Hsinchu

Former Residence of Hsin Chih-Ping (辛志平校長故居)

Most foreign visitors to Taiwan seem to agree that Taipei and Tainan are the best places to visit while in the country - Taipei for its modern vibes and Tainan for all of its history and its amazing cuisine - so with a visit to both of these cities, you can learn all you need to know about both the nation’s past and its future.

Personally, I don’t really feel like you need to travel from one end of the country to the other to experience either of these, especially since a short trip to Hsinchu can satisfy both in a single trip.

With Hsinchu, we’re blessed with an ever-growing city on the cutting edge of technology that just so happens to also be rich in Taiwanese history, traditional culture and a local cuisine of its own.

I fell in love with Hsinchu on my first visit and as the city continues to develop, it’s very likely that I’ll continue to sing its praises as there is always something new and exciting to do while in town.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to spend any time in the city, I highly recommend taking some time to explore all that it has to offer, since it’s only a short train ride from the capital, and especially since there are so many hip restaurants, coffeeshops, museums and historic locations to check out.

Over the next few months, I’ll have a number of new Hsinchu-related articles as the city has invested a considerable amount of funds into the preservation of its cultural heritage, spanning the two hundred years of its development into one of Taiwan’s most important cities.

Today, I’ll be introducing one of the city’s historic Japanese-era destinations, conveniently located within the downtown core of the city, and yet another tourist destination within walking distance of the equally historic railway station. As an official residence for a Japanese-era civil servant, the building is a bit more posh than some of the other civil servant dorms I’ve written about in the past, but given Hsinchu’s strategic importance to the Japanese, the beauty of this building shouldn’t come off as a big surprise.

For day-trippers to the city, this is yet another location within the downtown core that can help you get a better feel of the history of this important city as well as one of its most prominent citizens over the past half century.

Shinchiku High School Principal’s Residence

Writing about the ‘residences' provided for civil servants during the Japanese-era is a topic that I’ve been researching for quite a while, with dozens of articles on the topic already published. One of the most obvious takeaways is that if you were a professionally trained civil servant immigrating to Taiwan, one of the benefits was that housing would be provided - in some cases shared dormitories - or for higher ranking officials, a residence for their entire family.

These civil-servant dormitories, or residences were provided for government officials of all levels ranging from the police, educators, engineers, railway workers, etc. Today, many of the Japanese-era residences that remain across the country were once property of the colonial government, and were provided on a provisional basis to those working to help develop the island.

That being said, not every residence provided by the government would have been a comfortable living experience - Many of the laborers in the timber or sugar industries were provided with shared dwellings, much like a university dorm-like environment. Similarly many of the lower-ranking teachers who came to Taiwan were placed in shared residences where a number of co-workers would live in the same space.

Higher ranking officials, such as school principals on the other hand were provided with far more elaborate homes for their entire family. These larger buildings offered a much more comfortable living experience than the average worker would have enjoyed and were luxurious enough that they likely would have enticed their residents to stay longer.

Link: Qidong Street Dorms (齊東街日式宿舍)

The residence provided for the principal of the Prefectural Shinchiku High School (新竹州立新竹中學校) in Hsinchu is by far one of the best examples I have encountered, when it comes to the high standard of living that school principals were provided with. The large home came fully equipped on prime real estate in the downtown core of the city, and even featured a large yard for the family to enjoy.

Interestingly, when it comes to the residences provided for school staff, they were almost always constructed next to the school for convenience purposes. This principal’s dorm however is located on the opposite side of the train tracks from the school, which would have made the daily commute a long one.

To understand why this is the case, we first have to take a look at the school’s history.

Established in 1922 (大正11年), the Prefectural Shinchiku High School was originally located in the downtown core of Hsinchu, close to the railway station. The school was initially split up and shared space within the Shinchiku First Public School (新竹第一公學校), in addition to a newly constructed building just opposite where the principal’s residence is located today. However, with plans to expand and restructure the educational infrastructure in the prefecture, the location was only a temporary one as a massive campus was at the same time undergoing construction at the base of Eighteen Peaks Mountain (十八尖山).

Completed in 1925 (大正14年), the Prefectural Shinchiku High School changed the landscape of public education in Shinchiku Prefecture, providing space for three classes per grade with seats for one hundred Japanese nationals and fifty Taiwanese students (even three decades into the colonial era, preferential treatment was still afforded to Japanese nationals), with a total student population of around five hundred pupils per year. For much of its history, the prestigious high school, known today as National Hsinchu Senior High School (國立新竹高級中學) was primarily a male-only school, which is an important thing to keep in mind regarding the educational restructuring plan mentioned above.

When the boys high school moved in 1926, the Shinchiku First Public School was converted into a public elementary school, while the downtown campus vacated by the boys high school became the Shinchiku Prefectural Girls' High School (新竹州立新竹高等女學校), offering primary and upper education for the children of the prefecture.

Note: Just for clarity sake:

Shinchiku First Public School (新竹第一公學校) is currently “Hsinchu Elementary School” (新竹國民小學) and dates back to 1898.

Prefectural Shinchiku Boys High School (新竹州立新竹中學校) is currently “National Hsinchu Senior High School” (國立新竹高級中學) and dates back to 1922.

Shinchiku Prefectural Girls' High School (新竹州立新竹高等女學校) is currently “National Hsinchu Girls' Senior High School” (國立新竹女子高級中學) and dates back to 1925.

All of that said, I couldn’t find any definitive answer as to why the principals residence didn’t move to the other side of the tracks along with the school - A bit frustrated, I decided to make another trip to Hsinchu to ask one of the knowledgeable Cultural Bureau employees working inside. Suffice to say, the residence as we know it today was once part of a large community of teachers dormitories that encapsulated an entire city block within the downtown core of the city. Unfortunately, the only one that remains is the principals residence as the others have long since been torn down and replaced with high-rise apartment buildings.

As it was expertly explained to me, the community of houses were constructed in the early 1920s, along with the campus nearby. Having an already established community of houses for many of the school’s teachers and their families, most were reluctant to move. However, it’s important to note that the girl’s school next door also required similar residences for its staff, so another large group of dorms were constructed between the campus and the Hsinchu Moat. Similarly, as the boys high school grew, a number of additional dorms were constructed next to the school to accommodate the growing number of staff.

After listening to his explanation, I asked what I figured was the obvious question: “So, they walked to school every day? Wasn’t it troublesome to cross the tracks on a daily basis?” to which the expert responded: “Hsinchu was one of the busiest cities in Taiwan and the colonial government made sure that tunnels were constructed under the tracks to connect both sides of the city, just like the ones we are using today. There was essentially a traffic and pedestrian tunnel across the street from the dorms for the staff to make their way to work.

The first principal of the Prefectural Shinchiku Boys High School was an accomplished and interesting figure named Oki Shunkuro (大木俊九郎 / おおき しゅんくろう) from Saga Prefecture (佐賀県) on southern Japan’s Kyushu Island. Arriving in Taiwan in 1921 (大正10年), Oki initially took a position as head teacher at Taichung’s Business School (臺中商業學校) before being promoted to principal of the newly established high school, where he would spend the next decade of his life.

Note: Taichung Business School (臺中商業學校) is currently the Taichung University of Science and Technology (國立臺中科技大學)

Despite being referred to today as the ‘Former Residence of Hsin Chih-Ping,” I’d argue that both of these figures were the most significant in the history of the school, hailing from different eras of Taiwan’s history. In both cases, a number of principals followed, but (not to dismiss the achievements of others) few have had as tremendous of an effect on the school as these two.

Principal Oki oversaw the establishment of the school, its migration to a new campus, the construction of new buildings on the campus, and its growth between 1922 and 1932. Known as a strict administrator, Oki ran a military-like outfit, but spent time personally training students in the art of Kendo (劍道) as well as personally maintaining the school’s gardens and floral arrangements.

Interestingly, Oki’s career in Taiwan should have lasted much longer, but his son, a doctor of note in Taipei found himself involved in an extramarital affair with a nurse at his hospital, something which Oki considered tantamount to his failure as a parent and educator. This forced him to pack up and return to Japan in disgrace - something I’m sure most people these days would consider a bit of an overreaction.

In the years after Oki left Taiwan, a number of administrators followed (five to be exact), but each of them only lasted a year or two at the most. Then, when the colonial era came to an end in 1945 and the Japanese left Taiwan, the school was renamed “National Hsinchu Senior High School” and Hsin Chih-Ping became principal, a position he’d hold for the next three decades.

