, but from time to time, I find some real gems shared in the Taiwanese history groups that I follow. So while browsing recently, I came across a photo of (what appeared to be) something out of a newspaper. The photo appeared aged, and featured a list of locations in Taiwan that were part of a major name-change policy that took effect in the early 1920s.

This was something that automatically interested me, especially since it was primarily focused on the railway, so given that it was all in Chinese, I quickly translated parts of it, and shared it on my Twitter. I’m not necessarily going to suggest that the tweet went viral, but it did attract quite a bit of attention, especially from Taiwanese followers who commented that they had no idea about many of the original place names that they were seeing on the photo.

The photo appeared to be an announcement from the Japanese-era Taiwan Railway Bureau (台灣鐵道部), listing a number railway stations around the island that were changing their names. Most of the information that was listed on the chart wasn’t particularly new to me, but it was the first time that I had seen it put together, especially on something that looked official.

Honestly, this is an aspect of Taiwan’s history that I’ve probably touched upon more than a few dozen times on my various articles about the Japanese-era, so I thought it best that I put together this article, and make use of the chart to expand upon what took place. One of the other reasons I’m writing this, though, is because there isn’t much information available in the English language regarding some of these original location names. I thought it would be helpful for anyone interested to learn about aspects of Taiwan’s history that aren’t often mentioned.

This time, in lieu of my own photos, I’m just going to share maps of Taiwan from the Japanese-era, which are often beautifully designed, but also feature some of those location names prior to being changed.

Link: Taiwan’s Remaining Japanese-era Train Stations (台鐵現存日治時期車站)

In the early years of the Japanese-era, Taiwan's administrative districts were a bit of a mess, with about twenty somewhat unorganized prefectures (廳). By the time Emperor Taisho (大正天皇) had come to power, the situation in Taiwan had started to become much more organized, and after more than two decades of development, many of the villages, towns and cities that we know today had stated to take shape, with infrastructure in place to properly administer the island.

In 1920 (大正9年), the Japanese government in Tokyo instituted an administrative policy that standardized Taiwan’s geographic administrative areas with those in the rest of the country. Known as the ‘Dōka Policy’ (同化 / どーか), Taiwan’s administrative areas were converted from the original ‘prefectures’ (廳 / cho / ちょう) into the same ‘prefectures’ (州 / shu / しゅう) that were used in Japan at the time. It was during this time that they also reduced the original number of prefectures from twenty to eight.

As of 1920, Taiwan’s eight prefectures were:

Taihoku (臺北州 / たいほくしゅう): Modern day Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Yilan
Shinchiku (新竹州 / しんちくしゅう): Modern day: Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli
Taichu (臺中州 / たいちゅうしゅう): Modern day: Taichung, Changhua, Nantou,
Tainan (臺南州 / たいなんしゅう): Modern day: Chiayi, Yunlin, Tainan,
Takao (高雄州 / たかおしゅう): Modern day: Kaohsiung, Pingtung
Karenko (花蓮港廳 / かれんこうちょう): Modern day: Hualien
Taito (臺東廳 / たいとうちょう): Modern day: Taitung, Green Island, Orchid Island
Hoko (澎湖廳 /ほうこちょう): Modern day: Penghu Islands

Within each of these prefectures, you would have found subdivisions in the form of cities (市 / し) and counties (郡 / ぐん), which were then divided up into neighborhoods (町 / まち), towns (街 / がい), villages (庄 / そう) and Indigenous communities (蕃地 / ばんち), respectively.

While the colonial government was drawing up all of these new administrative districts, another issue that had to be dealt with were the names of some of these places. While it’s true that many of the major towns and villages around the island kept their original names, the Japanese weren’t exactly the biggest fans of some of them, so they decided to make some changes.

Prior to the arrival of the Japanese in 1895, Taiwan had been inhabited first it’s various tribes of indigenous peoples, then settlers from China started making their way across the strait, followed by the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, etc. With names derived from so many different influences, the Japanese sought to create a system that was not only modern, but easier to understand.

For those of you who are interested in the changes, I’ve put together a list of some of the name changes that took place in 1922. It’s a long list, and I’m only going to provide their original name, the name they changed to, and their current name. I won’t spend time translating each of them to Japanese as many of them also appear below:

