Taipei Sugar Works Cultural Park

After the 台北製糖株式會社 was set up in the Japanese colonial period, the landscape changed greatly into an industrial area of sugar factories and transport rail lines, and most local residents made their living from sugar or related industries. After Taiwan's retrocession, urban planning kept the Japanese-era idea of mixed land use and the area was zoned for industry. Soon after 台糖公司 took over the factory, it stopped making sugar and was used for storage, but small and medium-sized factories in related industries built around surplus sugar capacity, such as chemicals, chemical processing, food processing and paper, remained common. Later 徵信新聞, the predecessor of 中國時報, took over 台糖 warehouses to print its newspaper, drawing printing businesses to the area, and convenient rail transport later drew garment wholesalers. Throughout Taipei's development the Dali Street area played a productive role, until changes in industry and the city's eastward shift led to the decline of the once busy 'Huishewei' (會社尾) community and its industrial landscape. Crowding and dense building lowered the quality of the environment, public facilities could not meet residents' needs, and the area was pushed to the edge of the city's development. Residents of the Dali Street community protested against a planned sanatorium, campaigned for a neighbourhood park and worked to preserve the Taipei Sugar Factory buildings, the northernmost remains of sugar production in Taiwan. The warehouses are built of red brick, with arched doorways, trapezoidal columns and wide-span frames, and on 23 September 2003 they were designated municipal monument No. 106. The three listed sugar warehouses, A, B and C, stand on Dali Street in Wanhua District, on blocks C1 (Park No. 2) and C2, covering about 1.092 hectares; apart from the monument itself, block C1 is a park with an underground car park. After years of effort, the warehouses were preserved and the park land was obtained free of charge, and the city's cultural affairs department secured repair funding from the central government's programme to expand domestic demand. The three warehouses were restored, and since the park opened they have been used as a sugar industry culture exhibition hall (Warehouse A), the Wanzuo Xiao Theatre (Warehouse B) and space provided by 臺糖公司 for private organisations (Warehouse C). The exhibition hall, run by the cultural affairs department itself, holds the permanent exhibition 'Sugar Warehouses Open' on the development of the sugar industry in northern Taiwan. It was produced collectively through participatory workshops, including collecting historical material, oral history interviews and creative workshops, which artists used to complete installed works. Local residents volunteer to help with the exhibition and guided tours, and the park has become an important place for local heritage education. Warehouse A holds the 'Sugar Warehouses Open' exhibition on sugar culture, showing why the warehouses were preserved and presenting the history of the Taipei sugar factory and the industrial development of the west of the city. It also has a sugar art classroom used for cultural and community activities, and is managed by the cultural affairs department. Warehouse B is home to the theatre company 曉劇場, which runs its own programmes and curated events and also rents the space to performing groups. From its base in Wanhua it builds a local audience and works with schools and community groups to promote the performing arts, and through the Mengjia International Dance Festival and its artist residency programme it connects with networks in Taiwan and abroad, giving the park a varied performing arts scene.

Translated and shortened by DealTaipei from Taiwan's national tourism database. Sources are on the terms page.