Principal’s Residence Tenants (1922 - 1985)

Oki Shunkuro (大木俊九郎) - 1922 (大正11年) - 1931 (昭和6年)

Ogita Shinosamu (荻板進治) - 1932 (昭和7年) - 1936 (昭和11年)

Shiba Toshio (志波俊夫) - 1937 (昭和12年) - 1941 (昭和16年)

Matsui Minoru (松井實) - 1942 (昭和17年)

Sanya Shusaku (三屋秋策) - 1943 (昭和18年) - 1944 (昭和19年)

Hsin Chih-Ping (辛志平) - 1945 (民國34年) - 1985 (民國74年)

Living there well after his retirement, the house was left abandoned after Hsin passed away in 1985 (民國74年) and when plans were made to have it torn down along with all of the other aging and abandoned teachers dormitories and converted into a parking lot. Fortunately, local groups made a fuss and campaigned to have it preserved by the local government.

In 2006 (民國95年), a restoration project on the house started and was completed a year later with the fully restored residence opened to the public the next year, which is one of the reasons it appears different from most of the other Japanese-era residences that have been restored in recent years as the wood has had time to age, so it’s not as bright and shiny as the others, which is great.

Even though the school dates back to 1922, it is unclear as to when the residence was constructed - It is theorized by local historians that it was constructed at the same time as the school, so when the first campus was completed, the house was already ready to be occupied. This theory is supported by the fact that it’s first tenant, Principal Oki, was teaching elsewhere before accepting the position in Hsinchu, meaning that accommodations would have been prepared prior to his arrival.

Another clue that dates the building to 1922 is that it was constructed shortly after the Governor General’s Office enacted a law (台灣總督府官舍建築標準) regarding official building standards in Taiwan. The new standards specified the regulations regarding the size of buildings that were provided for civil servants of various ranks. As a level three official, the principal’s residence would have been considered within the upper echelons of the system, and the size and quality of the accommodations provided were far more spacious and elegant than a typical dorm. The final clue is the architectural design of the building is more or less the same as several other ‘level three residences’ constructed for the administrators of other schools around the island after the new regulations were published.

Suffice to say, if historians are correct and the building was constructed alongside the school, it is marking its centennial this year, which is a significant event.

Blueprints of the exterior of the building.

Even though the exact date of construction is unclear, we are blessed with very detailed blueprints of the building’s architectural design, which provide specific details of the layout of the house from the time it was constructed in addition to the changes that it underwent over the decades when it was slightly modified (due to the cultural differences with regard to sleeping and living arrangements). Approximately 159.87m2 (48坪), the building was constructed with the ubiquitous irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造) style of architectural design using a combination of Taiwanese Hinoki (臺灣檜木) and Taiwanese Cedar (臺灣杉木).

The irimoya-style, better known as the “East Asian Hip and Gable roof” (歇山), is one of the most common forms of traditional Japanese architectural design, and is used on anything from Buddhist temples and Shinto Shrines to residences like this one, but tends to vary in the level of decorative elements added to the roof. Plainly speaking, it’s a practical style of design given that the ‘hipped’ section provides excellent stability to the base of the building, while the ‘gable’ section ensures the stability of the roof, with all of its heavy roof tiles. This is accomplished through a genius network of trusses (屋架) located within the ceiling that helps to distribute the weight and support the four-sided sloped hip roof (四坡頂).

To start describing the interior, it’s important to note that traditional Japanese residences follow a basic design rule in that each of them consists of the following three ‘spaces’ - a living space (起居空間), a service space (服務空間), and a passage space (通行空間). 

The “living space” is considerably different than what we’re used to in western standards as what we might consider a “living room” is actually a brilliant multi-functional space where the family can receive guests, hang out, have their meals, drink tea and sleep. This space is typically the most spacious part of the house and features large closet-like compartments with sliding doors in the walls where blankets, decorations and other necessities are stored during the day. 

The “service space” on the other hand could include a number of rooms such as the kitchen, bathroom, washroom, maids room, etc. Finally, the “passage space” generally refers to the the front and back entrances to the house as well as the corridors within, located between the living space and the service space.

As mentioned above, the layout of the residence was altered from its original condition after Hsin Chih-Ping started living there - However, the way it has been restored today has brought it back to its original architectural layout. I’ll provide floor plans below where you can see the changes, but I’m only going to describe the layout as it originally appeared, which is pretty much what you’ll experience today.

The front entrance, or the foyer to the residence is known as a ‘genkan’ (玄關 / げんかん) and features compartments for shoes, umbrellas, etc. The genkan is almost always the only ‘ground level’ section of the house as the rest is elevated on pedestals.

When you walk up the stairs you’ll find a reception room (應接室 / おうせつしつ) to the right, which is culturally-speaking a significant space as it is where family members would receive guests who weren’t extended family, or close friends. It is separate from the main family area and helps to maintain privacy.

One of the interesting architectural differences between homes constructed in Japan and Taiwan at the time were that these guest rooms always faced a specific direction that would allow for the best morning and afternoon light. The ninety degree L-shaped windows in the room were constructed specifically to take advantage of the light, so these ‘guest rooms’ were often used as a comfortable space for tea or coffee, like a second living room.

To the left of the foyer you’ll find a tea room (茶之間 / ちゃのま), which essentially would have served as a dining room space, with a large table for the family to enjoy meals. Next to the tea room was a reading room (書齋 / しょさい), which could have also served as a work space.

Next to the dining room you’d find a maids room (女中室/じょちゅうしつ), which was a living space afforded to the family’s maid. Normally these spaces aren’t very large, but in this house it is almost half the size of the family’s personal living space. It also has its own door to the outside, so the maid could easily come and go without disturbing the family.

Connected directly to the maids room on the western side of the building is an impressively large kitchen (台所 / だいどころ) - This space in particular is one of the areas where you’ll currently find most of the ‘modern’ alterations to the building as it was changed to fit the needs of the family the lived in the house for the three decades after the war.

Completing the ‘service space’ section of the house, next to the kitchen you’ll find a bathroom (風呂 / ふろ) for taking baths and next to that (along the north-western end of the house) you’ll find a detached lavatory (便所 / べんじょ). In old houses like these it wasn’t common to have a full bathroom as we know it today, so these spaces were often separated for convenience.

Regarding the ‘passage space’ mentioned above, the corridors in the house basically stretch around the house in a U-shape that connect the reception room, the exterior of the living space to the kitchen. The corridors on the northern and eastern sides of the building are absolutely beautiful as they feature large paneled windows that would have allowed the family to enjoy a view of the exterior of the building.

One of the most significant design features (as far as I’m concerned at least) for this space is the beautiful ‘engawa’ (緣側/えんがわ) sliding door verandas on the northern side that allow for natural air to enter the buildings, while also offering direct access to the backyard.

The significant thing about the engawa is that you can essentially think of it in three different sections. The top part features windows that you could tilt open, while the sliding doors allowed the panels to slide back and forth. Finally, the lower section features a slide-able wooden panel section that allows fresh air to come into the building. Each of these three sections is part of a genius way to allow a varying amount of fresh air or wind in the building, based on personal preference - keeping in mind that this house was constructed long before air conditioning was invented.

Finally, the ‘living space’ consists of two sections, but is essentially one large open space with sliding panels on several sides for privacy. I’ve seen photos of the space when it still had its sliding panels installed and it was quite pretty, but they’ve since removed them to allow for a much larger and open space.

Suffice to say, it’s not likely that you’ll see the panels these days.

The first of the two sections is known as the living space (座敷 / ざしき), and is essentially a living room where the family could spend time together. Within this space you’d find an alcove referred to as tokonoma (床の間/とこのま) and a chigaidana (違棚 / ちがいだな), which are both spaces reserved for decorative elements of the living space. Within these spaces you’d likely find calligraphy, floral arrangements or simple artistic elements.

The second part of the living space is the area reserved for the family’s sleeping space (居間 / いま), which was essentially just an open space, save for another alcove known as an ‘oshiire’ (押入 / おしいれ), which is where the bedding would have been stored during the day. If you’re a fan of Japanese anime, this is the area of the house where Doraemon famously sleeps and is essentially just a closet with shelves. That space today is blocked by an old bureau where you’ll find photos of the various former tenants of the building over the past century.