1. Chúi-tng-kha (水返腳) → Sek-chí / Xizhi (汐止) Hokkien origin
2. Sek-kháu (錫口) → Siông-san / Songshan (松山) Hokkien origin
3. Pressinowan (叭哩沙) → Sam-sing / Sanxing (三星) Ketagalan origin
4. Pang-kiô (枋橋) → Pang-kiô / Banqiao (板橋) Hokkien origin
5. Sann-kak-íng (三角湧) → Sam-kiap / Sanxia (三峽) Hokkien origin
6. Kiâm-chhài-àng (鹹菜硼) → Guanˋ si / Guanxi (關西) Hakka origin
7. On Phìn-tsṳ́n (安平鎮) → Phìn-tsun / Pingzhen (平鎮) Hakka origin
8. Rhong moi lag (楊梅壢) → Rhong moi / Yangmei (楊梅) Hakka origin
9. Takoham (大嵙崁) → Thai-hâi / Daxi (大溪) Ketagalan origin
10. Su-gi-na (樹杞林) → Tek-tang / Zhudong (竹東) Hakka origin
11. Co-sân (草山) → Pó-sân / Baoshan (寶山) Hakka origin
12. Tonsuyan (屯消) → Thunsiau / Tongxiao (通霄) Taokas Origin
13. Ataabu (阿罩霧) → Bu-hong / Wufeng (霧峰) Hoanya origin
14. Sann-tsa̍p-tiunn-lê (三十張犁) → Pak-tun / Beitun (北屯) Hokkien origin
15. Thài-pîng (太平) → Tua-pîng / Daping (大平) Hokkien origin
16. Holotun (葫蘆墩) → Hong-guân / Fengyuan (豐原) Saisiyat origin
17. Gû-mâ-thâu (牛罵頭) → Tshing-tsuí / Qingshui (清水) Hokkien origin
18. Ka-tâu (茄投) → Liông-tsínn / Longjing (龍井) Hokkien origin
19. Khóo Ka-ióng (茄苳腳) → Hue-tuânn / Huatan (花壇) Hokkien origin
20. Kuan-tè thiann (關帝廳) → Éng-tseng / Yongjing (永靖) Hokkien origin
21. Huan-á-uat (番仔挖) → Sua-suann / Shashan (沙山) Hokkien origin
22. Chháu-ê-tun (草鞋墩) → Chháu-tùn / Caotun (草屯) Hokkien origin
23. Lâm-ngá (湳仔) → Bêng-kan / Mingjian (名間) Hokkien origin
24. Toukouva (塗庫) → Jîn-tik / Rende (仁德) Siraya origin
25. Tavocan (大目降) → Sin-huà / Hsinhua (新化) Siraya origin
26. Tapani (噍吧哖) → Ta-pa-nî / Yujing (玉井) Taivoan origin
27. Tackalan (直加弄) → An-ting / Anding (安定) Siraya origin
28. Saulang (蕭壠) → Ka-lí / Jiali (佳里) Siraya origin
29. Tiàm-á-kháu (店仔口) → Peh-hô / Baihe (白河) Hokkien origin
30. Tá-bâ (打貓) → Bîn-hiông / Minxiong (民雄) Hoanya origin
31. Muî-a-khenn (梅仔坑) → Sió-muî / Xiaomei (小梅) Hokkien origin
32. Dalivoe (他里霧) → Táu-lâm-tìn / Dounan (斗南) Hoanya origin
33. Phok-a-kioh (樸仔腳) → Phoh-tsú / Puzi (朴子) Hokkien origin
34. Takao (打狗) → Ko-hiông / Kaohsiung (高雄) Makatao origin
35. Han-chî-liâu (蕃薯藔) → Kî-san / Qishan (旗山) Hakka origin
36. Mì-nùng (彌濃) → Mì-nùng / Meinong (美濃) Hakka origin
37. Akaw (阿緱) → Pîn-tong / Pingtung (屏東) Paiwan origin
38. Vangecul (蚊蟀) → Buán-tsiu / Manzhou (滿州) Paiwan origin
39. Má-keng (媽宮) → Má-keng / Magong (馬公) Hokkien origin

In some cases the names of these towns changed completely, but for the most part most of them remained the same, albeit with simple changes in the ‘Kanji’ (Chinese characters) that were thought to make them more ‘elegant.’

To better explain what I mean, I’m going to start by offering a few specific, and probably the most obvious, examples of how these names changed:

The most obvious example of these name changes was in the southern port city that we refer today as Kaohsiung. Originally inhabited by the Makatao (馬卡道族) and Siraya (西拉雅族) indigenous groups, the area was referred as ‘Takau Island’ translating to 'bamboo forest island’ in the indigenous languages. When Chinese settlers arrived in the area, they heard the name ‘Takau’ and assigned the Chinese characters ‘打狗’, which translates literally as ‘beating a dog,’ something none of us should ever do.

When the Japanese arrived in Taiwan, the name of the city remained the same, but in 1920, they changed the Kanji from ‘打狗’ to ‘高雄’ (高雄 / たかお), which had the same 'pronunciation in Japanese. Considered far too crude to be the name of a Japanese city and an international port, the colonial government came up with something that was so good that when the Chinese Nationalists arrived in 1945, instead of changing the name from the Japanese 'Takao', they just left the Chinese characters the same, which is why the city has since been known as ‘Kaohsiung' in the Chinese language.

In a similar case, the town we know today as Minxiong (民雄) also had a name that the Japanese frowned upon - The (then) small village in Chiayi (嘉義) was originally named ’Dovaha’ (擔貍社) by the Dutch, who gave it the name in honor of the Pingpu Tribe (平埔族) that settled there. Later, the name was translated from Dutch into Taiwanese Hokkien as ‘Tá-bâ’ (打貓), or ‘beating a cat.’ Once again, instead of changing the pronunciation of the name, different characters were chosen to represent the town. Pronounced ‘Tamio’ (たみお) in Japanese, the words “民雄” (Hero of the People) were chosen instead.

There are of course other examples of how these name changes took place that didn’t have to do with animal cruelty, or the names being inappropriate. Take Kaohsiung’s district of Gangshan (岡山區) as an example. Originally named ‘A-kong-tiàm‘ (阿公店), or ‘Grandfather’s Shop’, the origin of the name of the town has a few different interpretations. One explanation was that due to its geographic location as a trading space between the ports in Tainan and Kaohsiung, the area was full of stores run by seniors. Hilariously, there are also claims that the name was actually just given to the space because there was an old guy in the middle of no where with a store.

Either way, the name ‘A-kong-tiàm’ didn’t really translate very well to Japanese, so they changed it entirely - The new name for the district of Takao Prefecture, which was being developed as a suburb became known as ‘Okayama’ (岡山 / おかやま), named after one of the Japanese main island’s prefectures. Once again, when the Republic of China took over in the 1940s, the name remained the same, with the pronunciation changed to ‘Gangshan’ instead of ‘Okayama’ and remains so to this day.

There is, however, a reservoir in the area that retains the ‘A-kong-tiàm’ name, a nod to the town’s history.

Link: 大字 (おおあざ) | 小字 (こあざ) - Wikipedia

My final example before moving on is one that is simply just a linguistic difference between Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese, and most of the name changes that took place are due to these linguistic differences. If I use the Japanese-era ‘Shanjia Train Station’ (山佳車站) as an example, the original name of the area was ‘Suann á kioh’ (山仔腳), referring to its location at the foot of a mountain. The problem was that the character ‘仔’(zai), which is quite common in Taiwanese Hokkien isn’t very common in Japanese.

When it came to characters that weren’t commonly used in Kanji, like this, they simply replaced the ‘仔’ with a similar, simplified version of the character, like ‘子’, for example.

With these examples, I think you should have somewhat of an introduction to the thought process behind some of these changes. In some instances, the Japanese felt the names were inappropriate, in others they just didn’t translate well, and in others, they were simplified for convenience. Below, I’ll list each of the name changes that are displayed on the chart.

