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

June 10, 2023 in Japanese Colonial Era, Travel

Over the past year or so, I’ve found myself spending a considerable amount of time researching the history of the railroad in Taiwan. Obviously, much of the rail network that we know and love today is primarily a result of the fifty-year Japanese Colonial Era, so as part of my evolving research and personal interest in that period of Taiwan’s history, I've been traveling around the country taking photos of a collection of century old stations.

That being said, over much of that time, I’ve been focused primarily on a specific group of stations known locally as the ‘Five Treasures of the Coastal Railway’ (海岸線五寶), with the lingering thought in the back of my mind that there are still dozens of others around the country that I’ll eventually have to visit.

When it comes to these things, I tend to be a pretty organized person, so while writing about the Five Treasures, I came to the conclusion (mostly for my own research purposes) that I should compile a list of all of those stations. In this way, I could better allocate my time and ensure that whenever I travel, I’m able to use my time more wisely.

While compiling the list however, I ended up discovering that there are very few authoritative resources that focus on these historic stations, or any that offer a complete list of what actually remains standing today.

To solve this problem, I dove deep into that rabbit hole and compiled a comprehensive list of over sixty historic Japanese-era stations that continue to exist in some form today. The final result is a list that is divided into various sections based on the branch of the railway where you’ll find them, including stations that belong to the historic sugar and forestry lines. Moreover it offers information as to their current operational status as well as their original Japanese-era names. I’ve also added a list of other railway-related sites, including the three former Railway Bureau Offices (鐵道部) in addition to any railway hospital, dormitory, tunnel or railway-related place of interest that has been restored in recent years.

Historic Taichung Station with the current Taichung Station in the background

That being said, I still consider these lists to be a work in progress, and I’m sure that despite my best efforts, I’ve missed something, which will have to be added in the future.

So, if you are aware of a station or important Japanese-era railway site that I’ve yet to add to the list, I’d be more than happy for your feedback as I hope to see the list continue to evolve over time.

Similarly, as I continue to write new articles about these historic stations, I’ll continue to update links.

You might ask why I feel that these stations are important - they’re just train stations, right?

Well, given Taiwan’s complicated history of colonial powers exerting control over the island, there has been an unfortunate erasure of history with each successive regime. Coupled with modern development having little-to-no regard for the nation’s history, a large percentage of what we could consider heritage sites across the country have been lost. Sure, we can easily find places of worship that are several hundred years old, but almost everything else has been torn down at some point in time.

As I’ve already mentioned, the list I’m providing below features some century-old stations that continue to remain in service today in addition to others that have become historic tourist attractions.

With a total of around two-hundred train stations across the country, many of the originals have already been replaced, making those that remain part of a special group of ‘living’ historic sites, worthy of cultural preservation.

Westerners might not consider a century-old building all that significant, but given Taiwan’s chaotic experience over the past two hundred years, any building that has been able to survive for so long deserves some respect. Likewise, it’s important to note that the introduction of an island-wide public transportation network was essentially a game changing moment in the development and industrialization of the island.

The railway not only brought modernity and economic opportunity, but also contributed to cultural and social change with railway stations acting as the beating heart of the modern Taiwanese town or city. Suffice to say, the ‘local railway station’ is often romanticized by many in Taiwan who have fond memories growing up with the trains becoming an essential part of their lives.

As I move on below, I’ll provide a brief introduction to the history of the Japanese-era railway, then I’ll present the lists as well as a map where you’ll find each of the stations.

I hope this list will be of some use to you, but given that I’ve spent a considerable amount of my free time putting it together, and translating all of the names, I hope it won’t just be copied and stolen without contacting me to ask for permission.

Taiwan’s Japanese-era Railway (臺灣日治時期鐵路)

The history of Taiwan’s railway network dates as far back as the late stages of the Qing Dynasty when a rudimentary railway was constructed between Keelung and Taipei in the 1890s, with plans to further expand the line all the way to the south. For many, one of the biggest misconceptions of ‘Chinese’ rule here in Taiwan is that they controlled the entire island. They didn’t, and had little aspiration to expand beyond the pockets of the western coast of the island that they did control.

So when the short-lived First Sino-Japanese War (日清戰爭) broke out in 1894, plans for further expansion of the railway were ultimately abandoned due to a lack of funds, and a lack of interest in the island’s development.

When the Japanese ultimately won that war, one of their demands was that the Qing cede the island of Taiwan (and the Pescadores) to the Japanese empire, which was quickly approved given that many back then considered the island a useless piece of untamed land, full of hostile indigenous peoples.

The Japanese on the other hand saw potential as the island was a massive cache of natural resources. So, in 1895 the Japanese showed up, and quickly got to work on plans to construct a railway network that would allow them to efficiently develop the island for the extraction of its precious natural resources.

Nearing the end of 1895 (明治28年), the colonial regime stationed a group of military engineers known as the ‘Temporary Taiwan Railway Team’ (臨時臺灣鐵道隊) in the northern port city of Keelung to carry out repairs on the existing railway, conduct surveys, and to come up with plans for improvements. Within a year proposals were drawn up to completely re-route the existing rail line from Keelung to Taipei in another direction for better efficiency, and a more ambitious plan known as the Jūkan Tetsudo Project (ゅうかんてつどう / 縱貫鐵道) was born.

Known in English as the ‘Taiwan Trunk Railway Project,’ the planning team sought to have the railroad pass through all of Taiwan’s already established settlements, including Kirin (基隆), Taihoku (臺北), Shinchiku (新竹), Taichu (臺中), Tainan (臺南) and Takao (高雄), a more than four-hundred kilometer railway.

Completed in 1908 (明治41), the railway connected the north to the south for the first time ever, and was all part of the colonial government’s master plan to ensure that natural resources would be able to flow smoothy out of the ports in Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan.

Then, the Railway Department of the Governor General of Taiwan (台灣總督府交通局鐵道部) set its sights on constructing branch lines across the island in addition to expanding the railway along the eastern coast.

Looking at a map of the railway network today, one thing you’ll notice is that the lines appear to completely encircle the island. From the 1910s until 1945 (and in some cases longer), the network appeared more like an intricate spiderweb of lines with industrial branch lines scattered across the island.

As the railway continued to expand across the island, cities and economic opportunity followed, but with limited space, there is only so much that they could construct. Thus, the fifty year period of Japanese colonial rule is often split into two different periods by historians - The period between 1895 (明治31年) and 1926 (昭和元年) is referred to as the period of major railway construction while 1927 (昭和2年) to 1945 (昭和20年) is regarded as the period of railway improvement.

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

The vast majority of the railway network’s stations were constructed during the Meiji Era (明治) from the time that Japan took control of Taiwan until 1911. The Taisho (大正) and Showa (昭和) eras then saw continued expansion of the railway, but for the most part many of the rudimentary stations constructed in the early years of the colonial era were replaced or reconstructed, with many of the stations that we can still see today (on the list below).

There are several factors as to why authorities at the time sought to improve the infrastructure network, but I suppose the most obvious was due to the wear and tear caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, which so commonly take place here in Taiwan. The modern construction techniques and materials introduced during the Taisho era meant that instead of constructing buildings purely of timber, reinforced concrete could then be utilized to ensure a longer life for many of the island’s important buildings.

It was also during this time that the railway network was improved with new bridges, tunnels and train engines all working together to improve the efficiency of the network.

Ultimately, the colonial era came to a conclusion at the end of the Second World War and in the seven decades since, Taiwan’s railway (and public transportation network) has continued to grow with the railway finally encircling the entire island. In recent decades we have also seen the widening of tracks and the electrification of the system. Today, the railway in Taiwan is a well-oiled and efficient machine that is of benefit to every one of the twenty-three million people living in the country and works seamlessly with the High Speed Rail as well as the underground subway networks in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung.

Some pretty horrific things took place during the Japanese era, but it goes without saying that this country wouldn’t be the amazing place it is today if it weren’t for the introduction of the railway.

Now that I’ve said my piece, let's move on to the list of remaining Japanese-era stations.

Taiwan’s Main Lines (營運路線)

Taiwan’s Main Branch Lines, namely those constructed for both passenger and freight services currently consist of three main sections: the Western Trunk Line (西部幹線), the Eastern Trunk Line (東部幹線) and the South-link Line (南迴線). All three of which were planned for construction during the colonial era, yet only the western and eastern lines were completed before the end of the Second World War.

It would take until 1991 for the South-Link Line to finally connect the eastern and western lines, allowing the railway to finally encircle the entire country.

There are of course a number of factors involved, but it’s important to note that the majority of stations on the list below are located primarily along Taiwan’s western coast. The Western Trunk Line running between Keelung and Kaohsiung was completed within a decade of the Japanese taking control of Taiwan, while the construction of the eastern coast railway took a little longer.

The eastern coast of the country is prone to earthquakes, and is affected much more by typhoons than the rest of Taiwan, so it’s understandable that many of those historic stations have been lost over time. It’s also important to keep in mind that the western side of the island has experienced considerably more development than the east, so the number of historic railway stations vastly outnumbers what you’ll find along the eastern coast.

