In Huwei: Old houses, new souls
I went back to my hometown in south central Taiwan last week and it was a pleasant surprise seeing the small town transforming into a culturally enriched destination in recent years.
Huwei is characterized by its sugar refinery industry and the military dependents’ village decades ago.
During Japanese occupation, colonizers built Huwei Sugar Refinery in 1906 and Huwei Air Force Base in 1936 before the Pacific War—Japanese-style buildings and dormitories people appreciate to this day.
The sugar industry has existed in Taiwan for centuries since the Dutch East India Co. recruited Chinese workers to go to Taiwan to plant canes and refine sugar from it.
After the Dutch left Taiwan in 1662, its sugar refinery base was moved to Java but the sugar industry had since prospered in Taiwan and Japan had been one of the main buyers of imported Taiwanese sugar.
The air force base in Huwei was built by the Japanese to churn out pilots to be deployed across the Pacific battlefield.
After World War 2, the base was taken over by the Republic of China Air Force and a military dependents’ village was built from the barracks of the Japanese naval air force.
An epitome of Taiwan’s merry mix of colonial and modern history, Huwei has a Starbucks Coffee and Eslite Bookstore in a historic multifunctional building that was once a police station, a fire brigade and a public hall in the Japanese era.
The military dependents’ village, meanwhile, has transformed into an attraction for visitors to explore Huwei’s cultural heritage, local delicacies and farm produce.
People can find an art-exhibition space that used to be a guest house for VIPs built by the Japanese sheriff in 1939, a Japanesestyle dormitory compound in the Huwei Sugar Factory, and a Taiwanese hand puppet museum in a Victorian administrative office.
The trend of house restoration has been the order of the day for some time in Taiwan and visitors can find old-house revival cases around the island.
The Osmanthus Alley Art Village in Changhua County was remodeled from an old Japanese dormitory complex and it features exhibitions and performances of different local artists on a regular basis. Thus, the art village serves as a platform for locals and visitors to appreciate different vibrant art forms, and travelers can also visit Nanjing Temple, the New Ancestral Temple and the Thean Hou Temple in the neighborhood.
In Yilan, the wooden dormitory of former sheriffs was transformed into a museum of the city’s history with a pocket Japanese garden replete with white sand and a hundred-year-old camphor tree where visitors can spend hours taking photos and enjoying the tranquil atmosphere.
Many Filipino tourists have visited the
Rainbow Village in Taichung City, which was also a former military dependents’ village; as well as dozens of others like the
Haomei Village in Budai Town, Dawu Town in Taitung County and Bodong Village in
Sihu Town for visitors to explore.
After World War 2, the base was taken over by the Republic of China Air Force and a military dependents’ village was built from the barracks of the Japanese naval air force.
The trend of house restoration has been the order of the day for some time in Taiwan and visitors can find old-house revival cases around the island.