edited by Luis
Zuoying Old City of Fengshan
The history of this extraordinary city certainly “leaves a sweet taste in the mouth” of every citizen. And as a native, nothing intrigues me more than seeing the birth of modern Kaohsiung within the matrix of a remarkable feat of engineering. In order to facilitate the exportation of sugar and other Taiwanese produced commodities, a railway directly connected to the port was needed. But there was one problem back then, we had neither of them in southern Taiwan. At the turn of the previous century, the Japanese regime came up with a clever project aiming at killing two birds with just one stone. As a result, Takao port (Kaohsiung) was expanded to better fit modern merchant vessels, while at the same time, the adjacent docking infrastructure received a whopping makeover. Dredging machines working around the clock made sure that the progress of land reclamation was finished after four years of backbreaking hard work. This is a compelling proof that a city can indeed “grow” in different ways.
In 1912, Takao residents had a brand-new port in addition to more square miles of dry land; which was in fact the landfill formed by the waste created in the process. For the first time in history, Taiwan was joined from north to south by a “life-giving” railway. This became “the spinal cord” of Taiwan, and akin to the boom towns in America, within just a few years, Kaohsiung went from a small fishing village backwater to a port city on par with other major contemporaries. Once becoming a transportation hub with a decent merchant harbor, spawning new businesses filled the nearby area, and streets teeming with shoppers and visitors from all over the island became a daily occurrence. Many innovations took place in this new man-made district, things like running water, electrical power lines, postal service, telephone, new schools, public transportation, checkered street patterns, to name but a few. Thanks to the new train terminal, the Japanese named this place “Hamasen”, which translates into “coastal railway line.”
This promised land became the holy grail of new entrepreneurs and startup medium and small businesses. It was around this time when out-of-towners started gushing in and eventually made this place home after years of striving and thriving. On the avenue perpendicular to the station were the headquarters of banking and financial services, insurance company, bicycle shop, top-notch hotel, restaurant, supply chain logistics, and many more. No wonder it was dubbed “the Wall Street of Kaohsiung” despite running for less than 200 meters. This speaks volumes about the insane amount of commercial transactions taking place on a daily basis. In a nutshell, Hamasen is arguably the legendary kick-start of modern Kaohsiung city. And unquestionably, in the minds of locals, this is a magnificent story that needs no “sugar coating.”
步行遊覽包括以下七個站點：
The walking tour covered the following seven stops:
1. 打狗驛 Takao station
2. 春田館支店 Haruta Hotel
3. 三和銀行 Sanwa Ginko
4. 山形屋 (壹貳樓) Yamagataya bookstore
5. 愛國婦人會館 Takao Patriotic Women Hall
6. 武德殿 Butokuden Martial Arts Hall
7. 打狗尋常高等小學校--鼓山國小 Takao Ordinary Senior Elementary School
Takao Railway Museum
by Julie
In 1860, the Qing Dynasty lost the war with the British and French forces, and Taiwan was forced to open a port. Kaohsiung Port (known as Takao) was one of the listed opening ports. However, the Qing government ignored old problems such as insufficient depth, and the siltation became more and more serious, and eventually foreign businessmen abandoned Kaohsiung Port and moved to Anping, causing Kaohsiung Port to gradually decline again.
In 1895, the Japanese occupation of Formosa. They had different thoughts about this newly governed place. After investigation and discussion, they decided to focus on the sugar industry as Taiwan's development. How do you get the goods transported? Japan began to build a railway to send the goods back to Japan via the port. The section from Kaohsiung to Tainan was first opened to traffic in 1900. Goods can be quickly shipped back to Japan. However, after it was opened, it was discovered that the Station (called Takao depot at the time) was some distance away from the port, making cargo loading and unloading very inconvenient. So the Taiwan Governor-General resorted to land-reclamation, and the Hamasen area was born. Later, in 1905, the railway was pulled southward to the pier, so this area was called "Hamasen," meaning beach railway line. In 1908, the Takao Station located in the current location was completed. In 1920, the name of Takao Station was changed to Kaohsiung Station (Kaohsiung Railway Station), which is the largest freight station in Taiwan. Later, it was renamed Kaohsiung Port Railway Station. Now it’s the Story House of Jiudagouy.