In terms of its interior design, the house is much larger than most of the official dormitories that you can visit across Taiwan today. Still, no matter if these old houses are large or small, the interior design is extremely practical and functional with each space reserved for very specific purposes. While some of it may seem far too formal for most westerners, its a traditional architectural design from a hundred years ago when tradition started to meet modernity in a way that we can see how homes have transitioned into what we’re used to today. Some of the spaces within may seem needlessly spacious, especially since you have a large home with only one bedroom, but everything has a purpose and it’s all meant to exist in harmony.

Note the trees and plants surrounding the house

One of the elements that is (for most part) missing today, and rarely mentioned in articles about the place is the garden that surrounds the house. These days, most of the what once existed there has already been lost, but the yard was once impressively home to several lychee trees (荔枝樹), mango trees (芒果樹), longan trees (龍眼樹), banyan trees (榕樹) and pine trees (羅漢松) surrounding the house. Additionally there was a lotus flower pond (蓮花池), and scaffolding for sponge cucumbers (絲瓜棚架) and grapes (葡萄棚架) as well as a chicken coop and a well (where the parking lot exists today.

Some of the trees still exist on the property today, and it’s safe to assume that they were all planted by the original tenant, Principal Oki, who was a passionate gardener. Suffice to say, the trees you’ll find on the property are likewise nearing one hundred years, like the house!

Former Residence of Hsin Chih-Ping (辛志平校長故居)

At this point, it’s probably a good idea to take a minute or two of your time to talk about Principal Hsin Chih-Ping. Born in China shortly after the birth of the Republic of China, Hsin came to Taiwan in his early 30s along with almost two million refugees due to the communist take over over the country, and the retreat of the Chinese Nationalists during the civil war.

Taking the position of principal of the prestigious high school, Hsin’s leadership over a three decade period was one where its liberal approach to education produced a long list of successful business leaders, politicians, artists and even a Nobel laureate. Today, Hsinchu Senior High is one of the nation’s most highly regarded educational institutions, and as I mentioned earlier, is in large part due to the influence of Principal Hsin.

A passionate educator and athlete, Hsin is fondly remembered for his promotion of sports, including basketball and swimming as well as the arts and musical education and most of the photos you’ll see of the man in the house today are photos of him exercising with his students.

Essentially, Hsin took a modern “holistic approach to education emphasizing moral, physical, social and aesthetic education in addition to intellectual education” and his legacy at the school is one that cannot be understated as his influence can be found almost everywhere you go on campus.

Unfortunately there is very little about his life printed in English - I also don’t want to go into too much detail here - but I highly recommend checking out the article linked below, which I just quoted above, as it provides photos and a pretty good idea of how significant the man was.

Link: Opening the Doors to Liberal Education in Hsinchu—The Former Residence of Hsin Chih-ping (Taiwan Panorama)

Designated as a Protected Hsinchu Municipal Historic Property in 2002 (民國91年), the former principal’s residence was preserved thanks to the effort of local civic groups and alumni of the school, who sought to preserve the memory of their famed principal. The house is currently under the stewardship of the Hsinchu Cultural Bureau and is open to the public as a tourist destination to both enjoy the architectural beauty of the home as well as to learn about Hsin Chih-ping’s legacy.

Having lived in the residence for almost all of his professional career, the house offers an intimate look at the life of one of the city’s most well-known and well-loved figures through a number of exhibitions that offer a fitting tribute to his life.

While visitors could spend an hour or two in the house enjoying the exhibitions about Hsin’s life, if it weren’t for a bit of private enterprise cooperation, it would be the kind of tourist attraction where the government would constantly be in the red, given that it doesn’t create much revenue.

So, in order to recoup some of the operating fees, you’ll find a couple of extra attractions.

This kind of situation has become quite normal in recent years as a mixture of public and private cooperation has become formulaic for ensuring that buildings like this can continue to be restored across the country.

If you’re interested in the topic, I recommend you check out my article where I outline the government’s efforts to preserve historic buildings, while taking advantage of private sector partnerships to ensure sustainability.

Link: The role of Public-Private Partnerships in Conserving Historic Buildings in Taiwan

Located to the right of the main entrance to the residence you’ll find a coffee shop named “VWII” which is owned by award-winning barista Chad Wang, offering interior and exterior seating. The coffee shop is an excellent place not only to enjoy some amazing coffee, but also just to sit and enjoy the view of the residence and the nature that surrounds it.

Hours: Open daily from 11:00 - 7:00.

Link: VWI by CHADWANG | VWI by CHADWANG (Facebook)

Next, directly to the rear of the residence you’ll find an interesting Taiwanese-style restaurant named TAIVII, which is the romanized version of “台味” or “Taiwanese flavors.

The concept restaurant offers a modern fine-dining take on a lot of local dishes, and although it looks like it can be quite expensive, the prices are pretty reasonable. Open from Tuesday to Sunday for lunch service (11:00-4:00) and dinner service (6:00-10:00), its a nice dining experience, especially after dark when the mansion is closed and you have the grounds to yourself.

While I’ve yet to personally have dinner at the restaurant, the reviews on Facebook and Google are glowing and the food photos look great. Hsinchu is full of amazing dining options though, so its difficult to choose where to eat! It’s recommended though that if you’re planning on dining at the restaurant that you make a reservation before going to ensure that you get a seat.

Link: TAIVII 餐酒館

Getting There

 

Address: #32 Dongmen Street, Hsinchu City (新竹市東門街32號)

GPS: 24.804380, 120.973920

Conveniently located within the heart of downtown Hsinchu City, the Former Residence of Hsin Chih-Ping is a short walk from both Hsinchu Train Station (新竹車站) and the Hsinchu Bus Terminal (新竹轉運站) making checking it out quite simple.

Not only is a it a short walk from the train station, there is also a YouBike Station next to the residence, so if you’re riding around town on one of the shared bicycles, you can easily park it and go check out the historic culture park and then hop back on and ride elsewhere.

From the train station, you’ll simply turn right and walk down Zhonghua Road (中華路) until you reach the large intersection where the road meets with Dongmen Street (東門街), and you’ll find the residence on the left. Google Maps estimates that it is about a six minute walk to the residence, but I’d say it’s even less than that, unless you get stuck behind a really long red light waiting to cross the road.

If you’re driving a car or a scooter, I recommend inputting the address or the GPS coordinates provided above to help map out your route to the park. If you’re driving a scooter, you should be able to easily find some free roadside parking spots nearby. If on the other hand you’re in the city and you’ve got a car with you, it’s going to be a little more difficult to find a space. If you’re lucky, you might be able to find a spot in the parking lot to the rear of the building, but given its proximity to the train station, spots there are hard to come by. Your best option would be to go to the Dong-da Bridge Parking Lot (東大路橋下中華停車場) nearby where you’re more likely to find a space and from there it’s a short walk to the park.

Keep in mind though that on weekends and during the holiday, it can be difficult to find a spot.

Dong-da Bridge Parking Lot (東大橋下中華停車場)

Address: 新竹市中華路二段270號之1號

While in the area there is quite a bit to see and do. I highly recommend any visitor to Hsinchu check out the City God Temple, Dongmen Market (東門市場), Hsinchu Park (新竹公園) where you’ll find the Hsinchu Zoo (新竹動物園) as well as the Confucius Temple (新竹孔廟) and the Lakeside Ryotei (湖畔料亭) and a number of other attractions in the area.

There’s always a lot to do in the windy city, so you’ll never be bored!

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I’m a big fan of these historic Japanese-era buildings. You’re also likely aware that I’m not always a big fan of the restoration work that has been done on them, as well as the arbitrary usage of the interior space once they’ve been restored. This one has been restored for a few years now, so it’s not as shiny and new as some of its contemporaries, but the architecture of the building is absolutely beautiful and the exhibition spaces inside are modest enough that they don’t get in the way. If you find yourself in the Hsinchu area, I highly recommend a stop by to check out this historic residence and learn a bit about its former owner.