The list of stations below is organized from north to south and ends on the east coast:

1. Qidu Station (七堵車站 / Shichito / しちとえき) - Still in operation (moved)
2. Huashan Station (華山貨運站 / Kabayama / かばやまえき) Not in operation
3. Shanjia Station (山佳車站 / Yamakogashi / さんかえき) - Still in operation (moved)
4. Hsinchu Station (新竹車站 / Shinchiku / しんちくえき) - Still in operation
5. Xiangshan Station (香山車站 / Kozan / こうざんえき) - Still in operation
6. Tanwen Station (談文車站 / Tanbunmizumi / だんぶんみずうみえき) - Still in operation
7. Dashan Station (大山車站/ Oyamagashi / おうやまあしえき) - Still in operation
8. Hsinpu Station (新埔車站 / Shin-ho / しんほえき) - Still in operation
9. Shenhsing Station (勝興車站 / Jurokufun / じゅうろくふんえき ) - Not in operation
10. Rinan Station (日南車站 / Oyamagashi / おうやまあしえき) - Still in operation
11. Qingshui Station (清水車站 / Kiyomizu / きよみずえき) - Still in operation
12. Chuifen Station (追分車站 / Oikawe / おいわけえき) - Still in operation
13. Zaoqiao Station (造橋車站 / Zokyo / ぞうきょうえき) - Still in operation
14. Tongluo Station (銅鑼車站 / Dora / どうらえき) - Still in operation
15. Tai-an Station (舊泰安車站 / Taian / たいあんえき) - Still in operation (moved)
16. Taichung Station (台中車站 / Taichu / たいちゆうえき) - Still in operation (moved)
17. Ershui Station (二水車站 / Nisui / にすいえき) - Still in operation
18. Dounan Station (斗南車站 / Tonan / となんえき) - Still in operation
19. Chiayi Station (嘉義車站 / Kagi / かぎえき) - Still in operation
20. Shiliu Station (石榴車站 / Sekiryu / せきりゅうえき) - Still in operation
21. Nanjing Station (南靖車站 / 水上駅 / Mizukami / みずかみえき) - Still in operation
22. Houbi Station (後壁車站 / Koheki / こうへきえき) - Still in operation
23. Linfengying Station (林鳳營車站 / Rinhoei / りんほうえいえき) - Still in operation
24. Tainan Station (台南車站 / Tainan / たいなんえき) - Still in operation
25. South Tainan Station (南台南車站 Shikenshozen / しげんしやうまへ) - Not in operation
26. Bao-an Station (保安車站 / 車路墘駅 / Sharoken / しゃろけんえき) - Still in operation
27. Luzhu Station (路竹車站 / Rochiku / ろちくえき) - Still in operation
28. Qiaotou Station (橋頭車站 / 橋子頭駅 / Hashikotou / はしことうえき) - Still in operation
29. Kaohsiung Station (舊高雄車站 / Takao / たかおえき) - Not in operation
30. Sankuaicuo Station (三塊厝車站 / Sankaiseki / さんかいせき) - Still in operation (moved)
31. Chutian Station (竹田車站 / Takeda / ちくでんえき) - Still in operation
32. Guanshan Station (關山車站 / Kanzan / かんざんえき) - Still in operation (moved)
33. Bin-lang Station (檳榔車站 / Hinashiki Teijajō / ひなしきていしゃじょう) - Not in operation

Branch Lines (產業鐵路)

Most are surprised to learn that the railway that we know today is actually exponentially smaller than the railway of the Japanese era, which was home to dozens of branches off of the main lines.

Connecting important industries to the main transportation network, today, only a few of these branches remain in service. Most notably, the Pingxi Line (平溪線), Neiwan Line (內灣線), Jiji Line (集集線), and the Alishan Line (阿里山線). For the most part, these branch lines weren’t originally constructed with passenger service in mind, they were primarily used for transporting freight and commodities from their point of origin to the main lines so that they could be brought to port.

The most prominent of these branch lines were the ‘Forestry Lines’ (林業鐵路) and the ‘Sugar Lines’ (糖業鐵路), which were constructed to haul sugarcane and timber, while also providing limited passenger services.

Today, a few of the original stations along those historic lines continue to exist, but for the most part service on these lines have been relegated as tourist attractions as the majority of those rail networks have been removed.

Of those branch lines that continue to provide (limited) service today you’ll find the following:

Sugar: the Magongcuo Line (馬公厝線), the Xihu Line (溪湖線), the Zhecheng Line (蔗埕線), the Baweng Line (八翁嫌), the Xingang East Line (新港東線) and the Qiaotou Line (橋頭線).
Forestry: the Alishan Forest Railway (阿里山森林鐵路), Taiping Mountain Forest Railway (太平山森林鐵道), the Luodong Forest Railway (羅東森林鐵路) and the Wulai Scenic Train (烏來台車).

To offer an idea of the scale of the Japanese-era railway, the network in Taiwan today is measured at 2,025 kilometers in length while the Japanese-era the branch railways would have tripled that total length with the Sugar Railways alone spanning 2,900km in central and southern Taiwan.

Below you’ll find some of those stations that continue to exist in some form:

1. Jing-tong Station (青銅車站 / 菁桐坑驛 / Seito / せいとうえき) - Still in operation
2. Xinbeitou Station (新北投車站 / Shinhokuto / しんほくとうえき) - Not in operation
3. Hexing Station (合興車站) - Still in operation (Completed in 1950)
4. Kanglang Station (槺榔驛 / Kanran / かんらんえき) - Not in operation
5. Xihu Station (溪湖車站 / Keiko / けいこえき) - Not in operation
6. Lukang Station (鹿港車站 / Rokko / ろっこうえき) - Not in operation
7. Jiji Station (集集車站 / Shushu / しゅうしゅうえき) - Still in operation
8. Checheng Station (車程車站 / 外車埕驛 / Gaishatei / がいしゃていえき) - Still in operation
9. Huwei Station (虎尾車站 / Kobi / こびえき) - Not in operation
10. Suantou Station (蒜頭車站 / Santo / さんとうえき) - Not in operation
11. Wushulin Station (烏樹林車站 / Ujiyurin / うじゅりんえき) - Not in operation
12. Yanshui Station (鹽水車站 / Ensui / えんすいえき) - Not in operation
13. Qishan Station (旗山車站 / Kisan / きさんえき) - Not in operation
14. Zhulin Station (竹林車站 / Chikurin / ちくりんえき) - Not in operation
15. Dazhou Station (大洲車站 / Daishu / だいしゅうえき) - Not in operation
16. Tiansongpi Station (天送埤車站 / Tensohi / てんそうひえき) - Not in operation
17. Historic Morisaka Station (萬榮工作站 / Morisaka / もりさかえき) - Not in operation

Alishan Forest Railway Branch Line (阿里山林業鐵路)

One of the Colonial Government’s most ambitious railway construction projects was the Alishan Forestry Branch line, which was constructed to more efficiently transport one of the era’s hottest commodities, Taiwanese cypress (hinoki / ひのき / 檜木).

The branch line has remained in operation for almost a century now, and despite a few setbacks, it remains a popular tourist excursion out of Chiayi. Below, I’m listing some of the Japanese-era stations that remain in operation along the line today.

I should note that there are several ‘stops’ along the way, such as the Sacred Tree Station (神木站), which some may consider to be a Japanese-era station when in fact it is really only just a platform, which is why I haven’t included it in the list.

1. Beimen Station (北門車站 / Hokumon / ほくもんえき) - Still in operation
2. Lumachan Station (鹿麻產車站 / Rokuma-san / ろくまさんえき) - Still in operation
3. Zhuqi station (竹崎車站 / Takezaki / ちくきえき) - Still in operation.
4. Mululiao Station (木履寮車站 / Mokuriryo / もくりりょうえき) - Still in operation
5. Jhangnaoliao Station (樟腦寮車站 / Shounoryo / しょうのうりょうえき) - Still in operation
6. Dulishan Station (獨立山車站 / Dokuritsu-san / どくりつさんえき) - Still in operation
7. Jiaoliping Station (交力坪車站 / Koriyokuhei / こうりょくへいえき) - Still in operation
8. Shueisheliao Station (水社寮車站 / Suisharyo / すいしゃりょうえき) - Still in operation
9. Fenchihu Station (奮起湖車站 / Funkiko / ふんきこ-えき) - Still in operation
10. Duolin Station (多林車站 / Tarin / たりんえき) - Still in operation
11. Shitzulu Station (十字路車站 / Jiyuujiro / じゅうじろえき) - Still in operation
12. Chaoping Station (沼平車站 / Shohei / しょうへいえき) - Reconstructed

Japanese-era railway-related places of interest

In addition to the Japanese-era railway stations that remain in Taiwan, there are also a large number of historically important buildings and places of interest with regard to the railway.

The most prominent of these being the three Railway Bureau Offices, which were the geographically strategic offices for the operation and maintenance of the railway.

There are also quite a few other places of interest, and this is where my list will ultimately continue to grow over time as there are a number of railway-related buildings currently in the process of being restored as well as a number of branch line-related sugar factories, which have been converted into culture parks.