At this time, I’m not going to go into detail about the origin of each of the names, but I will provide their original name, their Japanese-era name, and their current name so that you can better understand how these things have evolved over time. If you’re interested in the linguistic changes mentioned in the third example above, click the drop down below, where I’ve provided a list of the most common character changes:

‘(á) zi’ 「仔」was changed to ‘zi’「子」
‘hong’「藔」was changed to ‘liáo’「寮」
‘hun’ 「份」was changed to ‘fèn’ 「分」
‘bei’ 「陂」was changed to ‘po’ 「坡」
‘shén’「什」was changed to ‘shí’「十」
‘tun’「墩」was changed to ‘tún’「屯」
‘ào’「澚」was changed to ‘ào’「澳」
‘gang’「崗」was changed to ‘gang’「岡」
‘khu’「坵」was changed to ‘qiu’「丘」
‘muâ’「蔴」was changed to ‘má’「麻」
‘diàn’「佃」was changed to ‘tián’「田」

Now, let me spend some time dissecting the inspiration for this article, the photo that appeared on my social media feed, all of which I’ve broken up and translated for you below:

To start, in the direct center of the diagram, you’ll find the vertical text: “Taisho Year 11, Taiwan Railway Station Name Change Chart” (大正十一年台灣鐵道停車場中改稱名新舊對照表), splitting the diagram into four different sections, or regions of the island.

For each of the stations, I’ll start with their original Japanese name, their name after being changed, and then their current name. I’ll also provide a link to each of the stations for any of you who are interested in learning more about the stations, many of which are now well-over a century old.

Note: In some cases, the romanization of these names could be a bit off, but I’ve done my best translating from several different languages to give readers a better idea of these changes.

Starting in the south, we have the following eleven name changes:

Chushusou Station (中州庄乗降場) → Chushu Station (中州驛 / ちゅうしゅうえき) → Zhongzhou Station (中洲車站)
Shinshigai Station (新市街驛 / しんしがいえき) → Shinshi Station (新市驛 / しんしえき) → Xinshi Station (新市車站)
Wanri Station (灣裡驛／わんりえき) → Zenka Station (善化 / ぜんかえき) → Shanhua Station (善化車站)
Hanshiten Station (番仔田停車場) → Hanshiten Station (番子田驛 / はんしてんえき) → Longtian Station (隆田車站)
Shin’eisho Station (新營庄驛 / しんえいしょうえき) → Shin’ei Station (新營驛 / しんえいしょうえき) → Xinying Station (新營車站)
Koheki’ryo Station (後壁藔停車場 / こうへきりょうえき) → Koheki Station (後壁驛 / こうへきえき) → Houbi Station (後壁車站)
Suikuttao Station (水堀頭驛 / すいほりとうえき) → Suijo Station (水上驛 / すいじょうえき) → Shuishang Station (水上車站)
Dabyo Station (打猫驛／だびょうえき) → Tamio Station (民雄驛 / たみおえき) → Minxiong Station (民雄車站)
Taihorin Station (大莆林驛 / たいほりんえき) → Tairin Station (大林驛 / たいりんえき) → Dalin Station (大林車站)
Tarimu Station (他里霧驛 / たりむりんえき) → Toroku Station (斗六驛／とろくえき) → Douliu Station (斗六車站)
Nihachisui Station (二八水驛 / にはちすいえき) → Nisui Station (二水驛) → Ershui Station (二水車站 / にすいえき)

On the top right, we have the following eleven name changes in the north:

Komota Station (紅毛田驛 / こうもうたえき) → Komo Station (紅毛驛 / こうもうえき) → (1934) Chikuhoku Station (竹北驛／ちくほくえき) - Chubei Station (竹北車站)
Taikoko Station (大湖口驛 / たいここうえき) → Kokō Station (湖口驛 / ここうえき) → Hukou Station (湖口車站)
Yōbair Station (楊梅壢驛 / ようばいれき) → Yobai Station (楊梅驛 / ようばいえき) → Yangmei Station (楊梅車站)
Heianchin Station (平安鎮驛 / へいあんちんえき) → Heichin Station (平鎮驛 / へいちんえき) → Puxin Station (埔心車站)
Kanshikyaku Station (崁仔脚驛 / かんしきゃくえき) → Kanshikyaku Station (崁子脚驛 / かんしきゃくえき) → Neili Station (內壢車站)
Okaishi Station (鶯歌石驛 / おうかいしえき) → Oka Station (鶯歌驛 / おうかえき) → Yingge Station (鶯歌車站)
Yamakogashi Station (山仔脚驛 / やまごあしえき) → Yamakogashi Station (山子腳驛 / やまごあしえき) → Shanjia Station (山佳車站)
Bankyo Station (枋橋驛 / ばんきょうえき) → Itahashi Station (板橋驛 / いたはしえき) → Banqiao Station (板橋車站)
Báng-kah Station (艋舺驛 / まんかえき) → Manka Station (萬華驛 / まんかえき) → Wanhua Station (萬華車站)
Suzuko Station (錫口驛 / すずこうえき) → Matsuyama Station (松山驛 / まつやまえき) → Songshan Station (松山車站)
Suihenkyaku Station (水返脚驛 / すいへんきゃくえき) → Shiodome Station (汐止驛 / しおどめえき) → Xizhi Station (汐止車站)

On the bottom left, we have the following eleven name changes on the east coast and in the south of Taiwan.

Suo Station (蘇澚驛 / そおうえき) → Suo Station (蘇澳驛 / そおうえき) → Su’ao Station (蘇澳車站)
Togazan Station (冬瓜山驛 / とうがざんえき) → Tozan Station (冬山驛 / とうざんえき) → Dongshan Station (東山車站)
Nonnongai Station (暖暖街驛 / だんだんがいえき) → Nonnon Station (暖暖驛 / だんだんえき) → Nuannuan Station (暖暖車站)
Tonbutsu Station (頓物驛 /とんぶつえき) → Takeda Station (竹田驛 / たけだえき) → Zhutian Station (竹田車站)
Ako Station (阿緱驛 / あこうえき) → Heito Station (屏東驛 / へいとうえき) → Pingtung Station (屏東車站)
Takao Station (打狗驛 / たかおえき) → Takao Station (高雄驛 / たかおえき) → Kaohsiung Station (高雄車站)
Nanshiko Station (楠仔坑驛 / なんしこうえき) → Nanshi Station (楠摔驛 / なんしえき) → Nanzi Station (楠梓車站)
Kyokoto Station (橋仔頭驛 / きょうことうえき) → Kyokoto Station (橋子頭驛 / きょうことうえき) → Qiaotou Station (橋頭車站)
Akotentei Station (阿公店驛 / あこうてんていえき) → Okayama Station (岡山驛 / をかやまえき) → Gangshan Station (岡山車站)
Hanrochiku station (半路竹驛 / はんろちくえき) → Rochiku Station (路竹驛 / ろちくえき) → Luzhu Station (路竹車站)
Daikogai Station (大湖街驛 / だいこがいえき) → Daiko Station (大湖驛 / だいこえき) → Dahu Station (大湖車站)