References

  1. 辛志平校長故居 (新竹市觀光旅遊網)

  2. 辛志平校長故居 (Wiki)

  3. 辛志平校長故居 | The Residence of Hsin Chih-Ping (新竹市文化局)

  4. 辛志平校長故居 (新竹市文化資產)

  5. 辛志平校長故居 (國家文化資產網)

  6. 辛志平校長故居 - 開啟新竹自由教育之風 (台灣光華雜誌)

  7. 辛志平校長故居整體再利用規劃 (王惠君, 臺灣記憶)

  8. The Former Residence of Hsin Chih-ping (台灣外交部 / 臺灣記憶)

  9. The Former Residence of Principal Hsin Chih-Ping (Orphaned Nation)

  10. 辛志平 (Wiki)

  11. 大木俊九郎 (Wiki)

  12. 國立新竹高級中學 | National Hsinchu Senior High School (Wiki)

  13. 州立新竹中學校其二 (新竹市地方寶藏資料庫)

  14. 州立新竹中學校其一 (新竹市地方寶藏資料庫)

  15. 辛志平校長故居調查研究暨修復計劃總結成果報告書 (王惠君, 郭英釗)

  16. 新竹州 | Shinchiku Prefecture (Wiki)


Hsinchu Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場)

Years ago, when I first started combining photography with writing about Taiwan, I didn’t really have any idea where this whole blogging thing would take me. I figured I’d simply share photos of places I was traveling to in my free time with a bit of information about them. Then one day, on a scooter trip to Hsinchu, I decided to stop by the yet to be restored Longtan Martial Arts Hall thanks to a tip from a friend. That visit spawned a several-year long research project into Taiwan’s Japanese Colonial era, resulting in visiting almost all of the remaining Martial Arts Halls as well as many other train stations, civic buildings, dormitories, etc. 

What started out as a simple visit to a semi-abandoned building transformed this space into one of the most authoritative spaces on the web that tells the story of these former Martial Arts Halls; Having visited a large percentage of the halls that remain in Taiwan today, I decided to write a general guide so that people could learn more about their complicated history.  

Link: The Martial Arts Halls of Taiwan (臺灣の武德殿)

More specifically, the guide features a list of sixteen remaining halls, most of which have been restored and re-opened to the public as historic tourist destinations. There were a few on the list however that were somewhat questionable as to whether or not they’d ever be restored. The Xinzhuang Martial Arts Hall (新莊武德殿) and the former Hsinchu Juvenile Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場), for example were two that had an uncertain future.

I’m happy to report however that the Xinzhuang Martial Arts Hall is currently being restored, and it should be re-opened within the next year or two. Even better is that the Hsinchu Prison Hall has already been restored and is open to the public. If you know me, I follow these developments pretty closely, and I had seen news and some photos regarding the start of the restoration process of the latter, but I never really expected that it’d be completed so quickly!

I’m happy to report that I’m here with yet another article introducing one of the nation’s newest fully restored Martial Arts Hall - Before I start though, I have to give some mad props to the Hsinchu City Government, which did an amazing job restoring this historic building. Likewise, I have to give them credit for what I consider to be the most informative and comprehensive descriptions of the history and the architecture of the building that I’ve seen. In most cases, I’d find myself stuck in the library of the national archives doing extensive research on the architectural specifics of these buildings, but almost all of the information that anyone needs to learn about the hall is provided within, which is great! 

I don’t consider myself easily impressed given that over the years I’ve observed despite a willingness on the part of the government to spend a bunch of money restoring these buildings, rarely is the due diligence ever done when it comes to telling their story properly. The Hsinchu City Government though has gone above and beyond - and that is something that has observably become the norm as of late as the Hsinchu Aqueduct (新竹街水道取水口), features similarly thorough informative displays.

With the massive Hsinchu Public Hall (新竹公會堂) set to reopen in the near future, I find myself quite optimistic for what the city will do with the space, especially since Japanese-era buildings of its size and importance are about as rare as the Martial Arts Halls.

It seems like there are few places in Taiwan that are doing as well as Hsinchu with regard to its preservation of historic buildings, so I’m sure I’ll be visiting the city quite often in the coming months and years!  

Hsinchu Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場)

In 1900 (明治33年), construction on Martial Arts Halls in Taiwan started with the first in Taipei (臺北州/たいほくしゅう), Taichung (臺中廳/たいちゅうちょう) and Tainan (臺南廳/たいなんちょう) initially meant to assist in the training of the local police in martial arts. It wasn’t until after the “Taiwan Butokuden Branch of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai” (大日本武德會臺灣支部) was established in 1906 however that we started to see these Martial Arts Halls popping up all over the island.

By 1920 (大正9年), the organization was given a directive from the central government to start construction on Martial Arts Halls in each of Taiwan’s prefectures culminating in the eventual construction of more than two-hundred across the Island over the next two decades.

In Taiwan, the halls initially served the purpose of training the police, military and prison guards in Japanese martial arts disciplines. Later, they opened up to the general public in an attempt to train the citizens of Taiwan in Japanese martial arts, as well as instilling "Japanese Spirit," better known as Yamato-damashii (大和魂).

While they weren’t considered civic buildings, the Martial Arts Halls were often constructed in strategic locations within cities and towns close to the governing district. This helped the government to better pass down directives to the organization in addition to ensuring that funding was available to help promote Martial Arts disciplines and Japanese cultural values. 

As I introduced in my guide to Taiwan’s Martial Art Halls, more than two-hundred of these buildings were constructed across the island, varying in size based on their status within the  hierarchy of the organization. Of that total, eleven were classified as “Prison Branches” (刑務所), where staff of the prisons around the island were trained in Martial Arts and self-defense techniques. 

Keeping in mind that the Prison Branches were the rarest of the bunch, its pretty cool that a handful of them continue to exist today, namely the Taichung Martial Arts Hall (臺中刑務所演武場), the yet to be restored Tainan Prison Martial Arts Hall (臺南刑務所演武場) and the former Shinchiku Prefecture Juvenile Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場).

To introduce the history of this nearly one hundred year old building, we first have to talk about the reason for which it was constructed, given that it was just a small piece of the Shinchiku Juvenile Prison (新竹少年刑務所 / しんちくしょうねんけいむしょ), the first of its kind in Taiwan.

Officially established on October 7th, 1926 (昭和元年), the detention centre had a maximum capacity of just over five-hundred inmates, and came fully equipped with recreational facilities, a Shinto Shrine, a church, staff housing (just outside of the walls), and of course the Martial Arts Hall. That being said, official records from the Japanese-era state that even though the facility was where all of Taiwan’s juvenile criminals were imprisoned, there were never more than 350 inmates at any given time.

The history of the prison facility however dates back several decades prior as it was originally the Hsinchu Branch of the Taipei Prison (台北監獄署新竹支署), which opened in 1896 (明知29年). Over next few decades the facility was renamed several times, while also expanding with the construction of new buildings while the colonial government was busy refining Taiwan’s territorial boundaries and civil system. By 1923, the prison was one of the four largest on the island, but was still re-designated three years later into Taiwan’s first Juvenile Penitentiary.

Although it has been repaired, expanded and rebuilt on several occasions, the prison has stayed in continuous operation for 130 years, becoming the Hsinchu Prison (新竹監獄) after the end of the Second World War until now.

As part of the continued expansion of the prison and the facilities that surrounded it, a Martial Arts Hall was constructed within the community of employee housing along the eastern wall. Completed in 1935 (昭和10年), the hall served as a space to assist the employees of the prison in the art of self defense.

As we’ve seen with some of the other Martial Arts Halls around the country, the official name of the hall was a long and convoluted one, officially known as the ‘Hsinchu Juvenile Prison Martial Arts Dojo’ (新竹少年刑務所演武場 / しんちくしょうねんけいむしょえんぶじょう).

While still falling under the operational control of the (equally convoluted) “Taiwan Budoken Branch of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai” (大日本武德會臺灣支部), this particular hall was regarded as an “enbujo” (演武場 / えんぶじょう), or a “Martial Arts Performance Centre” rather than a full-fledged “Budokuden” (武德殿 / ぶとくでん) given that the Hsinchu Martial Arts Hall (新竹武德殿) was located a short distance away.

For those who can’t differentiate between the Chinese characters, it can be a bit confusing given that the majority of Taiwan’s remaining Martial Arts Halls are referred to in Japanese as “Butokuden”.

Link: The Hsinchu Prison Butokuden and Dormitories (新竹演武場) Over The City

It was common however during the Japanese-era to refer to also use either “Budojo” (武道場), “Renbukan” (練武館) or “Enbujo” (演武場) to refer to the halls. Essentially, the naming of the halls, or at least their official designation was part of a formula used to differentiate their structural hierarchy within the organization.  

