Ciaotou Sugar Factory (桥头糖厂) in Kaohsiung is Taiwan’s first modern sugar factory built in 1901 during Japanese rule of the island. During the Japanese Occupation, a huge amount of sugar cane was planted in Taiwan due to suitability of its climate and sugar was produced for the war. Ciaotou Sugar Factory underwent 2 more stages of construction, once in 1905-1911 and again in 1911-1945. During World War 2, two of the factories were damaged during bomb raids. After the factory ceased operation in 1999, the site was re-opened in 2006 as a museum, now known as Taiwan Sugar Museum (台湾糖业博物馆). It is also designated by Kaohsiung City as a Heritage Site.
The sugar factory compound is big so cycling around is a good option. Since I can’t cycle to save my life, this is out for me and I will look weird alone on the more stable 4-wheel family bike. Walking is the one and only option left for me.
Before reaching the sugar museum, I made a stop at Taiwan Sugar Corporation factory shop. Besides selling their popular ice range, the shop stocks a good range of other local food products. I tried one of their ice lollies, and chose the green bean and barley flavoured one out of choices that includes longan, chocolate and red bean. At NT$15 an ice lolly, it is cheap and refreshing. I could even chew on whole green beans and barley grains in the lolly.
Due to its history, Taiwan Sugar Museum features a now defunct sugar factory compound, Japanese style wooden house, bomb shelters, brick water tower etc, all conserved in good condition.
This white standalone building was built in 1901 as the clubhouse for the sugar factory. Though of traditional European architecture, the building has roofs similar to traditional Japanese wooden houses. In front of the clubhouse is a vacant land which used to be a training spot for the Japanese army. Today, the clubhouse has a room dedicated to showcasing the history of Taiwan Sugar Corporation and their sugar production.
The sugar factory was not only into sugar producing, they used to be also into pig rearing. Look they even have a small museum dedicated to pigs in the clubhouse! Pig figurines and collectibles are displayed together with some facts on the animal.
The old sugar factory is no longer in operation and instead listed as a historical site. The old machinery are conserved as part of the museum. During Japanese ruling period, the sugar production within Ciaotou Sugar Factory reached up to 200 tons per day. Daily average crushing capacity was 3,200 tons of sugar cane. Briefly, sugar production goes through the following processes: cutting, shredding, pressing, cane juice heating, clarification, evaporation, crystallization, molasses separating before the final product is collected.
There were only few visitors during the day I visited. So when I went into the now defunct factory, I was alone in the huge compound walking through rows and rows of stationary machines. As strange as it may sound, walking through the factory solo, the feeling was exciting yet tad bit creepy even in broad daylight.
The old trains that were used to transport sugar to the factory back in those days. Within the factory compound, there was also a locomotive maintenance workshop
The sugar factory compound is adjacent to a cluster of warehouses now know as Ten Drum Cultural Creative Park (十鼓桥头文创园区). Run by Ten-Drum Art Percussion Group, the park can be visited freely, while tickets are required for performances and workshops. The Group has won awards such as the Grammy Best World Album Award and the American Independent Music Awards World Traditional Music Award. Catch the group’s performances twice daily at 10:30 and 15:00 (subjected to changes). I missed both timings though but could hear them from outside. The Park also houses restaurants and gift shops.
One of the bomb shelter entrance I spotted near Ten Drum Cultural Creative Park.
Visiting on a weekend is preferred as there are paid activities for children near the factory shop. Kids will love the DIY programs and a ride in the half-size train cars (五分仔车) run by Taiwan Sugar Corporation sounds fun too. The eateries near the factory shop appears to be catering mainly to weekend visitors too, as all were closed during my visit.
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Address: No.24 Tangchang Road, Qiaonan Vil., Qiaotou District, Kaohsiung 825, Taiwan
Telephone: +886-7-6113691
Opening Hours: 9.00am to 4.30pm (old sugar factory)
Admission Charge: Free
Getting there:
By Kaohsiung MRT
– Take MRT-Red Line (捷运红线) to MRT R22A Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station.
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Read about my trip itinerary and the places visited in Taiwan – City of Kaohsiung Itinerary 2018 .
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