Finally, on the bottom right, we have the following eleven name changes in central Taiwan:

Tanakaou Station (田中央驛 / でんちゅうおうえき) → Tanaka Station (田中驛 / でんちゅうえき) → Tianzhong Station (田中車站)
Katokyaku Station (茄蔘腳驛 / かとうきゃえき) → Kadan Station (花壇驛 / かだんえき) → Huatan Station (花壇車站)
Daito Station (大肚驛 / だいとえき) → Oda Station (王田驛 / おうたえき) → Chenggong Station (成功車站)
Tanshiken Station (潭仔乾驛 / たんしけん) → Tanshi Station (潭子驛 / たんしえき) → Tanzi Station (潭子車站)
Koroton Station (葫產激驛 / ころとんえき) → Toyohara Station (豐原驛 / とよはらえき) → Fengyuan Station (豐原車站)
Korisou Station (后里庄驛 / こうりそうえき) → Kori Station (后里驛 / こうりえき) → Houli Station (后里車站)
Taiankei Station (大安溪驛 /だいあんけいえき) → Tai’an Station (大安驛 / たいあんえき) → Tai’an Station (泰安車站)
Sansagawa Station (三叉河驛 / さんさがわえき) → Sansa Station (三叉驛 / さんさえき) → Sanyi Station (三義車站)
Dorawan Station (銅鑼灣驛 / どうらわんえき) → Dora Station (銅鑼驛 / どうらえき) → Tongluo Station (銅鑼車站)
Koryu Station (後壠 /こうりゅうえき) → Koryu Station (後龍驛 / こうりゅうえき) → Houlong Station (後龍車站)
Chuko Station (中港驛 /ちゅうこうえき) → Chikunan Station (竹南驛 / ちくなんえき) → Zhunan Station (竹南車站)

Now that we’ve got all of that out of the way, it’s time to talk a little about the photo, and some rather obvious aspects of it that I probably should have noticed much earlier than I did.

The old adage ‘a picture tells a thousand words’ proves quite important with regard to the chart. You could argue that it’s not exactly a ‘picture,’ nor are there a thousand words on it, but after studying it for a while, I started to notice things that wouldn’t have been there if it were an original announcement from 1922. One of the first things that I should have noticed was that on the very top of the chart, under the two crests, the words “Showa Era” (昭和時代) and “Taisho Era” (大正時代).

The problem with this was that if the chart was released in 1922, it would be a bit strange to see the acknowledgement of the Showa Era there, given that it started on December 25, 1926, and lasted until the death of Emperor Showa on January 7th, 1989. Those ‘era’s are repeated once again at the top of the chart in smaller-case font with the addition of the Meiji Era (明治時代), which preceded the Taisho era. Essentially, the chart was more or less just listing the three emperors who oversaw control of Taiwan during the Japanese-era.

Historic railway stations in Taiwan, recreated by Taiwan Restoration.

What I should have noticed from the outset were the words “Taiwan Restoration” (台湾維新) - You’ll have to forgive me if what I say here seems like an advertisement, but a few years back I purchased a beautifully designed poster-like print that featured the logos that represented Taiwan’s various cities during the Japanese-era. Design-wise, I’m a big fan of them, especially compared to the ghastly logos that are used these days.

I purchased the print at a local bookstore, but it was produced by the very same ‘Taiwan Restoration’ person (or group) mentioned above. While you can still find quite a few of their designs for sale online, they haven’t really been very active updating their social media page in the past few years, so I can’t really tell you if it’s all being designed by a single person or a group of people. What I can tell you is that they’re (probably) not affiliated with the ‘Taiwan Renewal Party’, which shares the same Chinese name.

Link: Taiwan Restoration (Facebook) | Ruten Store: 台湾維新 | GJ Taiwan Store

Taking a look at the Facebook page, it strikes me that the products that they’re selling are all designed quite well, making use of some of the iconography that was prevalent during the Japanese-era. Obviously, as I mentioned earlier, I’m a fan of the logos that were created to signify Taiwan, and its major towns and cities. That being said, they’ve designed quite a few things that celebrate Taiwan’s railroad, which I really appreciate.

Now that I’ve done some looking into their products, I might actually try to purchase some more, if they’re still available. Unfortunately, it seems like quite a few of their products are sold out, have been for some time, and I’m not particularly sure if they’ll ever be restocked.

Nevertheless, before I leave you, with regard to all of the name changes that took place in Taiwan during the Japanese-era, the diagram above only features a small percentage of the location names that were changed. This is because it is only a representation of the railway stations that changed their names to reflect the changes in their community. The evolution of how these names of places around the country have changed over the centuries is a subject that is not covered very well in the English language, but it is a fascinating topic that paints a much broader story of how this beautiful island has changed as it has developed over the past few centuries.

References

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Taiwan Railway Museum (臺灣總督府鐵道部)

December 12, 2020 in Taipei, Japanese Colonial Era, Travel

I’m a big fan of museums - and I think you should be too.

Whenever I travel to a new country, I always make sure to reserve a bit of my time to check out a museum (or three), especially if it relates to the history of the place I’m visiting.

That being said, you might have noticed that I don’t post much on here about museums.

Why? Well, even though there are often some really cool displays, I don’t really see much value in taking photos in museums, at least for the purpose of this blog. This is also why you haven’t seen me write anything about (and probably never will) Taipei’s famed National Palace Museum.

Admittedly, I’ve likewise never really been all that impressed with Taiwan’s museums.