While the ‘enbujo’ variety tended to be smaller, the key thing to remember is that in their official names you’d still find the words “Butoku Kai” (武德會) preceding the rest of the name - In this case, this hall would have been officially referred to as a “Butoku Kai Enbujo”  (武德會演武場 / ぶとくかいえんぶじょう).

I realize this all might seem a bit confusing, but the Japanese are known for strict adherence to organizational hierarchy, which if you’re able to figure out actually makes sense.

Despite its size, the Martial Arts Hall offered the same classes that you’d find at any of the others around Taiwan with one side of the building reserved for Judo (柔道), and the other for Kendo (劍道). The exterior of the building likewise would have had a space for practicing Kyudo (弓道), otherwise known as Japanese archery.

Suffice to say, the Martial Arts Hall was constructed only a decade prior to the end of the colonial era, so in 1945, when the Japanese relinquished control of Taiwan under the terms of their surrender, the hall ceased being used for its original purpose. After the war, the Chinese Nationalists used it for housing for prison staff as there was a housing crisis caused by the millions of refugees who fled to Taiwan with the incoming regime.

To meet the needs of the residents of the building, alterations were made to its original design over the years making it a shadow of its former self some hideous modern additions that covered up almost all of its architectural design. Suffice to say, the building and most of the dorms that surround the prison were eventually abandoned as they aged, and the residents found more comfortable accommodations elsewhere. 

The Martial Arts Hall was officially registered as a Hsinchu City Protected Heritage Building (市定古蹟) on July 26th, 2012, which by law meant that plans would have to be drawn up to have the building restored.

It ended up taking a few years, but restoration on the building started in the summer of 2018.

Then, after a several year-long restoration project, the Martial Arts Hall officially reopened to the public on November 11th, 2021, a little over three years after the project started. 

Before I move on to introducing the architectural design of the Martial Arts Hall, I’ll provide a brief timeline of events in order to give you a better idea of its history: 

Martial Arts Hall Timeline

  • 1895 (明治28年) - Japan takes control of Taiwan and starts its occupation of the island. 

  • 1896 (明治29年) - The Hsinchu Branch of the Taipei Prison (台北縣新竹監獄署) is established. 

  • 1900 (明治33年) - Taiwan’s first Martial Arts Halls are constructed in Taipei, Taichung and Tainan.

  • 1923 (明治30年) - The Prison is renamed “Hsinchu Prison” (新竹刑務所) 

  • 1926 (昭和元年) - The Hsinchu Juvenile Prison (新竹少年刑務所) is officially established. 

  • 1935 (昭和10年) - The Juvenile Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場) is established.

  • 1945 (民國34年) - Japan surrenders to the allies and control of of Taiwan is given to the ROC.

  • 1945 (民國34年) - The Juvenile Prison is officially renamed Hsinchu Prison (新竹監獄)

  • 1945 - 2012 - The Martial Arts Hall is used as a dormitory for Prison employees (監獄員工宿舍). 

  • 2012 (民國101年) - The Martial Arts Hall is registered as a protected historic building (市定古蹟). 

  • 2018 (民國107年) - Restoration on the Martial Halls Hall begins.

  • 2020 (民國109年) - Restoration on the hall is officially completed.    

  • 2021 (民國110年) - The Martial Arts Hall officially reopens as a tourist attraction. 

Architectural Design

As I mentioned above, this Martial Arts Hall can be considered one of the most ‘complete’ of the few that remain in Taiwan today, given that both the main section of the hall and the annex remain intact. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that in recent years, there has been more emphasis put into ensuring that the larger halls around the country are restored in a way they are as ‘complete’ as this one.

To explain what I mean, when these Martial Arts Halls were originally constructed during the Japanese era, they almost always included an annex building, used as an administrative and living space. Additionally, you were also likely to find space on the exterior of the building reserved for traditional Japanese archery.

When the halls started being restored, almost all of the attention was placed solely on the main hall, leaving the rest of the facility more or less incomplete.

Thankfully, due to the popularity of the Martial Arts Halls as tourist attractions, and the potential for the annex to be used as an exhibition space, or a spot that could be rented out, they’ve started to make their reappearance next to some of the already restored halls. Most recently, the Daxi Martial Arts Hall (大溪武德殿), the Qishan Martial Arts Hall (旗山武德殿), the Changhua Martial Arts Hall (彰化武德殿) and the Taichung Prison Martial Arts Hall (臺中刑務所演武場) are a few examples where the annex was added after the restoration of the main hall.

Link: The role of Public-Private Partnerships in Conserving Historic Buildings in Taiwan

One of the main differences between the halls mentioned above and this particular hall is that the annex building was connected directly to the rest of the building, and was restored simultaneously making it a complete experience. Yet another reason for my high level of praise for the building. 

Officially, the Martial Arts is split into three ‘sections’, but architecturally-speaking it’s much easier to just say its split into two given the difference in the materials used to construct each side.

The Martial Arts side was constructed with a mixture of brick, wood and reinforced concrete, one of the defining characteristics of the period when it was built. The annex side on the other hand was constructed with traditional Japanese architecture in mind in that it was constructed primarily of wood. 

Keeping in mind that this is inherently a ‘east-west fusion’ style building, there are some obvious design differences between the two sections, but it’s important to first note where they are the same: To start, both sections are elevated off of the ground on a concrete base. One of the things that Japanese architects learned quickly upon arrival in Taiwan was that the island’s termites are a feisty bunch so in order to preserve the structural integrity and the longevity of buildings, it was common for all of them to be elevated off the ground. However, given that this is a Martial Arts Hall, the elevation is a bit higher than ordinary buildings as the it features a network of springs beneath the floor allowing for some spring in your step.

This is yet another area where the restoration of the hall shines as it is (currently) one of two where you’ll still find springs beneath the floor, adding to the ‘completeness’ mentioned above.   

The next similarity is that both sides of the building were designed using the traditional Japanese Irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造 / いりもやづくり) architectural design. What this means is that the building makes use of a variation of the ‘hip-and-gable’ roof, and that the base of the building, known as the ‘moya’ (母屋) was constructed in a way that it is much smaller than the roof, but is able to support its weight. In this case, the roof, which isn’t nearly as grand in design as the Taichung Prison Martial Arts Hall only slightly eclipses the base. That being said, the subdued design of the roof doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t a lot going on as it seamlessly ‘cuts’ from the higher section of the Martial Arts Hall to the lower annex section.

This where you’ll find the next important architectural similarity - The roof of the Martial Arts Hall and the annex was designed using the ubiquitous kirizuma-zukuri (妻造的樣式) style, which is one of the oldest and most commonly used designs in Japan. Translated simply as a “cut-out gable” roof, this style of design is one of the simplest of Japan’s various ‘hip-and-gable’ roofs.

The vast majority of the information you’ll find available about the Martial Hall’s architectural design mentions that the roof was constructed using traditional Japanese black tiles (日式黑瓦), but doesn’t really go much further in explaining the finer details of the roof. Fortunately, I’ve been at this for a while, so I’m able to provide a little more in terms of the design aspects of the roof where you’ll find the following as listed on the diagram below.   

  1. Hiragawara (平瓦 /ひらがわら) - A type of arc-shaped clay roofing tile.

  2. Munegawara (棟瓦 /むねがわら) - Ridge tiles used to cover the apex of the roof.

  3. Onigawara (鬼瓦/おにがわら) - Decorative roof tiles found at the ends of a main ridge.

  4. Nokigawara (軒瓦/のきがわら) - The roof tiles placed along the eaves lines.

  5. Noshigawara (熨斗瓦/のしがわら) - Thick rectangular tiles located under ridge tiles.

  6. Sodegawara (袖瓦/そでがわら) - Cylindrical sleeve tiles

  7. Tsuma (妻/つま) - The triangular shaped parts of the gable on the roof under the ridge.

  8. Hafu (破風板/ はふいた) - Bargeboards that lay flat against the ridge ends to finish the gable.

To describe it simply, a kirizuma-style roof has a section that ‘cuts’ out from the rest and faces outward like an open book (入), while the longer part is curved facing in the opposite direction.

In this specific case, if we think of the building as a single structure rather than one that is split in two, it is shaped somewhat like the letter “U”. The highest (and longest) section of the roof curves like an open book with the two ends acting as the ‘cut out’ sections. It then meets with the two branches that face in the opposite direction, which are also curved like an open book.  

