Have you collected all six historic landmarks in Taichung? Collect passport stamps to redeem gifts.

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The Taichung Cultural Affairs Bureau has launched a travel passport for the first time. It can be picked up at the Huludun Cultural Center, Dadun Cultural Center, Tuen District Arts Center, and Port District Art Center. With this travel passport, participants can jointhe “Taichung Historic Architecture & Art Tour”event, and by collecting visits to six historic sites and buildings, they can receive souvenirs from the Cultural Affairs Bureau and special gifts from the venues, adding an element of collection to heritage exploration.

[Taichung Broadcasting Bureau]
The Taichung Broadcasting Bureau, now over 80 years old, began broadcasting during the Japanese colonial period (Showa 10, 1935), as the third radio station in Taiwan. It played a significant role in broadcasting. The building features a modern “transitional style” design, with large arched entrances emphasizing the main entry and slender arched windows defining the façade. This unadorned modern structure interacts uniquely with sunlight, presenting different appearances throughout the day.

▲ The Taichung Broadcasting Bureau now serves as a creative hub for cultural industries.

Location: No. 1 Radio Station Rd., North District, Taichung City
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 – 18:00

[Zhaixing Villa]
Zhaixing Villa is a traditional courtyard-style residential complex featuring multiple wing rooms. Among surviving traditional buildings, it remains the most intact. Its brick carvings, stone carvings, Koji pottery, clay sculptures, wooden structures, and decorative paintings are all exquisitely crafted. The red-toned exterior bricks, along with the crescent-shaped pond in front of the entrance hall—serving functions such as fish-keeping, fire prevention, irrigation, and feng shui—are remarkable. The “Wen Kui” plaque above the entrance and the carvings on the central gate, including “Eight Immortals on Horseback,” “Prosperity atop Floral Glory,” and “Music, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting,” are truly breathtaking.

▲ Zhaixing Villa at night.

Location: No. 88, Section 2, Tanfu Rd., Tanzi District, Taichung City
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 – 18:00

[Taichung City Hall]
The Taichung City Hall, with its European-style appearance, is designed in a neo-Baroque architectural form. Its varied windows and decorative elements are major highlights. The towering columns at the entrance and the eight sets of wooden roof trusses represent rare early Taiwanese structural designs. The combination of brick, wood, reinforced concrete, and steel structures exemplifies classic Japanese colonial-era construction techniques.

▲ The Taichung City Hall is now operated by Classical Rose Garden, focusing on “Life, Culture, and Heritage.”

Location: No. 97, Minquan Rd., West District, Taichung City
Hours: Weekdays, 10:30 – 20:30; Holidays, 10:30 – 21:00

[Niutou Head Site]
The Niutou Head Site is the first “named archaeological site” in Taiwan. It was initially discovered in the late Japanese colonial period by Japanese scholar Kokubu Naoichi, though not thoroughly studied at the time. Later, the area became a military base, off-limits to the public. Research resumed when the Taichung Cultural Affairs Bureau commissioned Prof. Wen Chen-hua from National Taiwan Normal University’s History Department and Prof. Liu Yichang from Academia Sinica’s Institute of History and Philology to conduct a study project. The research was completed in April of the year 2001.

▲ The Niutou Head Site now offers DIY experiences and guided tours.

Location: No. 59, Aohai Rd., Qingshui District, Taichung City
Hours: Exhibition Hall Building 4, Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 – 17:30; Mountain Trail Building 3, Tuesday to Friday, 11:00 – 17:30; Saturday and Sunday, 09:30 – 19:00

[Daohe Six Arts Cultural Center]
Originally a martial arts training facility for prison guards, this is the only remaining dojo in the city. It features the characteristic architecture of a Japanese-era Budo Hall, symmetrically built with a shrine at the center rear, a kendo arena on the left, and a judo arena on the right. It is now repurposed by the Daohe Education Foundation, reinterpreted in the spirit of Confucius’ “Six Arts Education” as the “Daohe Six Arts Cultural Center.”

▲ The former Taichung Prison Martial Arts Training Hall.

Location: No. 33, Lin Sen Road, West District, Taichung City
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 09:00 - 17:00, Training Hall open Monday 09:00 - 17:00, Mindful Practice Hall open Tuesday to Sunday 09:00 - 22:00

[Yide Western-style Building]
Yide Western-style Building was once the residence of Lin Fanyang. Its architectural style blends Minnan, Japanese, and Western elements, representing a classic example of brick Western-style buildings of its time. In 1948, it was purchased by the Ministry of National Defense and renamed “Yide New Village” to house over a hundred military families. Later designated as a historic building and renamed “Yide Western-style Building,” it is now intended to revitalize the historic structure.

▲Former Residence of Lin Fanyang (Yide Western-style Building).

Location: No. 1, Lane 14, Wen Chang East 11th Street, North District, Taichung City
Hours: 09:00 - 21:00

When visiting historical sites and heritage buildings, apart from admiring early architectural styles and experiencing their unique charm, also pay attention to the opening hours and dates of different areas when collecting passport stamps for souvenirs—so you don’t end up disappointed or disrupt your travel plans.

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