Most of the time I feel like museums here are a bit of a missed opportunity - It’s almost as if museum staff have some great ideas, but when they request funding, they only end up being allocated about a tenth of what they were asking for and then have to make due - which is sad to say, half-assed.

So, when I heard that the former Taihoku Railway Bureau was being reopened as the “Taiwan Railway Museum,” I wasn’t feeling all that optimistic.

But even if what was prepared for display in the museum wasn’t that impressive, I was still highly anticipating a visit as I’d finally get the chance to enter the beautiful Japanese-era building that I’ve passed by several times a week for well over a decade.

Fortunately for me, while the museum was still going through its soft-opening, I was invited to come check it out and get some photos. I don’t know how I get so lucky sometimes, but just like the Taipei Railway Workshop, I was honoured to be part of the first group of people who got to visit.

And I’m pleased to say, my initial pessimism about the museum was way off.

I might even go as far to say that this museum is probably one of the best in Taiwan.

Not only are all of the displays well-researched, well-designed and offer multi-lingual explanations, they’re set up in a way that nothing is out of place.

The whole thing is a well-rounded and obviously a well-thought up exhibition about the nations railway history, which if you weren’t already aware was instrumental in developing Taiwan into the beautiful country that we enjoy today.

Oh, and if you’ve got a camera, the museum is housed within one of the capital’s most iconic buildings, and is great for photography!

The Taihoku Railway Bureau (鐵道部)

Before we talk about the museum, it’s important to talk about the iconic building that houses it.

The “Railway Department of the Governor General of Taiwan” (台灣總督府交通局鐵道部), a National Historic Site, which is better known as the “Taihoku Railway Bureau” (鐵道部), was an administration centre for the management and operation of Taiwan’s railways during the Japanese Colonial Era and for several decades after.

Located a short distance from Taipei Station and the North Gate (北門), the Railway Bureau dates back well over a century and the buildings within the complex occupy a piece of land that has considerable historic significance.

It probably goes without saying that the Taipei of a century ago was considerably different than what we’re used to today - The narrow stretch of land between the Keelung River and where Taipei Station is located today has been an important location for the development of Taiwan’s railroad since the late 1800s.

The first iteration of the ‘Taipei Station’ opened in 1891 in ‘Twatutia’ (大稻埕), which we refer to as Dadaocheng today, when the rudimentary railway between Keelung and Taipei opened for service.

Prior to the Japanese takeover of Taiwan, the Qing constructed a rudimentary railway factory just west of where the Railway Bureau stands today, which was used to do maintenance on the track constructed between the port of Keelung and Taipei in addition to taking care of the trains.

When the Japanese took control of Taiwan a few short years later, the site was utilized by the army for a short time as a munitions depot before it was handed over to the railway department.

When the Japanese arrived in Taiwan, not much time was wasted on getting to work on the development of an island-wide network of railways. So when construction was nearing completion on the northern Taipei-Tamsui line, the workshop had to be expanded and modernized.

So, in 1909, the factory was relocated to a new building nearby and renamed the “Taipei Railway Factory.”

The original buildings at the Qing factory were later torn down and the land was converted into a community of dormitories for civil servants - some of which still exist today!

As progress on the construction of a a network of railways around the island continued, it also became necessary for the colonial government to relocate the administrative section of the railway bureau to a new headquarters in order to manage the day-to-day operations of the railway as well as ensuring that construction on the various rail lines went smoothly.

Given the importance of the railway for Japan’s ambitions for Taiwan, the office that was constructed for the Railway Bureau would have to be something grand.

Thus, the responsibility for its design was given to Moriyama Matsunosuke (森山松之助), the architectural genius who was responsible for many of Taiwan’s most famous buildings, including the the Taipei Prefectural Office (台北州廳), Taichung Prefectural Office (台中州廳), Tainan Prefectural Office (台南州廳), the Monopoly Bureau (專賣局) and the Government-General of Taiwan (台灣總督府), which is currently known as the Presidential Office Building (總統府).

Link: The helmsmen who shaped the style of Taipei City (Taipei Times)

Coincidentally, the Taiwan Railway Bureau and the Government-General of Taiwan building just so happened to be inaugurated on the same day (March 31st, 1919) and afterwards Moriyama commented: “My work here is done!” (台灣已經沒有什麼可做的了) and he left Taiwan a year later with a long list of accomplishments.

I thought it was a bit strange that both the Railway Bureau and the Government-General of Taiwan building (currently Presidential Building) opened on the same day, so I decided to do some research on the subject.
The Japanese never really do anything at random, so there had to be a reason - whether it was a holiday or an anniversary - that they inaugurated both of these important buildings on the same day.
Unfortunately after several hours of digging, the only thing I could find that related to “March 31st” was the end of the so-called military government (軍政) and the start of civil governance almost two decades prior. The thing is that the final day was “3/31” and the first day was “4/1”, which probably meant that I hadn’t found the right answer.
So, I enlisted the help of a local history guru who I’m happy to call a friend who did some searching for me.
After a few hours he got back to me and said he was having difficultly, so he left a message with one of the research heads at the National Taiwan Museum who got back to him and answered: It’s because March 31st marked the traditional end of the fiscal year in Japan.
This is what I get for overthinking things.

When the Railway Bureau opened for operations in 1919, construction on the building was only completed the north wing and the front facade of the building when they started to move in.

It would take another year until the south wing was completed and over the next few decades, several additional buildings constructed on the site, which eventually totalled around forty.

You might be wondering how this was possible given the lack of space on the site.

It was all thanks to the relocation of the Taipei Railway Workshop (which is also now a protected property) to a new location, freeing up quite a bit of space. The railway workshop at one time featured prominently on the site of the Railway Bureau, but as the decades passed and the railway network continued to expand, it became apparent that the workshop was far too small to perform all of the duties required to maintain the trains.

So, a much larger one had to be constructed and was officially opened in 1935 on the fortieth anniversary of Japanese Colonial Rule in Taiwan, which also coincided with the opening of the Taiwan Exposition, which was a huge year in Taiwan in terms of events.

Unfortunately, in the midst of all the development that was taking place here in Taiwan, the Japanese Empire found itself involved in a little something called the Second World War as one of the major instigators.

And we all know how that went for them.