1. Taipei Railway Bureau (台北鐵道部)
2. Hualien Railway Bureau (花蓮鐵道部)
3. Kaohsiung Railway Bureau (高雄鐵道部)
4. Taipei Railway Workshop (台北機廠)
5. Changhua Roundhouse (彰化扇形車庫)
6. Changhua Railway Hospital (彰化鐵路醫院)
7. Luodong Forestry Culture Park (羅東林業文化園區)
8. Taiping Mountain Forestry Railway (太平山森林鐵路)

Map of Japanese-era Railway Stations

Combining the three lists above, the map I’ve created below features all of the stations and Japanese-era railway-related places of interest in one convenient location. This should help you easily identify where you’ll be able to find these historic locations.

Each of spots on the map features basic information about the stations as well as links to articles about them, if available.

As you can see from the modest number of links I’ve provided, I still have quite a bit of work to do with regard to documenting the history of these stations - So, as I mentioned earlier, this article is very much a work in progress, and as I continue to work on a number of other ongoing projects, I’ll try to visit as many of these these historic stations as I can while traveling around the country.

That being said, I hope that this list and the map I’ve created for you are both interesting and helpful.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to get in touch!

Featured

Chiayi Train Station (嘉義驛)

Bao'an Station (保安車站)

Taichung Train Station (臺中驛)

Jiantian Historic Temple (劍潭古寺)

Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區)

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

Ogon Shrine (黃金神社)

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

Erlin Martial Arts Hall (二林武德殿)

Abandoned Tea Factory

Tamsui Police Commissioners Residence (淡水日本警官宿舍)

March 11, 2023 in Japanese Colonial Era, New Taipei City, Photo Post, Travel

I’ve you’ve lived in Taiwan long enough, you may have noticed that the Taipei MRT has changed the romanized name it uses for Tamsui Station (淡水捷運站) on a couple of occasions. Whenever these things happen, it usually follows with heated public debate and questions as to why they’re once again wasting money on these unnecessary changes. Suffice to say, whatever ‘official’ reason is given for the change, most people know that they’re actually politically motivated.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I remember during the most recent incident, one of the reasons given for the change to ‘Danshui’ was that International tourists couldn’t pronounce ‘Tamsui’, so they had to change it to something more recognizable. ‘Danshui’ which is the Mandarin pronunciation romanized into Hanyu Pinyin (漢語拼音) was thought to be more foreign-friendly than the original name of the area, ‘Tamsui’, which is the Taiwanese-Hokkien pronunciation. Nevertheless, the change didn’t last very long as it was quickly changed back.

Given that the area has been referred to as ‘Tamsui’ for hundreds of years, it comes across as a bit odd that there are all of these contemporary naming issues, but Taiwan can be a pretty complicated place at times, and it’s well-known that the Chinese Nationalists were never really big fans of the local language. The irony however, is that during the Japanese-era, the original name remained exactly the same. During that half-century period, ‘Tamsui’ (淡水) simply became known as Tansui (淡水郡 / たんすゐぐん), the Japanese pronunciation of the original name.

Geographically, the Tamsui District (淡水區) of today is considerably smaller than the Tamsui District (淡水郡) of the Japanese era, in that the latter consisted of districts that currently make up New Taipei City’s Shimen District (石門區), Sanzhi District (三芝區) and Bali District (八里區) - known during the Japanese era as Sekimon-sho (石門庄 / せきもんょう), Sanshiba-sho (三芝庄 / さんしょう) and Hachiri-sho (八里庄 / はちりしょう) respectively. The district also included the main town of Tansui (淡水街 / たんすいまち), where a considerable amount of commerce and international trade was taking place.

The area ended up being so vital to the Japanese colonial government that they quickly got to work on the construction of the twenty kilometer-long Tamsui Branch Line (淡水線 / たんすい) that followed the east bank of the Danshui River from the capital. The railway was a game changer for the district, which originally acted as a port of trade with China, in turn sending products down the river into Dadaocheng (大稻埕) or Bangkha (艋舺). The completion of the railway in 1901 allowed for a more efficient process of getting things to the capital, making the port town an important one for the colonial government with regard to transporting things from the Japanese mainland to Taiwan, easing some of the congestion from the other northern port in Keelung (基隆). More importantly however, the branch railway kept the people of the area connected with the capital in a way that ensure that it would always remain an important part of Taipei.

Note: The Tamsui Line consisted of the following stations: Daitotei (大稻埕), Hokumon (北門), Taihoku (台北), Taishogai (大正街), Soren (雙連), Maruyama (圓山), Miyanoshita (宮ノ下), Shirin (士林), Kirigan (石牌), Hokuto (北投), Kanto (關渡), Chikui (竹圍) and Tansui (淡水). For those unaware, these historic stations, which were in service from 1901 (or added in 1915) and make up much of what is today the Red Line (紅線) of the Taipei MRT, which replaced the original railway.

The ability to maintain it’s economic prosperity meant a lot for the people of the area, which is something that continues to be celebrated today with both domestic and international tourists making their way from the city to enjoy the Tamsui Old Street, it’s beautiful riverside, and a large number of historic buildings and tourist destinations. The prosperity enjoyed by the people of Tamsui during the colonial era is clearly visible along the old street today, where the architectural design of the buildings is indicative of what we’ve come to expect from any of the historic “Old Streets” (老街) that have been converted into tourist destinations.

Covering an area of 227km², and with a population of nearly 60,000, Tamsui was one of the many districts under the governance of Taihoku Prefecture (台北州 / たいほくしゅう). In 1920 (大正9年) however, the colonial government refined and redistricted Taiwan’s geographic and administrative system. This was when ‘Tansui District’ (淡水郡), or county depending on your translation, was brought to life. The changes in administrative control required the construction of a new town hall, namely the Tamsui Town Office (淡水郡役所 / たんすゐぐんやくしょ) in addition to a number of new civic buildings in the port town including the post office, telecommunications office, etc. Likewise, even though there was already a police presence in the area, the redistricting now meant that police service in the area would be carried out by the local Tamsui Police Branch (淡水郡警察課) of the Taihoku Prefectural Police Service (台北州警務部).

All of this new local governance brought with it a number of important positions that had to be filled, similarly requiring a number of new official residences. While there were already a number of official residences in the area made available for teachers, police and other civil servants, the redistricting required the construction of housing for the mayor and the police chief, among others. Unfortunately, unlike a lot of other areas around the country, many of these official residences in Tamsui have already been torn down to make way for modern construction projects, making the few that remain quite important. Today, I’ll be introducing one of them, namely the former residence of the Tamsui Police Chief.

Recently restored and re-opened to the public as a tourist destination, the house is one of the few remaining wooden residences in Tamsui today, and given its proximity to the old street, it makes for an interesting stop if you find yourself in the area for the day.

As always, I’ll start by explaining the history of the residence, followed by its architectural design, and then end by offering directions on how to get there.

Tamsui Police Chief’s Residence (淡水日本警官宿舍)

Coinciding with the establishment of Tamsui District in the 1921 redistribution of Taiwan’s administrative regions, a number of buildings were constructed within the port town to facilitate the administrative upgrade the town was receiving. One of those buildings was the official residence provided to the district’s Police Chief.

Constructed a short distance from the Town Office mentioned above, the modest residence was built on the side of a hill that overlooked the bustling commercial area of Tamsui and the river, with a nice view of Guanyin Mountain in the distance. In terms of it’s size, the Japanese-Western fusion style residence was modest to say the least, especially in comparison to some of its contemporaries.

Unfortunately for all of the Police Chiefs who served in Tamsui over the next two and a half decades of the colonial era, and then into the post-war era, the building was constructed a year prior to the Governor General’s Office enacting a law (台灣總督府官舍建築標準) regarding official building standards in Taiwan - Those new standards specified a clear set of regulations regarding the size of buildings provided for civil servants of various ranks, divided between Senior Officials (高等官 / こうとうかん) and Junior Officials (判任官 / はんにんかん). Meant to improve the living standards in the housing provided for civil servants as well as to encourage staff to work hard and earn a promotion in order to receive more comfortable housing for their families.

Granted, the Police Chief of Tamsui District wouldn’t have been on the same level of the bureaucratic hierarchy as the Police Commissioner of Hsinchu, but if you compare the two residences, you’ll notice a considerable difference in their size.

Link: Shinchiku Police Commissioner's Residence (新竹州警務部部長官舍)

According to my research for the article linked above, under the new housing system, the Police Commissioner’s Official Residence was classified as a Level Two Senior Official (高等官官舍第二種) house, meaning that the building should be at least 165㎡ (50坪) in size accompanied, by a plot of land that was at least 1003㎡ (303.5坪). The Tamsui District Police Chief (淡水郡警察課長), however would have been considered a Level Four Senior Official (高等官官舍第四種) and thus would have been afforded a residence up to 109㎡ (33坪) in size, with a plot of land up to 440㎡ (132坪). Constructed a year prior to the new regulations, the residence is 73㎡ (22坪) in size and the total size of the land is 241㎡ (73坪), considerably smaller than it would have been if it were constructed a year later.

If you’re wondering why I’ve gone off on this size tangent, the answer comes in a few different forms - The first being that it would have been one of the reasons that the position as the Police Chief of Tamsui district would have been considered a stepping-stone to something bigger and better. This will become more obvious in the list of residents I’m providing below. The second reason is that in the post-war era, the residence continued to be occupied by the local police chief, but when the housing crisis in Taiwan (brought on by the influx of several million Chinese refugees) stabilized, officials elected to find their own housing.