Even though I mentioned above that the roof of this Martial Arts Hall isn’t as grand in comparison, it is still quite complicated in its architectural design and it’s 3D-like appearance. I recommend anyone who visits to walk around the entire perimeter of the building so that you can fully appreciate the complexity of its design. 

One thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that the black tiles mentioned had to be completely replaced with newer tiles, so the roof doesn’t as appear as ‘historic’ as it probably should.

You can find some very thorough displays featuring the original tiles within the annex building, which I highly recommend you take some time to enjoy.

Now, let’s talk about how the two parts of the building are different. 

Starting with the Martial Arts Hall side, it was constructed with a concrete base, bricks and reinforced concrete on the exterior and wood within the interior. The front facade of the building makes use of a fusion style of architectural design in that it features Western-style Art-Deco elements with the inclusion of a traditional Japanese-style kurumayose (車寄/くるまよせ) porch directly in the middle of the building.

The porch had to be completely rebuilt during the recent restoration process, and features a similarly designed kirizuma-style roof facing in the opposite direction of the roof above, adding to the three dimensional design of the building. This would have proven to be one of the most difficult aspects of the restoration project as the team would have had to consult nearly century-old blueprints to faithfully reconstruct the portico.

One of the design similarities that you’ll find on this building and others built during the Showa era are the wooden-panel glass windows that mix with the reinforced concrete on three sides of the building. With two of the large windows on each side of the porch on the front of the building as well as three on the eastern and western sides, the windows allow for a considerable amount of natural light in the building when the sun is up. 

Moving on to the interior of the building, the hall is split into two sections (hence the three buildings mentioned above) where half of the building was reserved as a space for Judo (柔道場) while the other half was reserved for Kendo (劍道場). Both sides of the building feature the same hardwood spring floor (彈簧地板) that allows the floor to better absorb the shock of people constantly being thrown around.

The interior space has a height of 270 centimeters in the main building with the total interior space listed as 206.2㎡. What that number unfortunately doesn’t tell us is the exact measurement of space reserved for each section of the building. Even though the Martial Arts Hall is relatively small in comparison to the others around Taiwan, the interior space of the main building remains quite spacious as it was always more or less a completely open space.

Working together with the windows on the three reinforced-concrete sides of the Martial Arts Hall, you’ll find another large windowed section on the side of the building directly opposite to the door. The wooden annex section of the building has two wings that face outward from the rest of hall separated by this space.

The smaller wing on the right is where the restrooms were located, while the larger side on the left was the administrative and living space for those who worked at the hall.  As you pass through the Martial Arts Area you’ll find another door to your left that would have served as the main entrance for those working or living there. Directly next to that porch area you’ll find two rooms with tatami mats on the floor.

The first of the rooms you’ll find in the annex section would have served as a living space, while the room next to that features a “tokonoma” (床の間/とこのま), indicating that it was a sleeping space. These days you’ll find some pretty awesome informative displays about the history and architectural design of the building in these rooms.

As far as I’m concerned, the star of this section is the beautiful ‘engawa’ (緣側/えんがわ) that reaches around the building in what seems like an almost 90 degree angle. Essentially a glass-covered panel with sliding doors, the space is one that absolutely glows in the afternoon sun, and would have made living in the hall an enjoyable experience, especially with the breeze flowing through the veranda when the sliding doors were open.

On a recent visit to the Qidong Dorms in Taipei, I found myself engaged in a long conversation with a volunteer working there, who is somewhat of an expert in Taiwan’s Japanese-era architecture. One of the things that he mentioned that stuck with me was how these 90 degree glass paneled verandas were something that (at the time) you’d only find here in Taiwan given that there were some variations on traditional Japanese architectural design in the colony. While I’m unsure that it is still the case back in Japan, these ‘L’ shaped glass-covered walls were pretty cool and the natural light that they allowed into the building.

Although, I can’t really imagine the terror you would have felt when a typhoon was rolling through town.

Getting There

 

Address: #18-20 Guangzhou Street, Alley #20, Hsinchu City (新竹市北區廣州街20巷20號)

GPS: 24.804621, 120.960528

Hours: Tuesday - Sunday from 9:00am to 17:00pm. 

Car / Scooter

As always, if you’re driving a car or scooter, I recommend copying the address provided above into your GPS or your Google Maps to map out the route most suitable for you. If you’re in Hsinchu, it shouldn’t take you much time to arrive at the hall given that it is located just outside the historic downtown core of the city.

If you’re driving a car, you should be able to find roadside parking nearby on Beida Road (北大路), but you may have to circle around to find a space. Unfortunately, paid parking lots are somewhat of a distance away, so if you find yourself searching for a spot you might just want to go to one of the paid spaces near the jail.

If you’re driving a scooter on the other hand, you can park directly across the street, or in any of the designated scooter parking spaces nearby. You could even park in the alley directly across from the main entrance to the hall if you’re visiting on a day when there aren’t many tourists.

Bus

With a bus stop located directly across the street from the Martial Arts Hall, getting there by bus is one of your best options if you find yourself in town without access to your own means of transportation.

From the Hsinchu Railway Station, you can conveniently take either Bus #10, or Bus #23 to the hall, getting off at the aptly named Service Centre Bus Stop (服務中心站).

Click on the links provided above to access time tables for each of the bus routes.

YouBike

Another excellent way to get around Hsinchu is to enjoy the city on one of the YouBikes that are available for rent. If you arrive in town on the train, you can easily grab a Youbike near the station and explore all that the historic city has to offer at your own leisure.

You may have heard that Hsinchu is somewhat notorious for its chaotic traffic, but riding a Youbike around town is actually quite comfortable thanks to the wide roads.

From the train station, it’s a 1.4km ride to the Martial Arts Hall riding along Linsen Road (林森路) and Shengli Road (勝利路), both of which are large bike friendly roads. There are a number of locations where you’ll probably want to stop along the way, so I recommend using Google Maps on your phone to map out your route so you don’t get lost.

Trust me, Hsinchu is a city where you can easily find yourself losing your way while exploring the historic streets. That’s not entirely a bad thing though.

If you’ve been following all of the work I’ve done on the Martial Arts Halls of Taiwan over the past few years, it should be fairly obvious from this article that I’m quite pleased with the addition of this particular hall the collection. Not only was its restoration and subsequent re-opening somewhat unexpected, I have to give the Hsinchu City Government some massive props for the amazing restoration job as well as the effort put into providing informative and educational materials about the history of the hall, the juvenile prison and the city during the Japanese-era.

What amazed me most were the detailed and graphic heavy descriptions of the architectural design of the hall, something that I often have to spend quite a bit of time researching.

Very few of the other remaining Martial Arts Halls around the country today offer even a fraction of the detailed historic information as this one, so if I’m this impressed, I’m sure others may also appreciate the hard work put into making this Martial Arts Hall a great spot to visit!

References

  1. 新竹少年刑務所演武場 (Wiki)

  2. 新竹少年刑務所 (Wiki)

  3. 臺灣的武德殿 (Wiki)

  4. 新竹州 | Shinchiku Prefecture (Wiki)

  5. 台灣武德殿發展之研究 (黃馨慧)

  6. 市定古蹟「新竹少年刑務所演武場」 修繕動工 (自由時報)

  7. 新竹監獄化身藝文空間!「新竹少年刑務所演武場」開館,一窺日治時期古蹟木構磚造建築特色 (Shopping Design)

  8. 新竹少年刑務所演武場 (國家文化資產網)

  9. 新竹少年刑務所演武場 (Path of Sunrise)

  10. 新竹日治時代監獄變身藝文空間!走進演武場的前世今生 (LaVie)

  11. 新竹武德殿 (The Memory of Hsinchu City)

  12. The Martial Arts Halls of Taiwan


Hsinchu Aqueduct (新竹街水道取水口)

Having visited Rome a few years back, and consequently writing a bunch of blog articles about the city and its history, I quickly learned about the importance of aqueducts, and how access to fresh and clean running water were essential in creating an empire. 

A thousand years later, another empire-in-the-making on the other side of the world had just taken control of its first overseas colony, and found itself faced with the same problems as the Romans. 

When the Japanese took control of Taiwan, they were confronted with a savage environment that had yet to be tamed or developed. It was obvious that the island was a treasure trove of natural resources that would contribute immensely to an empire bent on further expansion, but first the land had to be tamed and infrastructure had to be put in place to ensure that in the long-term, they would be able to reap the benefits of the islands full potential. 

