Hualien Railway Cultural Center

Hualien Railway Cultural Center

The Hualien Railway Cultural Center is located next to the Sixth Redevelopment Zone on Zhongshan Road in Hualien City, Taiwan. Originally established in 1909 as the Hualien Port Branch of the Railway Bureau, it was later renamed the Hualien Management Office of the Taiwan Railways Administration after the retrocession of Taiwan. On March 1, 1988, with the westward relocation of Hualien Railway Station, the Hualien Management Office was disbanded, and the site was taken over by the Hualien Operations Section and the Fourth Police Section for continued use until their full withdrawal in April 1993. As the building complex features a traditional Japanese-style courtyard layout with a Western-style tower roof on the main hall, it holds significant preservation value. In September 2002, it was designated as a Hualien County Historical Building and has since become one of the most famous tourist attractions in Hualien in recent years.

The Hualien Railway Cultural Center consists of six parts: the Hualien Port Branch of the Railway Bureau complex, the former Hualien Engineering Section, the Martial Arts Hall of the Railway Police Section, the steam locomotive water tower, the planned site for steam locomotive restoration, the railway tourism commercial district, and the residence area for the head of the office. It preserves the steam locomotives from Taiwan’s narrow-gauge railway era in eastern Taiwan, making it the most completely preserved site of a narrow-gauge railway base in the country. It vividly recreates the railway culture of that period, and visitors often say their trip here was well worth it.

Hualien Railway Culture Centre

Must-visit reason: The most completely preserved site of a narrow-gauge railway base in Taiwan