Below you’ll find a list of the residents of the building during the Japanese era, or at least from 1921-1945. You’ll notice there was quite a turn around for these Police Chiefs, but it’s not that the job was terrible, as mentioned above, it was essentially a position that would have propelled people to bigger and better things. In each case though, whether it was for a few years, or a few months, the residence was made available to the chief and his family.

Japanese-era Residents (淡水郡警察課長)

1921 (大正10年) 竹內健藏
1924 (大正13年) 高橋秀二
1924 (大正13年) 手貝千代志
1925 (大正14年) 倉持泰
1926 (昭和元年) 高橋政吉
1927 (昭和2年) 小泉清
1928 (昭和3年) 蘆田俊
1931 (昭和6年) 酒井林藏
1936 (昭和11年) 金丸繁治
1938 (昭和13年) 清水增吉
1939 (昭和14年) 久保田豐太郎
1941 (昭和16年) 神代文治

When Japan surrendered at the end of the Second World War, the shame of defeat was too much for some of it citizens, especially for some of the police who had also served as members of the military. In what is possibly the first case I’ve come across where something like this happened, the humiliation of defeat was so unbearable that two of the residents of the house hung themselves inside, which would cause some complications during the post-war era.

From what I found during my research, the residence continued to serve as the official residence for the Police Chief of Tamsui in the post-war era - The thing is though, that no one lived in the building until a few years after the arrival of the Chinese Nationalists. Given the housing crisis that took place in the early years of the Nationalists retreat to Taiwan, it’s a bit strange. The reason for this, I’m assuming was based on a couple of different reasons - The first is that the house was constructed on the site of a Qing-era graveyard. The second is that the two Japanese who hung themselves in the building would have made it a ‘haunted house’ (凶宅) according to Chinese cultural standards.

It wasn’t until 1951 (民國40年) that the house started being occupied again. Similar to what happened during the Japanese era, the men who served as Police Chief in Tamsui only ever lasted for a few years, with the house being occupied by a number of police chiefs, including Sun Zhao (孫肇), He Qi (何琦), Chang Yifei (張一飛), Chang Jianxun (張建勳) and Jin Fuhai (金福海). Going back to a point I made earlier though, as the housing situation stabilized in Taiwan, few actually wanted to continue living in the residence provided to them.

Thus, the last official residents of the building were the Deputy Police Chief (淡水警分局副分局長), Jin Fuhai and his wife Lin Meimei (林美美) who moved into the residence in 1968 (民國57年). Living in the house long after the death of her husband, Lin Meimei enjoyed the comfort of the historic building for well over four decades until she moved out in 2007 (民國96年). Ms. Lin could have lived out the rest of her life in the house, but even though she absolutely loved all the time she spent there, she also recognized that if she continued living there, the nearly one-hundred year old historic property would eventually be lost completely, like so many of Taiwan’s other historic buildings. Vacating the residence in 2007, the building was quickly registered as a protected New Taipei City Historic Property (新北市歷史建築) that same year, with plans to have it restored.

Sitting abandoned for over half a decade, Ms. Lin was unimpressed with the long bureaucratic process that slowed down the restoration of the building and it’s reported that she pressed authorities on several occasions throughout the years to start the restoration work before it was too late. Still, it took until 2013 for the government to send researchers to the building to start the process of documenting the building and coming up with a plan for its restoration. The restoration proposal was completed in 2015 and the government opened up a tender for companies to bid on the project. Finally, twelve years after Ms. Lin moved out, the historic residence was reopened to the public in December of 2019 under the operational control of the Tamsui Historical Museum (淡水古蹟博物館), which curates a number of exhibits within the many historic buildings in the area.

Although it may seem like I was criticising the size of the building earlier, it is actually one of the buildings strongest aspects at the moment as they haven’t been able to fill it with a bunch of pointless exhibition pieces; It’s possible that this could change in the future, but during my visit, I highly enjoyed that the few things put on display within the building focused solely on its history and architectural design. They didn’t add a bunch of needless display pieces to take up space, they just left the building open, which allows visitors to enjoy the space a lot more than a lot of the other buildings that have been restored in recent years.

Now that I’ve gone over a bit of the history of the building, I’m going to spend some time explaining its architectural design.

Architectural Design

I had a bit of a good time with some of the ‘official’ descriptions of the residence’s architectural design, especially those coming from the government - Described as a fusion-style of architectural design, some of the information available about the building from the tourism bureau will claim that it is a fusion of Japanese, Western and Taiwanese design. While that is partly true, the building was originally designed as a Japanese-Western fusion (和洋並置), with what I suppose you could refer to as ‘Taiwanese’ elements added to the building in the post-war era.

The problem with describing these additions as ‘Taiwanese’ elements however doesn’t give much credit to Taiwanese architectural design. The residence was expanded during the stay of Police Chief Sun Zhao (孫肇), who lived there for seven years from 1951-1958. The expansion which merely added a reinforced concrete section to the back of the house provided a bit more space, but wasn’t inherently ‘Taiwanese’ in design, so I’d go as far as to say that anyone who makes these claims is doing a disservice to traditional Taiwanese design.

For you naysayers, I assure you, there is far more to Taiwanese architectural design than the pouring of concrete.

Not sure what happened here. It’s probably where the restoration team removed some of the additions.

As mentioned above, the residence is a total of 73㎡ (22坪), making it quite small in terms of Japanese-era houses. Nevertheless, the layout of the building adheres to traditional Japanese architectural design with the interior space divided into three separate spaces, a living space (起居空間), a service space (服務空間) and a passage space (通行空間). To explain, the “living space” is essentially a multi-functional space where the residents spend time together having meals, drinking tea and sleeping. The “service space” on the other hand includes a number of functional spaces including the kitchen, bathroom, washroom, etc. Finally, the “passage space” generally refers to the various entrances, and the corridors within. One of the important things to keep in mind with regard to traditional Japanese-style residences like this is that the fusion of all three of these spaces skillfully separates the ‘public’ parts of the home from the ‘private’ through the usage of walls, sliding doors and corridors that reach around the building.

As I’ve done in the past, I’ll make use of the floor plan to briefly introduce each of the various spaces within the residence to better explain their function. To make things easier to understand, I’ve numbered each of the space on the plan above so that you know which part of the house I’m referring to:

Passage Space (通行空間)

(1) The front entrance, or the ‘foyer’ to the residence is known in Japan as a ‘genkan’ (玄關 / げんかん), and features compartments for shoes, umbrellas, etc. The foyer is located on ground-level as opposed to the rest of the building, which is elevated. Once you enter the building you’ll find a set of stairs that brings you up to the core parts of the building. As part of the separation of the public and private parts of the home, the foyer has two doors, one directly ahead that leads to the private space and another on the left that leads to the reception room.

(2) Regarded as a ‘transitionary’ space, the ‘toritsugi’ (取次 / とりつぎ), or the second foyer was directly in front of the main entrance to the residence. Once you walked up the stairs to the main area, you’d find a small space with another set of sliding doors that opened up to the tea room. This space is somewhat ceremonial, but also functional in that it offers another storage space for coats, while the space below was reserved for shoes and umbrellas.

(3) What I’d consider the best part of living in this house, and the part of every traditional Japanese home that I appreciate the most is what is know as the ‘engawa’ (緣側/えんがわ). This is essentially a wide corridor on the side of the building that overlooks the river and features sliding glass doors that open up to the yard in addition to sliding panels that open up to the living space, with another door connecting to the guest space. The sliding glass doors would have allowed for a significant amount of natural air to breeze through the residence, offering a natural air conditioner of sorts, but the best part of this space is that the residents could spend hours sitting on the covered veranda watching the hustle and bustle of the street below as well as the boats passing by in the river.

Finally, within the building you’ll find a number of corridors that connect each of the spaces with each other. I haven’t listed each of them on the photo above, but the ‘rou’ (廊 / ろう) are essential in these buildings as they play an integral part in separating each of the spaces. Most of them are located on the northern and southern sections of the building, with the middle section reserved as the living space.

Living Space (起居空間)

(5-6) Within the private area, you’ll find the most spacious area of the home, which is typically separated into two sections known as the ‘zashiki’ (座敷 / ざしき) and the ‘ima’ (居間 / いま), which together act as what we’d consider a ‘living room’ and a ‘bedroom’ however, they’re a bit more complex than that. Within the ‘ima’ section, which acts as the sleeping space, you’ll find alcoves known as ‘oshiire’ (押入 / おしいれ), which are used for storing bedding during the day.

Likewise, within the ‘zashiki’ you’d find similar alcoves known as tokonoma (床の間/とこのま) and chigaidana (違棚 / ちがいだな), which are both spaces reserved for decorative elements of the living space. In these traditional homes, sleeping spaces were communal, and the living space was used by the family as a space to hang out, or entertain close friends.

The important thing to remember is that during the day all of the clutter would have been stored away, making these two spaces quite open and enjoyable. One of the things to take note of when you’re in the living space are the sliding wooden panels that can be closed to separate the two spaces. These panels are said to be originals and feature some beautiful calligraphy-style paintings on either side.