Despite many attempts, no foreign power had been able to occupy Taiwan before the arrival of the Japanese in 1895. Shortly after their arrival they quickly got to work on an ambitious military plan to ensure that they were able to completely control the island. This meant that not only the land would have to be tamed for development, but the people living in the country would have to accept colonial rule.

When it came to the latter, there was massive resistance, and the Japanese did what every other colonial regime has done throughout history - violently silenced any resistance.

That being said when it came to taming the land, it was one of the areas where the Japanese suffered the most, as the vast majority of military deaths in the early years of the occupation were due to unfavorable living conditions, and most notably, constant outbreaks of malaria.

For centuries, malaria had ranked as the most lethal disease in Taiwan, causing the deaths of people as famous as Koxinga (鄭成功), and (possibly) even Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa (北白川宮能久親王), a member of the Japanese royal family and one of the generals who led the Imperial Army’s expedition into Taiwan.

Note: There is considerable debate on the actual cause of his death.

When the Japanese started taking official records, both malaria and cholera were reported as the deadliest diseases in the country. So, to combat these problems, the colonial government invested heavily in developing an effective sanitation system, which included offering running water, sewage, storm drains, and improving the public health situation by ensuring that every community had access to a medical clinic.

They likewise included local citizens in their effort to eradicate the cholera problem by offering a bounty on dead rats, resulting in a somewhat comical situation where people would offer up a collection of rats bodies for a cash reward. 

There are many things that can be said about governance during the Japanese-era, but the pace at which the Japanese developed Taiwan put the word ‘efficiency’ to an entirely new level, and as modern development took place around the island, these often fatal diseases gradually started disappearing, greatly benefitting the people of Taiwan and improving quality of life. 

Part of the effort mentioned above was to start construction on water distribution facilities across the island. Starting in 1899 (明治32年), water services were supplied to Tamsui and within a few years, networks in Keelung, Taipei, Beitou, Changhua, Kaohsiung, Chiayi, Taichung, and Tainan were all gradually added to the list. Amazingly, by 1937 (昭和12年), there were almost ninety cities, towns and villages around Taiwan that were supplied with water service. 

Link: Yuanshan Shinto Shrine (圓山水神社)

And yes, if you haven’t already guessed, one of the factors that contributed to this sudden improvement in quality of life, and the eradication of deadly diseases in Taiwan was thanks to the construction of aqueducts, which made fresh and clean water available to pretty much everyone in Taiwan. 

Today I’ll be introducing the Japanese-era aqueduct in Hsinchu, which has recently been restored and reopened to the public as a culture museum and tourist destination on the growing list of Japanese-era buildings in the city that have been restored.  

Hsinchu Aqueduct (新竹水道取水口)

To better understand the history of the Hsinchu aqueduct, it’s probably a good idea to start by explaining a bit of history about Hsinchu during the colonial era. During that half century period, Taiwan’s administrative divisions were altered quite a few times before everything eventually settled down and became permanent. The reason for this is due to the fact that the boundaries of many of Taiwan’s major cities and towns started taking shape during this time thanks to the the construction of the railway, and the Japanese government’s various urban planning and development projects. 

Prior to the 1920s, Hsinchu was just a small portion of the much larger Taihoku, which spanned from what we know as modern day Taipei to Yilan and as far south as Hsinchu. That all changed between 1920 and 1926 when the colonial government instituted a re-districting scheme, referred to as the Dōka policy (同化), which essentially split Taiwan up into eight prefectures (5州3廳) and aligned Taiwan’s administrative divisions with the rest of Japan. 

As of 1920, Taiwan’s administrative divisions were as follows: 

  • Taihoku Prefecture (臺北州 / たいほくしゅう) / Modern day: Taipei 

  • Shinchiku Prefecture (新竹州 / しんちくしゅう) Modern day: Hsinchu

  • Taichu Prefecture (臺中州 / たいちゅうしゅう)  Modern day:  Taichung

  • Tainan Prefecture (臺南州 / たいなんしゅう) Modern day: Tainan

  • Takao Prefecture (高雄州 / たかおしゅう)  Modern day: Kaohsiung

  • Karenko Prefecture (花蓮港廳 / かれんこうちょう) Modern day: Hualien

  • Taito Prefecture (臺東廳 / たいとうちょう)  Modern day: Taitung

  • Hoko Prefecture (澎湖廳 / ほうこちょう) Modern day: Penghu

If you’re familiar with Taiwan’s geography today, you’ll notice that many of the Japanese-era prefectures remain mostly the same, but some have also been split up. Taihoku Prefecture for example once administered the areas we know today as Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Yilan, all of which are administered on their own these days. 

The Hsinchu of the Japanese era was similar in that Shinchiku Prefecture included Hsinchu City (新竹市), Hsinchu County (新竹縣), Taoyuan City (桃園市) and Miaoli County (苗栗縣). By the 1920s, Shinchiku Prefecture was home to one city (市/街) and eight districts (郡), following the standard structural hierarchy system set up by the re-districting scheme. 

Within that scheme there were three major levels:

  • Level 1: Prefecture (州廳)

  • Level 2: City (市) / District (郡) / Sub-prefecture (支廳)

  • Level 3: Town (街) / Village (莊) / Aboriginal Area (番地)

Old pipes along the side of the building.

Under this districting scheme, Shinchiku’s eight districts were divided up into at least forty five different towns and villages, with a population nearing one million people. 

Why am I mentioning all of this? Well, its quite simple - As Shinchiku grew into one of Taiwan’s more prosperous prefectures, its population rose in kind and the necessity for continued development, and more importantly public sanitation became necessary for the growth of the city.

Fortunately, in 1914 (大正3年) , years before the urban reform policy took effect, the Governor General’s office had already started drawing up plans to construct a network of waterways to supply the area with running water. Those plans however ran into financial difficulties as the construction of water facilities would cost at least 400% of the annual tax revenue collected in Hsinchu, and required various subsidies and long-term low-interest loans from the governor-generals office in order to get the project started. 

Construction on water facilities in the area however didn’t consist solely of the aqueduct that I’m introducing today, but also a nearby mountainside water treatment facility (水源地). Essentially the aqueduct was charged with collecting water from underground wells on the base of Shibajianshan (十八尖山), then sending it for processing to the water treatment facility putting it through the various purification facilities on-site before releasing it for distribution. 

Note: The water-pump facility (a short distance away) has likewise been slated for restoration, so it is likely to also open to the public sometime in the near future.

Once the (extended) planning process was complete and funding was secured, construction on the water system started in 1925 (大正14年), and was amazingly completed five years later in 1930 (昭和5年), providing water service to the growing city for the first time, and likewise assisting in the effort to curb the further spread of malaria. As the city grew however, that single high-powered motor became insufficient, so a second pump room had to be added in 1940 (昭和15年), with the addition to the existing building taking two years to construct.

With so many pieces involved in the water distribution network, construction on the system was a little more complicated than just the completion of the aqueduct building. Unfortunately it is rather difficult to find much in-depth information about the historic Hsinchu Water Distribution system, so after quite a bit of research I’ve gone ahead and translated a bit of a timeline for you including the dates when the projects were started and completed:

  1. Water Collection Well (集水井) - 1925/9 - 1926/11

  2. Aqueduct well (唧筒井) - 1926/2 - 1926/11

  3. Aqueduct pump-room (唧筒室) - 1926/7 - 1927/3

  4. Diversion Well (分水井) - 1926/7 - 1927/3

  5. Sedimentation Tank (沉澱池) - 1926/7 - 1927/5

  6. Sedimentation Well (沉澱井) - 1926/7 - 1927/5

  7. Filtration Pond (濾過池) - 1926/7 - 1927/5

  8. Filtration Well (濾過井) - 1927/7 - 1927/12

  9. Purification Pool (淨水池) - 1928/4 - 1928/10

  10. Water Machine Room (量水機室) - 1928/7 - 1928/11

  11. Pipe-making shop (鐵管敷設) - 1926/3 - 1929/2

Looking back, taking only five years to construct such a complex water distribution network is actually quite amazing, but from the old news articles I’ve read from the archives of the Taiwan Daily (台灣日日新報), the project was ‘delayed’ considerably and the period of construction on every piece of the network had to be extended, which would have been considered a pretty terrible thing for the Japanese authorities, who pride themselves on efficiency.