When the Japanese surrendered to the allies at the conclusion of the war, they were forced to relinquish control over the territories that they had conquered, including Taiwan. This left the question as to what would happen to the island and who would control it.

Ambiguously, the allies decided that control of Taiwan would be offered up to yet another foreign power, the Republic of China, which itself was in the midst of a bitter civil war against the communists.

In 1945, when the Chinese Nationalists formally took control of Taiwan, the Railway Bureau became the new headquarters for the Taiwan Railways Administration (臺灣鐵路管理局), which quickly got to work repairing the parts of the track that were destroyed during the war. This helped to ensure that the government could maintain control of the island as well as taking advantage of the economy that the Japanese developed.

The Taipei Railway Bureau continued to serve as the headquarters of the Taiwan Railways Administration from the late 1940s until 1990, when it moved to its new home within the upper floors of the newly constructed Taipei Railway Station.

In the 90s, the Taiwanese government wasn’t as keen on historical preservation as it is these days, so when the TRA moved out, it was left abandoned for quite some time.

Soon after the move, the interior became a setting in renowned Taiwanese director Edward Yang’s (楊德昌) film, “A Brighter Summer Day” (牯嶺街少年殺人事件).

After that though, not much happened at the Railway Bureau until construction on the Beimen MRT Station project started and a large portion of the forty buildings on site started disappearing.

As a result, in 2009, the Railway Bureau was certified as a National Historical Monument (國定古蹟) by the Ministry of Culture (文化部) and plans were made to restore the remaining ten buildings into a public space.

The restoration project on the buildings started in 2014 and would take several years to complete with the Taiwan Railway Museum officially opening to the public to much fanfare in 2020, during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Timeline of Important Dates for the Railway Bureau

1887 - Plans for the first railroad in Taiwan are started by governor Liu Mingchuan (劉銘傳).
1891 - Construction on the railway between Keelung and Taipei is completed.
1893 - Construction on the railway between Taipei and Hsinchu is completed.
1895 - The Japanese take control of Taiwan.
1901 - The Railway Bureau, a sub-department of the Governor Generals office is formed.
1901 - The first branch line (Taipei - Tamsui) of the railroad is completed.
1908 - A proposal is made to relocate the original workshop and the railway bureau to a new site nearby.
1909 - The Taipei Railway Workshop is relocated east of its original location.
1918 - Construction on the new headquarters for the Railway Bureau starts.
1919.3.31 - Phase one of construction is completed on the facade and north wing.
1919.5.28 - Railway Bureau employees start to move into the offices.
1920 - The south wing of the building is completed.
1933 - Construction of the cafeteria attachment to the Administration building is completed.
1934 - The Engineering Buildings are added to the site.
1935 - The Taipei Railway Workshop (台北機廠) is relocated to its current location.
1940-1945 - The railways are repeatedly bombed by the Allies.
1945 - Taiwan is ceded to the Republic of China (中華民國).
1948 - The Taiwan Railways Administration (台灣鐵路管理局) is established with the Railway Bureau as its headquarters.
1979 - The West Coast Rail is fully electrified.
1989 - Rail lines in Taipei are moved underground in preparation for the new Taipei Railway Station.
1990 - The new Taipei Train Station opens and the Railway Bureau building is left abandoned.
2000 - The Yilan line is fully electrified.
2006 - Construction on the Beimen MRT station takes place and several buildings are demolished and the former Taipei Workshop building was temporarily relocated.
2009 - The site of the Railway Bureau becomes a protected property with plans to restore it.
2014 - The restoration project on the site commences with ten of the original forty buildings being restored after the rest were demolished during the construction of the MRT.
2020 - The Railway Bureau opens to the public as the Taiwan Railway Museum.

Now that we have a lot of that history stuff out of the way, let’s talk a bit about each of the individual buildings that still exist today as part of the National Taiwan Museum Taipei Railway Bureau.

Administration Headquarters (廳舍)

While there are several historic buildings on site, let’s face it, the Administration Building (廳舍) is always going to be the one that attracts the most attention.

Not only is it the largest and most important building with regard to the history of the Railway Bureau, it was masterfully designed and is one of those iconic Taipei buildings that people have enjoyed for generations.

Now that it has reopened to the public as a National Museum, it has attracted quite a bit of attention as people are finally able to enjoy the interior as much as they’ve enjoyed the exterior.

The arc-shaped Administration building sits directly across from Taipei’s North Gate on the corner of Chung-Hsiao West Road (忠孝西路) and Yanping North Road (延平北路) with the front door facing another one of Taipei’s historic buildings, the Beimen Post Office (北門郵局).

As mentioned above, the building was designed by famed architect Moriyama Matsunosuke (森山松之助), and construction was completed in two phases with the first phase completed on March 31st, 1919 and the second phase a year later.

The two storey building consists of a beautiful front hall with a north and south wing running parallel to each other on either side.

Taking inspiration from English baroque, better known as Queen Anne style architecture (安妮女王復興樣式), the building is strongly characterized by its bilateral symmetry.

The lower half of the building was constructed using red bricks as a foundation, while the upper half was constructed with Alishan Cypress (阿里山檜木) in a style known as “half-timber framing” (半木構造), inspired by European architectural design, but with Japanese characteristics, of course.

Something you’ll want to take note of before entering the building is how the building curves from the front hall that faces the road.

The two towers that connect the north and south wings to the front hall were constructed at an angle, a classic baroque architectural trick that allows the building to take its arc shape.

Where the Japanese architects of that time excelled (with regard to baroque-style architecture) is easily noticeable with the of the roof, which is also a mixture of Western and Japanese-design characteristics.

In baroque design, a sense of ‘flowing movement’ is important and when it comes to this roof, it is expertly arched over both the south and north wings which meets with the front hall, which has its own arched roof facing the road, giving off somewhat of a 3D motion effect. Some might argue that the design here is ostentatious, but that was the point of baroque.

Adding to the design on the exterior, the roof is also home to ox-tail windows on both the front and back side of the building. While these windows perform their role of allowing natural light into the building quite well, the key thing to note here that the shape of windows on the front and back are shaped differently, with those on the backside being much more impressive.

That being said, credit needs to be given to the architect and the construction teams as construction of ox-tail windows like these is quite difficult, so even though they might just seem like windows protruding from the roof, you should take some time to check them out.