(7) Separated from the foyer and the waiting room by a sliding door, you’d find what was known as the tea room (茶之間 / ちゃのま), which essentially served as the dining room as it was connected directly to the kitchen. In smaller residences like these, the tea room also acted as a reading room (書齋 / しょさい) when the larger reception space wasn’t being used.

(8) One of the spaces that was extended over the years, the ‘ousetsushitsu’ (應接室 / おうせつしつ) could go by a number of names in English; Essentially it was a meeting room, or a space where residents could receive guests. Over the years, the various Police Chiefs likely received guests during their off-hours to discuss work-related issues. Separated from the private area of the living space, it was connected to the rest of the house by the ‘foyer’ and the ‘veranda’ making it easily accessible whenever anyone visited. This is one of the ‘fusion’ areas of the house though as it was also considered a ‘western style’ living room with sofas and later a television, etc. Located in the southern corner of the house, the room would have had a nice view of the river and the afternoon sun.

Service Space (服務空間)

Finally, the ‘service space’ is admittedly the most difficult space of the building to explain, as most of it is not open to the public. These space were restored along with the rest of the building, but are currently occupied as spaces by the administration of the building as storage space. Nevertheless, for clarity sake, the service space included the (9) lavatory (便所 / べんじょ), the (10) kitchen (台所 / だいどころ) and the (11) bathroom (風呂 / ふろ). Truth be told though, tourists aren’t probably all that interested in checking out a one-hundred year old bathroom, right?

Now that I’ve explained the interior, let’s take a few minutes to talk about the exterior of the building. Constructed in the irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造) style of design, which basically means that the base of the building is smaller than the roof, the weight of which is supported by a network of trusses (屋架) in the ceiling that helps to support the weight of the four-sided sloped hip roof (四坡頂). However, when you look at the roof from above today, it is clear that the shape of the original roof has been altered considerably. Likewise, the the original roof tiles were replaced with plastic-looking tiles and the onigawara (鬼瓦) end tiles have all been replaced. Also, the wooden shitamiita (下見版 / したみいた) siding on the buildings has been replaced. They are currently quite dark in color, but as they age the colors will fade.

Although the additions to the building over the past century have increased its size, they have also altered the original shape. The space in front of the veranda is quite narrow as it overlooks the hill, while the space on the ends of the building on the kitchen side as well as the meeting room side have reduced the size of the space in the yard. These additions however haven’t really been reflected well in the restoration of the building, which offers a pretty good view of what the building would have originally looked like, with the additions making up the administrative sections of the building.

Getting There

Address: #5, Alley #12, Zhongzheng Road, Danshui (新北市淡水區中正路12巷5號)
GPS: 25.170740, 121.439940

Located within the heart of Tamsui’s Historic Old Street (淡水老街), the former Police Chief’s dorm sits on prime real estate just to the rear of what would have been one of the most important places of worship in town. A short walk up a set of stairs to the rear of Fuyou Temple (淡水福佑宮), otherwise known as the Tamsui Mazu Temple (淡水媽祖廟), the former residence is within walking distance of both the Tamsui MRT Station (淡水捷運站) as well as the Tamsui Ferryboat Wharf (淡水渡船碼頭), making getting there rather easy.

Taking into consideration that the Tamsui Old Street is quite narrow, your best option for getting to any of the tourist destinations in the area is to simply walk. The stretch of Zhongzheng Road (中正路) where the temple is located is quite narrow, making it difficult for buses to get in and out, but makes it great for pedestrian traffic with wide sidewalks.

From the Tamsui MRT Station, the walk to Fuyou Temple is about 550 meters, an estimated six minute trip according to Google Maps. To get there simply walk out of the MRT station and walk straight until you find yourself on Zhongzheng Road. Once you find yourself on the Old Street, simply walk straight until you reach Fuyou Temple. On either side of the temple you’ll notice a set of stone stairs that leads you up behind the historic temple to the residence, in addition to a neighborhood that overlooks the harbor and is close to a number of other historic tourist destinations.

While you’re in the area, in addition to the historic old street and the riverfront, you may want to also consider visiting the Tamsui Longshan Temple (淡水龍山寺), Tamsui Qingshui Temple (淡水清水巖), the Tamsui Customs Officers’ Residence (小白宮), the Tamsui Presbyterian Church (長老教會淡水教會) and the Huwei MacKay Hospital (滬尾偕醫館), all of which are within walking distance of the old street. Similarly, you may also want to visit Fort San Domingo (淡水紅毛城), the Tamsui Martyrs Shrine (新北市忠烈祠) or the Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf (淡水漁人碼頭), which are both a little further away.

Recently restored and reopened to the public, the Japanese-era Police Chief’s residence is probably one of the lesser known of Tamsui’s tourist attractions, but that also makes it one of the most relaxing places to visit. There isn’t a whole lot to see when you visit the house, but the building has a great view of the harbor and you may want to sit on the veranda to take a break from your travels prior to moving on to your next destination. If you find yourself visiting on a hot day, the respite from the sun should be a welcome-enough experience for a weary traveler, especially with the peace and quiet offered by the house.

References

淡水日本警官宿舍 (Wiki)
淡水郡 | 淡水街 | 台北州 | 淡水線 (Wiki)
淡水日本警官宿舍 (淡水維基館)
淡水日本警官宿舍 (國家文化資產網)
新北市歷史建築淡水日本警官宿舍修復或再利用計畫 (新北市政府文化局)
終於修復完工！淡水「日本警官宿舍」開放參觀，重現日治時期「和洋折衷式」建築風貌 (Shopping Design)
淡水重建街添一好拍景點超美日本高階警官宿舍今開放 (新北市政府警察局板橋分局)
日本警官宿舍見證日本警察統治的漢人社會 (國家文化記憶庫)
淡水老街又ㄧ重要歷史建築將獲保存前縣議員林美美老宿舍可望指定為歷史建築 (許慧明 / 淡水文化基金會)

Gallery / Flickr (High Res Photos)

Featured

Feb 8, 2025

Chiayi Train Station (嘉義驛)

Feb 8, 2025

Jan 4, 2025

2024 in Review

Jan 4, 2025

Oct 13, 2024

Bao'an Station (保安車站)

Oct 13, 2024

Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館)

January 14, 2023 in Japanese Colonial Era, Photo Post, Taipei, Travel

When it comes to my personal time, it’s rare that I ever find myself with nothing to do. Over the years I’ve curated a long list of places to go, things to do, and restaurants and coffee shops to check out. So, no matter where I find myself in Taiwan, I’m never far from somewhere I want to visit.

Something I’ve had to learn the hard way however, is that it is important to confirm that the places I’d like to visit are actually open to the public prior to leaving home. On far too many occasions, I’ve shown up only to find a locked door resulting in disappointment. To solve that from happening, I’ve had to further organize my list based on various factors and variables that most people would likely consider far too obsessive.

At the top of my list, you’ll find some of the nation’s most elusive destinations, and are those that are essentially only open to the public on special occasions - Places such as the Presidential Palace and other historic Japanese-era buildings in Taipei for example, which are currently home to important government offices, are some of the most difficult to check out, and if and when they’re open to the public, advance notice is often required for a permit for my camera gear. That being said, even though it seems like a hassle, when I’m able to check one of these destinations off my list, I rarely ever find myself disappointed.

So, when the opportunity presented itself to make a long-awaited visit to the ‘Taipei Guest House’, I woke up bright and early, hopped on a bus to Taipei, and spent a half day enjoying the absolute beauty of one of Taiwan’s most important heritage sites. Having been at the top of my list for what seemed like years, it’s one of those buildings that is only ever open to the public on special occasions, and unfortunately for me, when it is open, I’m usually stuck at work. That being said, there are (arguably) very few historic buildings in Taiwan that are able to compare to the spectacular architectural beauty of the Guest House, so with the rare opportunity to visit, I made sure to make the most of my time and also made sure to get all of the photos that I needed as I wouldn’t be able to visit again for quite some time.

Given how difficult it is to visit, I probably shouldn’t have been all that surprised to discover that there are very few authoritative resources available regarding the building and it’s history. So when I started the research portion of writing this article, there wasn’t a whole lot to rely on, save for an unusually detailed Wikipedia entry, and the typical information provided by the Ministry of Culture, which maintains open-source documents on most of the nation’s heritage sites.

Most of my go-to resources for the research I do weren’t offering much assistance, so this one required a trip to Taipei to the National Archives for some additional research as well as a trip to the library of Chung Yuan University (中原大學) to check out the work of one of the university’s professors, who has written extensively on the subject. I’m not really complaining though, visiting the archives is one of my favorite things to do as it is a treasure trove of invaluable information.

The Taipei Guest House, which was originally the Governor General of Taiwan’s official mansion, has played an important role throughout history - hosting important dignitaries such as members of the Japanese royal family, in addition to hosting diplomatic receptions and ceremonies for foreign dignitaries. So, for a building of such historic significance, I’m going to attempt to do my best to tell its story, properly and I hope that the photos I took during my visit do it justice.

I’ll start out by detailing the history of the Governor General’s Mansion and it’s architectural design, then move onto it’s post-war role as the Taipei Guest House, and end by offering information about how you can visit as well. By the end, I hope that if didn’t die of boredom reading the article that you’ll be inspired as inspired as I was to visit, when the building is open!

