The gold mine train station at the retro-looking Gold Museum actually houses a public restroom?

▲The restroom at the Gold Museum has been turned into a retro-style Light Railway Station. (Photo / Provided by the Gold Museum)

Reported by Chen Ruizhong / Comprehensive report

To allow visitors to experience the original mining transport culture, the New Taipei City Gold Museum creatively combined the historical ambiance of railways and mine carts, giving the restroom at the No. 5 Pit of the Honshan Mine a complete exterior makeover. By incorporating key elements of an old train station, what was once just a place for answering nature’s call has been transformed into a nostalgic “Light Railway Station” exhibition space showcasing heritage artifacts.

Located next to the tofu pudding shop at the No. 5 Pit, the Light Railway Station not only still functions as a restroom inside, but its exterior is also equipped with warning signs that read “Caution: Mine Carts in Operation,” imitation station signs, wooden mileage markers, vintage clocks, faux old bulletin boards, and advertising flyers—all instantly immersing visitors in the atmosphere of a bygone-era train station.

Additionally, the retro-style telephone located outside the restroom not only features a unique design, but also has an MP3 player inside that plays every half hour the Hokkien folk song “Light Railway Car Oー” with lyrics composed by local artist Teacher Hu Dahua. This allows the public to experience the life history of the mines through music.

In the past, Jiufen was in need of mining transport, which gave rise to the light railway. The Light Railway Station next to the museum’s mine cart railway was not originally a station, but rather a shower room used by miners to clean up after coming out of the pits. It was converted into a restroom when the Gold Museum opened in 2005. Now redesigned as a fun landscape feature, along with related explanatory information and a display of restored nostalgic artifacts, it offers visitors another way to experience the history of the mines.