The main office on the second floor of the Main Hall features a beautiful veranda, while both of the wings have long two-meter wide passageways at the front and back of the the first and second floors, where people could get of the office for some fresh air.

However, as the ground level of the building was constructed with brick and the top level with cypress, there are some practical differences between the two. The veranda on the ground level features beautiful brick arches which help to support the floor above while the second level has pillars which in turn assist in supporting the weight of the roof.

As you enter the foyer of the building you are met with a large open greeting space and a beautiful set of stairs that reaches around on the left and right side, a classic European-style design that is almost unheard of in Taiwan today.

There are halls both to the left and the right of the stairs that take you to where the various offices of the railway bureau once existed.

When you reach the end of either of the hallways, you’ll find another large open stairwell on either end that bring you up to the second floor. The stairwell is spacious and there are large windows on both sides that allow for beautiful natural light to come in.

As you make your way to the second floor, you’re going to notice a noticeable difference in the design from the first floor.

The second floor was home to offices like the floor below, but the size of some of them is considerably larger. Likewise, there is much more attention to detail in the design as the ceilings and walls are decorated with plaster sculptures, which have been beautifully restored.

If you look closely at the designs on the sculptures, you’ll clearly notice Taiwan-related imagery inside.

The room you’ll want to pay most attention to however is the main office directly in the middle of the building, opposite the grand staircase.

This room is probably one of the single most beautiful spaces I’ve seen in Taiwan and the intricate ceiling and porcelain decorations are an amazing look into the past and the commitment to attention to detail that is a hallmark of Japanese design.

Amazingly, the total cost of construction for the Administration Building cost a mere 377,000 yen, which is about $3,500 USD!

Sounds like a steal, right?

Actually no, we have to consider several factors, including inflation and the decimation of the Japanese currency after the Second World War to figure out the real cost in todays dollars.

Don’t worry, I’ve gone ahead and figured that out for you.

The real cost to construct the building in today’s dollars would have been about $1,626,232 USD.

Still, not too bad all things considering.

The Octagon (八角樓)

So there’s this beautiful concrete building on site, to the rear of the main building called “The Octagon” and that sounds pretty cool, right?

Kind of like the Pentagon in America.

Well, actually, it’s just an ostentatiously-designed male washroom.

But even though it’s just a washroom, you can be sure that almost every person who visits the Railway Museum is going to go check it out.

Why? Well, it was opened simultaneously with the main building, which means that it also dates back to 1919, making it one of the first washrooms in Taiwan with modern plumbing.

Due to the fact that the staff at the Railway Bureau were predominately male, the washroom caters to their needs with an octagonal-shaped column of urinals in the centre of the building.

There are also four stalls set up with toilets and to the right and left of the front entrance with each of the other six sides of the octagon open to the elements for venting.

The building was constructed with reinforced concrete, has stone slabs for the roof and features modern style plumbing and septic tanks behind each toilet for cleanliness.

Constructed in a classical style, the design of the building imitates the stone masonry techniques of Europe and even though its just a staff washroom, it’s obvious that a lot of thought was put into making the experience of relieving yourself a grand occasion.

Today the urinals and toilets have been removed from the building and it has been cleaned up, with the walls given a fresh coat of paint.

You don’t have to worry about the stink of a men’s washroom when you walk into the building but you’ll definitely be able to appreciate the architectural design of the building.

Canteen (食堂)

The Canteen, or the Cafeteria building is connected directly to the Administration Hall and as you might very well have noticed from the photos here, is very much different than the rest of the building.

Constructed in 1932 as an addition to the main building, the cafeteria is a two-storey western-style building constructed of cypress and metal bracketing.

The strange thing is that while we know that architect Moriyama Matsunosuke (森山松之助) designed the Administration Building, no one really cared to take credit for the construction of the cafeteria.

Likewise, the materials used for the construction of the building were interestingly collected from scraps of wood used for other buildings around the capital.

An early attempt at recycling?

In actuality, this was very likely due to the fact that the colonial government was over-reaching with so many construction projects around Taiwan and was strapped for cash.

Despite all of that, the interior of the building is beautiful and, like most buildings constructed with Taiwanese cypress, it shines in the sunlight.

Currently the ground level floor is used by the museum as a gift shop while the second floor is home to an exhibition space.

Wartime Command Center (防空洞)

The Wartime Command Center is an underground bunker that was constructed during the latter stages of the war in 1943.

The Japanese constructed bunkers like these all over Taiwan in order to offer air-raid protection for civil-servants and the military. Considering the strategic importance of the railway with regard to Japan’s ambitions in Taiwan, having a bunker on-site only made sense.

Constructed with reinforced concrete, there are two different sections to the bunker - the upper section is about seven meters above the ground and constructed in a cone shape.

The lower underground section is large enough to fit dozens of people and the interior has a large railway map of Taiwan on the wall which features the various rail lines, stations and bridges constructed by that time.

Unfortunately the lower section of the bunker is still in the process of being restored, so its not open to the public as of yet.

I’ll update in the future when it becomes available and I can get in to get some photos.

Electricity Building (電源室)

The Electricity Building, located to the rear of the Administration Building was originally constructed in 1925, but has been reconstructed and expanded on several occasions over the years.

The building is a single-story brick structure with an arched wooden truss roof that was especially equipped to allow for the ventilation of heat to ensure safety.

When the building was later expanded, designers were forced to curve the new section due to a lack of space - The interesting thing about this is that the curve of the building somewhat mimics the shape of the Administration Building, which wasn’t entirely intentional, but cool nevertheless.

The electricity generated in the building was used to assist in power generation and storage for the usage of the construction buildings nearby, which required more electricity than the grid at the time was able to provide.

Today the building has been cleaned up, all of the equipment removed and is now a pretty cool place to sit down and enjoy one of the Taiwan Railway’s iconic Railway Lunchboxes (鐵路便當) in a cafeteria-like setting.

Construction Buildings (工務室)

The two “construction” buildings were constructed to the rear of the Administration Building’s southern wing and are located directly next to Yanping North Road.

Constructed in 1934 in the Japanese style, both of the buildings are about 44 meters in length with windows covering almost 80% of the walls, stressing an importance for natural interior light.