Taiwan Governor General’s Mansion (臺灣總督官邸)

By 1899 (明治29年), four years into Japan’s occupation of Taiwan, the colonial government had initiated a significant number of urban development projects around the island, hoping to be able to more efficiently bring the island under its control, as well as extracting its rich natural resources. The development projects included public works, a railway, civic buildings, and the reshaping of the towns and villages that would make up Taiwan’s future cities. In the capital, Taihoku, the government had been busy tearing down the Qing-era City Walls, and pretty much anything that stood in the way to make way for the ‘Chokushi Kaido’ (勅使街道 / ちょくしかいどう), otherwise known as the Imperial Road. That road, which is known as Zhongshan North Road (中山北路) today, essentially started in the location where the Governor General’s Mansion was planned to be constructed and went all the way to where the Taiwan Grand Shrine (臺灣神宮 / たいわんじんぐう) would be constructed, all for the purpose of allowing anyone visiting from the royal family to take a direct route from where they were staying to the shrine.

With the construction on the shrine and the mansion meant to start and completed at the same time, the thought was that these two symbols were meant to put Japan’s ‘power’ and ‘modernity’ on display, helping to convince the people of Taiwan that they were better off under the stewardship of the empire. The Governor at the time, General Kodama Gentaro (兒玉源太郎 / こだまげんたろう), who is remembered fondly for his eight year tenure contributing to the improvement of Taiwan’s infrastructure and the general living conditions, argued that the mansion was meant to symbolize the power of the emperor, and that no expense should be spared to ensure that it would be as imposing as it was beautiful.

Financed directly by the Japanese treasury, the high cost of constructing the mansion became a contentious issue back in Tokyo, especially given that some of the funds allocated for the Grand Shrine were being used for the mansion. Thus, Governor General Kodama’s right hand man, Gotō Shinpei (後藤新平 / ごとうしんぺい), who was the head of Taiwan’s Civil Affairs Office (台灣民政長官) at the time, was recalled back to Tokyo to explain personally to the Japanese government.

The mansion from the front gate, what is now the roundabout on Ketagalan Boulevard

While the grilling he received from the Imperial Diet probably wasn’t his idea of a good time, Goto reiterated that the mansion represented the authority of the emperor in Taiwan, and given that few Taiwanese understood Japan’s power and prosperity, the stateliness of the mansion would help to convince them that they were part of something much larger and prosperous than they could have imagined.

Designed by architects Togo Fukuda (福田東吾 / ふくだとうご) and Ichiro Nomura (野村一郎 / .のむらいちろう), who are also credited with quite a few other buildings in Taiwan, the Governor General’s Mansion was completed on Sept. 26, 1901 (明治31年), at a total cost of 217,000 Yen, which is about the equivalent of $2.2 million US dollars today.

Note: Calculating Meiji-era Japanese currency against today’s standards is somewhat of a difficult process given that most records only date back to the restructuring of the Japanese economy, and massive inflation during the post-war period. To calculate the number above, I used the following formula: In 1901, the corporate goods price index was 0.469 where it is currently 698.6, meaning that one yen then is worth 1490 yen now. (217,000 x 1490 = 323,330,000) 昔の「1円」は今のいくら？1円から見る貨幣価値‧今昔物語

Indigenous Taiwanese visiting the Governor-General’s Mansion

As mentioned above, the completion of the mansion was meant to coincide with the consecration of the Taiwan Grand Shrine, with the timing of the completion of both projects important given that ceremonies were planned to be held on the sixth anniversary of Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa’s (北白川宮能久親王) death. Passing away during the conquest of Taiwan in 1895, the prince was enshrined within the Grand Shrine as “Kitashirakawa no Miya Yoshihisa-shinnō no Mikoto”, and his widow Tomiko (島津富子) traveled to Taiwan to take part in the ceremony, officially becoming the first member of the royal family to stay in the mansion.

Link: Taiwan Grand Shrine | 臺灣神宮 (Wiki)

Nevertheless, despite the amount of money that was used to construct the mansion, it was built at a time when the Japanese were yet to fully appreciate the awesome power of Taiwan’s termites, so after about a decade, the building had started to show signs of structural instability - This posed a considerable problem for the colonial government as it was not only used as the official residence of the Governor General, but also as his office. Similarly, it was thought that the mansion wasn’t actually designed to accommodate royal visitors, who often traveled with large entourages, which meant that a restoration and expansion project would have to take place to solve these issues.

In 1911 (明治44年), Governor General Sakuma Samata (佐久間左馬太 / さくまさまた), who is credited with introducing baseball to Taiwan a year prior, ordered the restoration and expansion of the mansion and enlisted a superstar architect, Moriyama Matsunosuke (森山松之助 / もりやままつのすけ) to head up the project. With a budget of 150,000 Yen (approximately $1.5 million USD). The restoration process took two years to complete, and during that time, the Governor General and his family were moved to a temporary residence nearby.

Moriyama converted the exterior of the building from its original neo-renaissance style (新文藝復興樣式) design to a baroque design (新巴洛克形式), and converted the roof into a French-style Mansard design. Likewise, the interior space of the building expanded considerably and no expense was spared with regard to the mansion’s interior design; Imitating French palace design with Victorian floor tiles, fireplaces imported from Europe, rugs, sulk curtains, chandeliers, ornate stucco sculptures and decorations throughout the building.

In terms of the expansion, a total of 978㎡ (296坪) was added to the interior on the second and third floors, 333㎡ (101坪) for the balconies that surrounded the building, 36㎡ (11坪) for the porte-cochère (covered car port at the front of the building), and 19㎡ (6坪) for the dining room.

From 1901 until 1945, the Governor General’s Mansion housed sixteen of the nineteen Governor Generals who ruled over Taiwan during the Japanese-era. While no expense was spared in its renovations, a few short years after the project was completed, Moriyama Matsunosuke’s magnum opus, the iconic Government-General of Taiwan (臺灣總督府廳舍) building, known today as the Presidential Office (總統府), was completed and official government activities shifted from the residence to the massive new building a short distance away.

Link: Governor-General of Taiwan | 臺灣總督 (Wiki)

Nevertheless, the mansion continued to serve a dual-role as an official residence as well as receiving important guests and dignitaries, hosting members of the royal family, and was the ideal location for important government events - the most important of which came in 1923 (大正12年) when it hosted Crown Prince Hirohito (裕仁 / ひろひと) during his tour of Taiwan - just two years prior to ascending the throne as Emperor Showa (昭和天皇).

In 1945 (昭和20年), when the Second World War came to an end, the Japanese empire was forced to relinquish control of Taiwan as per the terms of their surrender. Leaving the island in a far better condition than they found it five decades earlier, the Republic of China took over and the Governor General’s Mansion became the official residence of the Provincial Governor of Taiwan (臺灣省主席). Then, in 1949 (民國38年), when the Chinese Nationalists were forced to retreat to Taiwan, after suffering devastating losses in the Chinese Civil War (國共內戰), they brought with them almost two million refugees, and the situation on the island changed completely.

Renamed the Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館) in 1950 (民國39年), the residence was put under the control of the Presidential Office, although it wasn’t used as one of the dozens of homes that President Chiang Kai-Shek (蔣介石) frequented during the remainder of his life in Taiwan. In 1952, in what could be interpreted as rubbing salt in their wounds, the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (中日和平條約), more commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei (台北和約) was signed at the Guest House, which was one of the iconic images of Japanese power in Taiwan, now under the control of the Chinese Nationalists. From then on, the Guest House has been used frequently for affairs of state, and has played host to foreign dignitaries and allies of the Republic of China, who are wined and dined in the historic building.

The building has been restored on two occasions in the post-war era, once in 1977 (民國66年) when the interior was refurbished and then again from 2002 to 2006 (民國90年-95年) after a powerful typhoon made landfall in Taiwan, causing considerable damage. Once the restoration of the building was completed, costing the government an astounding NT$400,000,000 ($13.5 million USD), the Guest House continued in its capacity serving as a venue for hosting state functions, but for the first time in more than a century, it was made available on select occasions for tours, allowing the general public to get a glimpse of the interior for the first time.