Construction was completed on February 20th, 1930 (昭和5年), but before turning on the taps, the network went through a period of inspection to ensure its safety before finally turning on water service for the people of Hsinchu City (新竹街) on April 24th of that same year. 

If you’ve arrived here thinking the Hsinchu Aqueduct might appear similar to what you’ve read about in History books with regard to its Roman counterparts, you might be a bit disappointed. This aqueduct doesn’t make use of large bridge-like structures, allowing water to be transported from one place to another; This is because the Japanese had access to something the Romans didn’t - high powered motors.

Essentially, the “aqueduct” was a pumping station (唧筒室) that, as mentioned above collected water from groundwater and underground fresh water sources, as well as the Long-en Water Conservatory (隆恩圳), located directly behind the station. From there the water was transported up-hill to the nearby processing facility and put into one of the six various artificial wells where it would eventually be sent down-hill again to the city. (As depicted in the diagram below)

Given the period when the aqueduct was constructed, it shouldn’t really surprise anyone that its architectural design follows the ‘Art-Deco' style that was popular with the Japanese architects of the era. That being said, as I mentioned earlier, a second pump-room extension was added thirteen years after the construction of the original building, so you’ll notice that there is a slight difference in the architectural styles between the front and rear section of the building.

The reason for the difference is quite simple, the first pump-room was constructed during the heyday of the Japanese Colonial Era, while the second part was added during the Second World War, when the government’s coffers were pretty tight. So when you look at the front section of the building, you’ll notice the beautiful fusion of Western-Japanese design (和洋混合建築風), making use of the flowing Art Deco style, while the section that was added later was just a simple reinforced concrete designed building without much fuss.

The exterior of the aqueduct features beautifully stone-washed beams and a portico entrance that extends from the front of the main building. The mixture of timber and concrete in the design really adds to the building, especially when you’re inside as you’ll notice that the wooden window panes on all four sides of the building allow for a considerable amount of natural light to come into the building, making electric lights pretty much unnecessary during the daylight hours.

Likewise, one of the things that makes this aqueduct stand out from other Japanese-era structures is that even though it appears to be at least two-stories high from the outside, if you enter from the main entrance, you walk into a completely open space that was constructed below ground level. So when you’re inside, the ground-level windows are actually a level above you. Very few buildings from that era were constructed underground, but considering where the pump was located, it was necessary. 

The front portico of the aqueduct building.

Interestingly, when the second pump-room was constructed, it was constructed on ground level only, and although it directly connected to the first pump room, it only featured a partial underground section where piping was located. This was likely part of an effort to save costs in construction, but could have also been thanks to an improvement in water-pump technology. 

Another area where the addition stands out is in the design of its roof, which could be considered a typical Japanese roof. The original pump room had an almost flat roof that made use of gutters to ensure that rain water wouldn’t accumulate on top. The second pump-room on the other hand featured a curved roof constructed primarily of timber and was covered in black roof tiles. When you’re inside the building, you’re able to look up and view the network of trusses and beams that hold the roof in place and help to distribute its weight to ensure stability. 

Looking up at the wooden ceiling

The original pump-station is a 99㎡ (30坪) building while the second pump room added another 79㎡ (24坪) and featured equipment imported directly from Germany and Japan. In the first pump-room, a 90-horsepower fuel-injected motor acted as the main pump with the help of a 75-horsepower back up. Later, the second pump-room added a newer 120-horsepower motor with the ability to pump around 6600 cubic meters of water per hour. 

When the colonial era ended, the aqueduct and the water distribution system was used for another couple of decades, but eventually the population of Hsinchu grew to a point where the water supply became insufficient, requiring the construction of reservoirs in the nearby mountains. This problem was confounded by the founding of the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學工業園區), which likewise required a considerable amount of water resources.

The aqueduct ceased operation in 1981 and shortly thereafter was abandoned. As the years went by, nature took over and the building almost disappeared as it was overtaken by a jungle-like environment. 

The Hsinchu City Government recognized the aqueduct as a protected historic property (市定古蹟) in 2011 and allocated funds for its restoration and conversion into a public museum.

If you click the link below, you can check out some of the photos of the building as the restoration project was first starting. One of the things that you’ll notice is that it was in pretty bad shape after being abandoned, and looks as if it was left open to the elements for quite a while. What confused me however was that someone added statues of standing Buddhas on the roof, with one of them ultimately losing its head for some reason.

I’m not particularly sure what the story was regarding them being placed on the roof, but sometimes these things are really random. 

Link: 新竹水道 取水口 (Blair and Kate's 旅遊與美食)

Restoration on the aqueduct building was completed in 2017, and was reopened to the public as the “Hsinchu Aqueduct Museum” (新竹取水口展示館), allowing visitors to tour the building and learn about the historic of water service in the area.

However, due to recent periods of drought, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the building has gone through frequent periods of closure. 

Ironically there is often a lack of water available at the former water-pumping station!  

The Hsinchu Aqueduct Museum (新竹取水口展示館)

With the restoration of the aqueduct building completed in 2017, the Hsinchu City Government opened up the building to the public as a cultural museum. The restoration process most notably not only included fixing up the old building, but restoring all of the old machinery housed within as well. Today when you visit the museum, you’ll find a number of informative exhibits about the history of water network in Hsinchu, and you’ll be able to check out the old water-pumps as well. 

A visit to the museum admittedly doesn’t take all that long as there are basically only two rooms to check out, but the local government has also provided spaces outside for people of all ages to enjoy, with a water-themed playground on the exterior of the building. 

Unfortunately, the museum is in a bit of an awkward location, and is an area that doesn’t really attract that many tourists as most people who visit Hsinchu tend to stick to areas on the other side of the railway.

It seems like they originally figured that people would be interested in visiting the museum in tandem with a visit to the giant “Taiwan” lantern that was presented at an overseas expo a year back, but declining interest in the expo lantern forced the government to close it up, and they’re currently in the process of demolishing the site.

Nevertheless, if you’re in Hsinchu and you’re looking for something to do, I highly recommend stopping by to check out the beautiful building and the informative displays they have made available.

Visiting is free of charge, and I’m sure that when you visit you’ll be able to enjoy a guided tour (if you’d like one) as the staff there are always happy to receive guests! 

Hours: Open Tuesday - Sunday from 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-5:00

In the future, the aqueduct museum will work hand-in-hand with the nearby Japanese-era water purification facilities that are currently under restoration. When they’ve got the rest of the network opened up for tourism, I’m sure there will be a bit more to see, and for me to introduce here.

Getting There

 

Address: No. 4, Dongshi Street, East District, Hsinchu City (新竹市東勢街4號)

GPS: 24.805520, 120.994270

Car / Scooter 

If you have access to a car or scooter, getting to the Aqueduct Museum should be quite straight-forward if you input the address or coordinates provided above into your GPS or Google Maps. Once you arrive, you’ll find that there an ample amount of parking spaces available for visitors, so you won’t have to worry about looking for a space. 

Public Transportation

If you’re relying on public transportation to get to the museum, you have a few options, but each of them is going to require a bit of a walk as the closest buses stops / trains are a short distance away from the museum. 

If you’re taking a train into Hsinchu, you can either get off at North Hsinchu Station (北新竹站) on a normal train, or Quanjia Station (千甲車站), if for some reason you find yourself on the Neiwan Rail line (內灣線).

From each station you can walk to the museum in less than fifteen minutes. However both stations have access to YouBikes, so you can easily grab a bicycle and ride over, making things easier. 

Link: Neiwan Old Street (內灣老街)

If you prefer to take a bus, you’re a bit more limited in your options, but you have the option of taking Hsinchu Bus #53, Shibo 3 (世博3號) or Shibo 5 (世博5號) to the ‘A-Mart Bus Stop’ (愛買二站) and then walking from there.

My only caution about that is that the ‘Shibo’ buses are limited in their service, and since you still need to walk for about five minutes, I’d recommend just walking from the train station or grabbing a YouBike. 

Even though visiting the Hsinchu Aqueduct Museum won’t take much of your time, it is a pretty cool place to visit as there are very few of these Japanese-era buildings left in Taiwan. There are of course other areas around Taiwan where you can find historic water-related buildings, but this building is able to stand out thanks to its beautiful architecture and for the location where it was constructed.

If you’re in the area, I recommend stopping by to check it out.