In 1941, passenger and freight trains were separated. The Takao Station was relocated to Taikō Village (Tai-káng-po) on the east side of the Love River, and the original location was renamed Kaohsiung Port Station featuring the development exclusively for cargo. In January 1945 at the end of World War II, the US army began a large-scale and intensive bombing in Taiwan. Kaohsiung was the target due to its industrial and military importance. Kaohsiung Port, which was the land and sea transport hub, was severely damaged after the war. The existing station was rebuilt in 1947. It was declared a historical building in 2003. On the 9th of November, 2008, the last train departed from the station at 5.30 p.m. After the station closure, the Railway Culture Society managed the station as the Takao Railway Museum. The museum is currently part of the Kaohsiung Museum of History.
Kaohsiung Port Station is the best-preserved freight station in Taiwan. It was adopted by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government in October 2010 and transformed into a Takao Railway Story Museum, showing the atmosphere of its heyday back in the 1960s and 1970s.
In September 2017, the light rail Hamasen Station was opened to traffic. The station kept the platform and the signal building completely preserved. The museum also has the first railway reference room for the public. For reading and data searching, in addition to railway books and information, there is also a Railway Bulletin from 1951 to the present.
In its heyday, Kaohsiung Port Station had many trains and had a "North Signal Building" for vehicle mobilization and signal switching. This is the only remaining mechanical signal building in Taiwan that retains complete linkage devices. It can be seen as the asset of the old Takao Station Story Museum.
Haruta Hotel
by Luis
Shortly after it was inaugurated, the Hamasen district was arguably “the rising star” among the major cities in Taiwan. Interestingly enough, it was also the time when the rest of the world experienced the Roaring Twenties followed by the Great Depression very much like riding in a roller-coaster. Among the early businesses that arrived was the Haruta Hotel. Initially opened in Taichung in 1896, the second branch store materialized here in Takao by 1907, this is an obvious indication of the good prospects ahead. Like many of its nearby neighbors, it was a two-story wooden building with a hip roof; but that’s where the similarities end. The Takao Haruta Hotel provided top-notch accommodation and dining services for business travelers, officials, prominent figures, and all those who could afford a staggering splurge. According to some sources, the money for just one night of luxury was the equivalent of a tailor-made suit. And thanks to its location just across the train terminal, it was frequently the first choice of special VIPs and connoisseurs.
With 23 rooms available, they offered different room types for guests and visitors of all kinds, but of course, it didn’t have a swimming pool or other amenities within its premises. By the standards of the time, the Haruta Hotel was even more than anyone could ever ask for. Sadly enough, it was destroyed during the air raids in WW2 leaving insufficient records for its rebuilding in 1951. The current Haruta Hotel is a four-story RC structure building using many of the architectural elements inherited from the Japanese period; such things like additional round pillars for cosmetic purposes, western style main entrance and windows, wooden truss hip roof for lighter weight, and stucco washing finish for the exterior walls. Undeniably, it does have its own style despite not being the original, and maybe for some this can be like a paint smudge on a masterpiece. Regardless, something that transcended from its legacy was the fact that Haruta became a synonym of extravagance and luxury.
provided by Michael Lin from FB 雄中鄉土文化研究社
Sanwa Bank
by Louis Lu
The bank building was the branch of Sanjushi-Ginko Bank set up in 1921. In 1933, the bank was changed to Sanwa Bank after a series of merging negotiations. After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, the Kaohsiung branch of Sanwa Bank was merged with other branches into the Bank of Taiwan. The bank building was then turned into the property of Sinbin Police Station under the Kaohsiung City Police Department. In 1990, the police station was moved to its current location due to space congestion. The building has then been idle.
The bank uses reinforced concrete beam-column structure. Its exterior walls are covered with khaki face bricks and stucco washing finish. Its ceiling is mud-plastered with bamboo inside.
Takao Patriotic Women Hall
Gender equality is one of the hottest conversation topics nowadays, and sometimes the exchange of opinions can lead to earth shattering conclusions. Whether it’s a magazine, a TV show, or even social media, the discussion is never too far from the “epicenter.” As soon as I found out that the Takao Patriotic Women Hall was built in 1922, I was so taken aback since the role of women is rarely exalted in Japanese culture. Furthermore, we need to take into account the location in which it was built, the Hamasen area. It was a time when most people hardly ever heard of the word “feminism,” not to mention building a venue in a place with skyrocketing real estate value in honor of women. Many will wonder what kind of cause could have justified such expenses and effort put into the project.