Governor General’s Mansion Timeline

1895 - Control of Taiwan is ceded to the Japanese at the end of the First Sino-Japanese war (淸日戰爭).
1895 (明治28年) - A temporary Governor General’s Office is set up within the Qing Dynasty’s Provincial Administration Hall (臺灣布政使司衙門), prior to moving to the ‘Western Learning Hall’ (西學堂), a school constructed by the Qing to study western civilization.
1900 (明治30年) - The first major urban development plan of the Japanese-era is completed for Taipei, and plans are drawn up to simultaneously construct a stately Governor General’s Mansion and the Taiwan Grand Shrine (臺灣神宮 / たいわんじんぐう).
1901 (明治31年) - Construction on the mansion is completed on Sept. 26, and the first person to stay inside was the widow of Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa (北白川宮能久親王), who came to Taiwan to inaugurate the Grand Shrine on the sixth anniversary of her husband’s death.
1911 (明治44年) - Having suffered an incredible amount of structural damage caused by termites, the mansion undergoes a period of expansion and restoration, with famed architect Matsunosuke Moriyama (森山松之助) overseeing the project and resulting in the design of the building that we can enjoy today.
1913 (大正2年) - The restoration and expansion project on the mansion is completed.
1920 (大正9年) - Governmental affairs shifts from offices in the official residence to the newly constructed Government-General of Taiwan (臺灣總督府廳舍 / たいわんそうとくふ), currently the Presidential Office Building (總統府).
1923 (大正12年) - The mansion hosts Crown Prince Hirohito (裕仁 / ひろひと) during his tour of Taiwan, prior to his ascension to the throne as the Showa Emperor (昭和天皇) two years later.
1945 (昭和20年) - The Second World War comes to a conclusion with the formal surrender of the Japanese Empire and control of Taiwan is ambiguously awarded to the Republic of China.
1945 (民國34年) - The mansion becomes home to the Provincial Governor of Taiwan (臺灣省主席) for a short period of time.
1949 (民國38年) - Facing defeat in the Chinese Civil War (國共內戰), a massive retreat is ordered by the Kuomintang, and millions of Chinese refugees are brought to Taiwan.
1950 (民國39年) - The mansion is turned over to the Presidential Office (總統府) and is officially converted into the Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館).
1952 (民國41年) - The Treaty of Taipei (台北和約) is signed by representatives of the post-war Japanese Government and the Republic of China, formally ending the hostilities of the Second World War.
1963 (民國52年) - The Guest House is formally lent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to facilitate the entertainment of foreign guests and dignitaries visiting Taiwan at state functions.
1977 (民國66年) - The interior of the building is restored by the government.
1998 - The Taipei Guest House is designated as a National Monument (國定古蹟), one of the highest levels of recognition awarded to heritage buildings under the current government system.
2001 (民國90年) - A considerable amount of structural damage to the building, likely as a result of Typhoon Toraji (颱風桃芝), forces the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to shut the building down.
2002 - 2006 (民國91年-95年) - The Taipei Guest House enters a four year long period of restoration that costs about NT$400,000,000 ($13.5 million USD).
2006 (民國91年) - After more than a century, the Taipei Guest House is opened up for the enjoyment of the public, however, only on very select occasions as it continues to serve as the venue for hosting state functions.

Now that I’ve gone through the history of the building, I’m going to spend some time describing it’s architectural design, which is quite significant given the age and importance of the building.

First though, as a show of respect for one of my favorite local writers, Han Cheung’s article about the mansion in the Taipei Times is probably one of the best English-language articles about the building that you’ll find, so I recommend giving it a read at some point.

Link: Taiwan in Time: An extravagant colonial palace (Han Cheung / Taipei Times)

Architectural Design

The architectural design of the building is a tale that is told in two different chapters, namely the extravagant ‘first generation’ design, and the ostentatious ‘second generation’ design, which built upon what came before it. Touching on its designers earlier, it’s important to repeat that the mansion, completed in 1901, was the brainchild of Togo Fukuda and Ichiro Nomura, a pair of accomplished architects who designed a fair number of the earlier buildings constructed during the Japanese-era. Building upon his predecessors work, Moriyama Matsunosuke, a man who I personally consider one of Taiwanese history’s most prolific architects, swooped in and made the sweeping changes to the building’s design, which also helped to ensure its longevity, and is one of the reasons why we’re able to continue enjoying it today.

Note: I’m pretty sure that not everyone pays as much attention to these things as I do, but if we take a look at the work of Moriyama, many of the iconic buildings he designed are still standing and in operation today, including the Taichung Prefectural Hall (台中州廳), the Monopoly Bureau (専売局), the Taipei Prefectural Hall (台北州廳), Tainan Prefectural Hall (台南州廳), the Taipei Railway Bureau (台北鐵道部), the Taipei Aqueduct (臺北水道水源地) and the Presidential Office (總統府).

First Generation Governor-General’s Mansion (第一代總督官邸)

First-Generation Mansion from the front.

As previously mentioned, there are some very noticeable differences in the design of the first generation mansion, and what came later. In both cases however, the architects sought to mimic the architectural design that was popular in Europe at the time. The first generation mansion designed by Togo Fukuda and Ichiro Nomura adhered to the ‘Neo-Renaissance’ style of design popularized in France and inspired by Italian architects. The end result was a building characterized by its rectangular and circular decorative elements on the exterior of the building. Staying true to the revival-style design, the building featured a rectangular main-wing in the center with asymmetrical wings on both the left and right. It also adhered to what is known as ‘flat classicism’ in that the exterior walls feature very few decorative elements, placing greater importance on proportion, harmony, and linear symmetry.

One of the questionable aspects of the ‘asymmetry’ of the wings however. was that the original western wing was a flat square section that prominently featured a dome, one of the important aspects of European architectural design that made a comeback with the revival style. The eastern-wing meanwhile was concave in design, and instead of a dome, featured a roof-covered balcony, with an almost 360 degree view of the area surrounding the mansion.

The two-story residence was constructed using a mixture of brick and stone with wooden roof trusses in the ceiling, helping to keep the roof in place. Surrounded on all sides by covered verandas, the one area where you’d find curved arched spaces in the design.

The usage of the interior space was unlike what you’d expect from a traditional Japanese-style mansion in that only the east-wing of the second floor was reserved as the private residence of the Governor-General and his family, while the first floor was home to a reception lobby, administration office, meeting rooms, a banquet hall, and a game room.

Where much of the beauty of the original design came into focus was within the interior where there was beautifully laid parquet flooring and stucco columns located throughout the building that played both functional and decorative roles. Given that the mansion was meant to imitate that of a European palace, the interior also featured beautiful chandeliers, silk curtains, and many other imported decorative elements.

Finally, one of the lasting design elements of the building were the gardens that surrounded the building, featuring European-style gardens in the front and a Japanese-style garden to the rear.

Unfortunately, almost all of the remaining photos of the first generation mansion were taken of the exterior, so describing the beauty of the interior design is something that can only be done through the interpretation of historic records.

Second Generation Governor-General’s Mansion (第二代總督官邸)

In what one could assume was simply a natural progression from the Renaissance-Revival architectural style of the first generation version of the mansion, architect Moriyama Matsunosuke completely redesigned the mansion into a style more commonly associated with what is known as either Neo-Baroque, or Baroque-Revival, a style which would become quite prominent in both Taiwan and Japan in the early 20th century.

Possibly taking inspiration from Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace (迎賓館赤坂離宮 / げいひんかんあかさかりきゅう), one of the Japanese government’s two current official state guest houses, Moriyama’s alterations to the building were decorative in nature, but also practical in that his work ensured the longevity of the building’s structural health. The project got underway in 1911 when then Governor General Sakuma Samata ordered the restoration and expansion of the mansion, and during the two years that it took to complete, the Governor-General and his office vacated the residence.

Moriyama’s vision threw out all of the straight lines and the ‘flatness’ of the original and replaced them with curvaceousness and an array of rich surface treatments carved into the facade of the building. The most noticeable differences can be found in the center of the main wing of the building where Moriyama completely redesigned the roof, windows and the second-floor balcony. Most notably, within the triangular section between the upper part of the balcony and the third floor, the once empty section features some pretty important carvings. Displaying the official logo used during the Japanese-era to signify Taiwan, an important part of the stamp that signified the office of the Governor-General. Likewise, in all of the flat empty sections of space above and below the windows, decorative elements were added to show off the ‘flowing nature’ of baroque architectural design.

Given that Taiwan’s termites were having a wonderful time with the wood used to construct the building, having learned their lesson the hard way, Japanese architects came up with methods to solve these problems. In this case, Moriyama replaced the original wooden roof trusses in the building with steel trusses and converted the roof into a two-sloped Mansard-style design, a style common among the architecture of French palaces. In this case, the roof allowed for circular dormer windows (ox-eye 牛眼窗), a favorite of Japanese architects at the time, but more importantly, these changes allowed for the construction of a third floor, increase in the interior space of the building.

Link: Mansard Roof (Wiki)

With 978㎡ (296坪) of floor space added to the mansion during the expansion, design of the interior space likewise required a considerable amount of attention, and with a budget that was nearly half of the original cost of construction, no expense was spared. When the project was completed, the mansion would have appeared similar to what you’d expect from a typical French palace. Featuring stucco sculptures, columns, stained glass windows and beautiful white walls mixed featuring golden mosaics and carvings throughout the interior.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that my experience walking through the mansion was similar to walking through parts of the Vatican. I felt like I was transported back to my travels through Europe, which isn’t a feeling you often get while visiting historic buildings in Taiwan. I suppose that shouldn’t be particularly surprising though, given that these decorative elements are all indicative of Baroque design. Exploring the second floor, especially, it should be quite easy to see why with all of the flowing golden arches and the network of pillars that you’ll see in each of the rooms open for the tour.

Another important aspect of the restoration project that should be mentioned was to add a bit of modern technology was added to the building, included retrofitting for modern lighting and central heating systems. I’m not particularly sure why a heating system was necessary given Taiwan’s climate, but in addition to central heating, seventeen fireplaces were imported from Europe along with rugs, silk curtains, chandeliers and Victorian floor tiles to complete the redesign.

Having experienced and enjoyed Moriyama’s work in a few of Taiwan’s other historic Japanese-era buildings, it’s easy to see why he was chosen to be the designer of so many of the colonial government’s most important construction projects. The legacy that he’s left here in Taiwan is one that we’re fortunately able to continue enjoying more than a century after he hopped on a boat and headed back to Japan.