Constructed almost entirely of wood, the buildings were brilliantly elevated off of the ground with an ‘anti-termite foundation’ that helped to protect and preserve the buildings.

There is currently an interesting display in one of the buildings about how the Japanese had to quickly adapt to the problem of termites upon arrival in Taiwan and how the buildings on-site are a product of lessons learned.

The buildings were constructed just as the Taipei Railway Workshop was making its move to an off-site location (between Taipei and Songshan) and were used by the engineers employed at the Railway Bureau to coordinate the various construction projects that would take place around the island, as well as ensuring that operations at the nearby Taipei Railway Workshop went smoothly.

Today the engineering buildings are used as exhibition spaces with one focusing on the restoration of the railway bureau while the other is a space where children can go to learn more about the railway in an interactive and fun way.

There is also another set of green buildings that have yet to be fully restored, so in the future it’s likely that they’ll be open to the public in some capacity.

Railway Museum (鐵道部園區)

A replication of the interior of the historic Beimen Station (北門車站)

The Railway Bureau is currently open to the public and is under the ownership and control of the National Taiwan Museum (國立臺灣博物館), which has various exhibition spaces around Taipei.

The interior of the building features exhibitions and displays historic objects and memorabilia related to the history of the railway in Taiwan.

The museum is pretty much a paradise for anyone who enjoys learning about Taiwan’s modern development - or those who just love trains.

The former offices within the building are now home to exhibition spaces, which will continue to grow as the restoration process on some of the other buildings on the site is on-going.

Historic train seats on the rear balcony of the building basking in the afternoon sun.

So, even though I was able to visit the museum during its soft-opening, it most certainly won’t be my last.

Link: Railway Department Park (National Taiwan Museum)

Currently the museum features a number of exhibits covering a wide variety of subjects and even though the majority of exhibition space covers the history of the railroad in Taiwan, there are also some other interesting exhibits deserving of your attention.

When you visit the museum, you’ll be treated with some of the following exhibits (in no specific order):

The history of the railway from 1887 - 2020.
A model of the historic Beimen Station.
A mockup of the inner office space and tools of a train station
Interactive maps of the development of the railway network.
Displays of the various types of trains used throughout history.
Displays of discontinued trains and the presidents former train.
Spaces for children to learn about the railway in a fun way.
The history of the Railway Bureau building.
Exhibitions about the Restoration of the Railway Bureau
A giant and extremely detailed model railroad of Taipei.
Exhibition about the 1935 Taiwan Exposition.
Exhibition about the Taiwan Railway Hotel.

Modern exhibit in a century-old building.

This obviously is an incomplete list as some of the exhibitions are permanent while others will constantly be changing in order to keep things fresh. My first visit during the soft-opening and my second visit several months later were quite different experiences with some of the exhibits becoming more refined while others had already been completely removed and replaced.

The great thing about this space is that there are a long list of possibilities when it comes to new and interesting exhibitions about Taiwan’s railway network and thus far they’ve only scratched the surface, which is what makes this museum an exciting one as it continues to grow into one of the most important places to learn about Taiwan’s modern history in Taipei.

One thing that most certainly won’t be replaced is the expertly detailed model railway of Taipei, which you should most definitely check out. The model train show takes place twice an hour and is one of the things that any visitor to the museum absolutely has to check out.

Hours

Tuesday - Sunday from 9:30 - 5:00.

Closed on Mondays
Closed during the Lunar New Year holidays
Closed on National Holidays

Admission

Railway Bureau: NT$100 (Adult) | NT$50 (Children/Seniors)
Museum Pass: NT$130 (Adult) | NT$65 (Children/Seniors)

Notes about Admission Prices

The price of admission for children is limited to those aged 6-12.
Children under the age of six are free.
During the week, anyone over the age of 65 is free. On the weekends, tickets are half price.
The Museum Pass is a discounted ticket that gives access to the National Taiwan Museum, the Natural History Branch, Nansen Branch and the Railway Bureau.
The ticket booth closes thirty minutes before the museum closes.
The price of admission can be paid with cash, credit card and EasyCard (悠遊卡)

Something that is important to remember about the Railway Bureau Museum is that restoration projects are still underway and there are still a few areas that are yet to be completed and opened to the public.

Over the next year or two, the museum will continue to expand with the original Taipei Railway Workshop slated to reopen relatively soon.

As the newer buildings open, I’ll make sure to update this article with more information.

Getting There

So, how is one to get to the Taiwan Railway Museum?

This is probably one of the easiest ‘Getting There’ sections I’ve ever written.

The museum is located in the North Gate (Beimen) area of Taipei and is a short walk from either the Taipei Railway Station, Taoyuan Airport Metro Station, Beimen MRT Station or the Taipei Underground Mall (台北地下街).

From Taipei Main Station: Exit the station from the “West Three” door (西三門) and walk west along the park or Chung-Hsiao West Road to arrive at the museum.

From Beimen MRT Station: Exit 1, 2 or 3 more or less surround the back end of the museum.
From Taipei Underground Mall: Exit Y24 or Y26, each of which are a two minute walk away.
From Taoyuan Airport MRT: Exit 6 or 7, both of which are directly across the street.

Exhibits on display from the Railway Bureau

The Taiwan Railway Museum kind of blew me away - Sure, you could argue that I’m an unbiased critic as I’m somewhat predisposed to enjoying any historic building from the Japanese era, but there’s much more going on here than just the historic building.

The museum and the exhibits on display are pretty much candy for any Taiwanese history buff and the well-thought out displays are easily enjoyed by people of all ages.

As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve never really been this impressed by a museum in Taiwan before, and no, I’m not being paid to say that.

I think all of this is likely is a reflection of the fact that the National Taiwan Museum did an extremely professional job restoring the building while also collecting all of the historic objects that have been put on display.

If you have a chance to visit, I highly recommend spending some time at this museum.

A view of the modern city from the perspective of one of its oldest residents.

Likewise, as I mentioned above, in the coming months I’ll be updating this space with photos from some of the areas that have yet to be opened to the public and I’ll also be adding more articles about the Railway Bureau in Hualien, which has also become a pretty cool spot to hang out and learn about the history of the Railway in Taiwan!

Footnotes