However, there’s no denying that women have always played an essential role in the history of civilization; above all, they are the other half of the sky. As early as the first half of the 20th century, here in Taiwan, women constituted a force to be reckoned with, even in national affairs. Maybe the members of the association were not prominent or successful themselves, but in some ways they were certainly influential. They may be from a well to do family, or have a spouse with outstanding achievements. When it comes to “calibrating” the value of women, things have not changed too much after all. They raised funds from donations and organized volunteer groups to support the nation’s foreign affairs in Manchuria and the Korean peninsula, and later even in the South Pacific war effort. Among the services provided were nursing, teaching, childcare, war logistics, you name it. And since it was a time of austerity, every individual’s contribution counted in one way or another regardless of gender.
As for the architecture, the Meiji restoration saw the introduction of western styles with Japanese motifs blended in between. They certainly paid close attention in designing everything to better fit into the subtropical weather in Taiwan. The two-story building features innovative techniques even by modern standards. It combines a raised foundation for better ventilation and humidity control, masonry main structure for stronger support, long narrow windows for better ventilation and illumination during the day, timber hip roof for lighter weight, fair-face bricks on exterior walls for simplicity and style, increased floor height for better air convection, overhanging roof ends for better gutter installation, to name just a few. In a sense, this is more or less what we call a green building today.
Looking back, people 100 years ago were indeed way more ahead of their time than we think. I’m sure many of you would love to go on a journey back in time to get a taste of the nostalgic past; but before time machines become available, it’s safe to say that the only way to do so is to join a walking tour. If anyone wants to work on this, be my guest!
provided by Carter from 高雄畫刊 高雄市政府新聞局
Butokuden Martial Arts Hall
by Madina
Hello, everyone. As you can see, there are a few pillars here, right? These pillars are pretty similar to the pillars in classical Roman architecture, especially for the Colosseum. In Chinese, we call it "羅馬競技場". Oh, I forgot to mention. This is a really interesting building in Taiwan because it combines Western and Eastern culture. As for the pillars, I’m going to talk more about them. Like I just said, the pillars are pretty similar to the pillars in Roman architecture. We call this special kind of pillar” Tuscan Order”, or “托斯坎柱式" in Chinese.
Next, I am going to explain the Eastern part of Butokuden. As you can see, there is a wavy rooftop. It’s a pretty special rooftop in Taiwan because the design style is from Japan. If you have a chance to visit local old buildings in Japan, like temples, shrines, and castles, you may see similar rooftops like that. In Taiwan, we call this special kind of rooftop "唐破風" or “Karahafu” in Japanese. Sorry for my Japanese pronunciation.
Let’s step inside. I am going to introduce the internal look of Butokuden. This is the middle of Butokuden. On my left is the place for Judo training, and the right side is for Kendo. This place is pretty huge. You might think” Oh? really?” In fact, this place can house 100 people.
History
by Abby
Do you know where is the other Butokuden in 高雄? That is the Butokuden in 旗山 .
So, what is so special about Butokuden? Let me tell you. First of all, Takao Butokuden was built in 1924 during the Japanese colonial period. After the second war, it was used as a classroom and dormitory. But it had been sitting there for a while and the environment was messy. In 2003, the government planned to renovate it, and a year after, it was completed.
Second, the original name of Takao Butokuden is 振武館 in Chinese, it means to develop the value of soldiers.
Finally, it is the decorations. The pillars are two shapes. One is the square and the other is the circle. The squares stand for bad habits; however, after learning the martial arts, you get rid of bad habits and become a better person.
On the outside wall are pictures in relief with an arrow piercing the bullseye, which means the traditional activity and blessing.
Through our tour, you must learn more about Butokuden and hope you can share what you’ve learned with your family and friends. Thank you for listening.
Takao Ordinary Senior Elementary School
by Julie
Takao No.1 Elementary School, referred to as "No. 1", was originally named "Takao Ordinary Senior Elementary School". It was founded on May 24, 1907 (Meiji 40). Since the school building was not built yet, they temporarily borrowed a private house in Yancheng Village as a stopgap. It provided education for Japanese children. At that time, there were 653 Japanese households in Takao with 1,730 people.
In 1908 (Meiji 41), the first phase of the Takao Port construction project began. The area around Shao Chuantou Street became a gathering place for relevant technical personnel. There were 935 Japanese households with 2,394 people working at Takao Port. In 1911, the school was relocated to the foot of Takao Mountain (the exact school address is unknown)
In 1913, Takao Ordinary senior Elementary School moved to the current location at No. 50, Linhai 2nd Road (according to the Meiji era, if the national elementary school had a four-year system, It is called an elementary school; if it is a six-year system, it is called an institution of higher learning).