Link: The helmsman who shaped the style of Taipei City (Shelley Shan / Taipei Times)

Interestingly, despite his love of European Baroque revivalist design, when Moriyama returned to Japan in 1921, he took on an assignment designing the ‘Imperial Pavilion’ at Shinjuku Gyo-en National Garden (新宿御苑 / しんじゅくぎょえん), dedicated to the Showa Emperor. The pavilion, which is now regarded as the “Taiwan Pavilion” was constructed using Taiwanese cypress and traditional red clay bricks, took inspiration from traditional Taiwanese architectural design, an obvious nod to his years here.

Visiting the Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館)

After more than a century, tours of the Taipei Guest House opened to the public in 2006, just after the building had finished being restored. Having entered an era of democratic openness and transparency, I imagine it’s only understandable that the government couldn’t very well justify spending so much money restoring a building that so few of the nation’s taxpayers would ever be able to enjoy.

Starting from June 4th, 2006, the Guest House was set to be open to the public on the first Sunday of even months, essentially making it available to the public six days a year. However, over the decade since tours started, the number of days that the building is available has slightly increased, but the availability of these tours depends on the annual schedule of events taking place within the building.

So, even though it is supposed to be open on certain weekends, depending on whether or not any state functions are taking place, you might end up being a little disappointed if you try to visit without checking beforehand.

Suffice to say, with Taiwan closing its borders during the COVID-19 pandemic, the building was open for tours more often than in previous years, but there is no indication as to whether or not this will become the norm in years to come as the world opens back up for tourism. Additionally, given the number of international policy makers finding their way to Taiwan as of late, it’s only understandable that the number of official events taking place at the mansion will increase, which means that the number of public tours will decline.

If you would like to visit the Guest House, it’s important that you pay close attention to the yearly calendar of openings on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official website, which is linked below:

Link: Open House Schedule | 假日開放參觀

I caution you however that Taiwanese Government Websites are notorious for randomly disappearing, so if either of the links provided above aren’t working, I recommend heading over to Google and typing “Taipei Guest House” or “台北賓館” where you’ll likely find whatever new website they’ve started using in addition to the schedule of open houses for the year.

A tip that you may find helpful is that whenever the Guest House is officially open for public tours, the Presidential Office is as well, so if you’re feeling ambitious, you might be able to enjoy a tour of both buildings on the same day, although for someone like me, I’d find it far too difficult.

While touring the building, you’ll be able to walk around the open areas freely, but there are quite a few sections of the building, and the gardens, which are off-limits to guests. You’ll notice that there are volunteers watching at all times to make sure you don’t stray off into an area where you’re not welcome. Similarly, if you’re carrying a lot of photo gear, it’s important to remember that flash photography is prohibited within the building, and you’re also not permitted to use a tripod.

Interestingly, if you break any of the guidelines set for visits, it’s likely that you’ll be asked to leave immediately, which will also result in a two year ban - So try to be on your best behavior!

Getting There

Address: (臺北市中正區凱達格蘭大道1號)
GPS: 25.039810, 121.515870

Located within the heart of the governing district of the capital, the Taipei Guest House is situated a short distance from the Presidential Office (總統府), the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂), the East Gate (景福門) and the 228 Peace Memorial Park (二二八和平公園). Similarly, it is within walking distance of several of Taipei’s MRT stations, so getting there should be relatively straight forward.

While the Guest House is located closest to the NTU Hospital MRT Station (台大醫院捷運站), you could also elect to walk a short distance from either Taipei Main Station (台北車站), Ximen Station (西門捷運站) or Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall Station (中正紀念堂捷運站). For most people however, the chance to visit the Guest House is one of those things where you won’t want to waste too much time on a walking tour of the capital, so your best option is to make your way directly to the NTU Hospital station and take either Exit 1 or Exit 2 where you’ll walk a short distance along Gongyuan Road (公園路) to the front gate on the corner of Gongyuan and Ketagalen Boulevard (凱達格蘭大道).

Bus

As far as I’m concerned, the MRT is probably your best method of getting to the Guest House, but there are quite a few people who swear by Taipei’s excellent public bus system, so if you’re one of them, you’re in luck as you are afforded a number of options in this respect given that it is located next to one of the city’s most important hospitals. You’ll find that there are a number of bus stops within walking distance, but I’m only going to provide the bus routes for the closest bus stop to save both myself and yourself some time.

NTU Hospital MRT Station Bus Stop (捷運台大醫院站): 2, 5, 18, 20, 37, 222, 241, 243, 245, 249, 251, 295, 513, 604, 621, 640, 644, 648, 651, 656, 670, 706, 835, 938 East 0, 信義幹線, 仁愛幹線

Click on any of the links above for the route map and real-time information for each of the buses. If you haven’t already, I recommend using the Taipei eBus website or downloading the “台北等公車” app to your phone, which will help you map out your trip.

Link: Bus Tracker (臺北等公車) - Apple | Android

Youbike

If you’ve decided to ride one of the city’s popular Youbike’s to the Guest House, you’re in luck as there are Youbike docking stations located near the NTU Hospital MRT Station exit, where you can dock your bike and then walk over to the Guest House. You can also find additional docking stations on either side of the East Gate as well as along the entrance to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend downloading the Youbike App to your phone so that you’ll have a better idea of the location where you’ll be able to find the closest docking station.

Links: Youbike - Apple / Android

The Taipei Guest House has hosted princes and princesses to presidents, prime ministers, etc. - As one of Taipei’s most important destinations for state functions, the stately mansion has played host to countless events over the past one hundred and twenty years, and will continue to serve an important role for marketing Taiwan to the rest of the world.

Now that we, the little people, are able to enjoy a taste of the Guest House, it’s become a pretty popular tourist destination, especially for domestic tourists. If you’re in Taiwan and you have the chance to visit, you should probably take the opportunity to enjoy a tour. It’s highly recommend however that anyone wanting to visit pay close attention to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (linked above), which provides the list of dates on the annual visitation schedule, so that you don’t miss out.

References

Taipei Guest House | 台北賓館 (Wiki)
Taipei Guest House | 台北賓館 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs / 外交部)
Taipei Guest House (Digital Taiwan)
臺北賓館 (國家文化資產網)
台北賓館：不曾被遺忘的華麗建築 (公共電視台異人的足跡)
國定古蹟台北賓館調查研究/原台灣總督官邸 (黃俊銘)
Taiwan in Time: An extravagant colonial palace (Han Cheung / Taipei Times)
Lafayette East Asia Image Collection (Historic Photos)

Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots)

Featured

Chiayi, Japanese Colonial Era, Photo Post, Travel

Chiayi Train Station (嘉義驛)

Chiayi, Japanese Colonial Era, Photo Post, Travel

Japanese Colonial Era, Photo Post, Tainan, Travel

Bao'an Station (保安車站)

Japanese Colonial Era, Photo Post, Tainan, Travel

Japanese Colonial Era, Photo Post, Taichung, Travel

Taichung Train Station (臺中驛)

Japanese Colonial Era, Photo Post, Taichung, Travel

Taiwan Locations

Categories

Search this blog

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

Taiwan’s Japanese-era Railway (臺灣日治時期鐵路)

Taiwan’s Main Lines (營運路線)

Branch Lines (產業鐵路)

Alishan Forest Railway Branch Line (阿里山林業鐵路)

Japanese-era railway-related places of interest

Map of Japanese-era Railway Stations

Tamsui Police Commissioners Residence (淡水日本警官宿舍)

Tamsui Police Chief’s Residence (淡水日本警官宿舍)

Japanese-era Residents (淡水郡警察課長)

Architectural Design

Passage Space (通行空間)

Living Space (起居空間)

Service Space (服務空間)

Getting There

References

Gallery / Flickr (High Res Photos)

Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館)

Taiwan Governor General’s Mansion (臺灣總督官邸)

Governor General’s Mansion Timeline

Architectural Design

First Generation Governor-General’s Mansion (第一代總督官邸)

Second Generation Governor-General’s Mansion (第二代總督官邸)

Visiting the Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館)

Getting There

Bus

Youbike

References

Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots)

Taiwan’s Japanese-era Railway (臺灣日治時期鐵路)

Taiwan’s Main Lines (營運路線)

Taiwan’s Main Branch Lines (營運路線)

Branch Lines (產業鐵路)

Branch Lines (產業鐵路)

Alishan Forest Railway Branch Line (阿里山林業鐵路)

Alishan Forest Railway Branch Line (阿里山林業鐵路)

Japanese-era railway-related places of interest

Japanese-era railway-related places of interest

Map of Japanese-era Railway Stations

Tamsui Police Chief’s Residence (淡水日本警官宿舍)

Japanese-era Residents (淡水郡警察課長)

Architectural Design

Passage Space (通行空間)

Living Space (起居空間)

Service Space (服務空間)

Getting There

References

Gallery / Flickr (High Res Photos)

Taiwan Governor General’s Mansion (臺灣總督官邸)

Governor General’s Mansion Timeline

Architectural Design

First Generation Governor-General’s Mansion (第一代總督官邸)

Second Generation Governor-General’s Mansion (第二代總督官邸)

Visiting the Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館)

Getting There

Bus

Youbike

References

Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots)