A 60-Year-Old Tainan Mansion Reborn: Transformed into a Café and Cultural Space

▲ “Anping 49,” a humanistic café transformed from a historic mansion, is a place that combines a coffee shop with a cultural and artistic space. (Photo/FromAnping 49 Humanistic Café’s official fan page, the same applies below)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

“If you can’t take the beauty of Tainan with you, why not take the time to enjoy its slow living. Wander through the stories of this old house, listen to music, savor delicious food, and appreciate the cultural and creative artworks brought by Anping artists — take the beauty and memories of this place home with you.” — From the official website introduction of Anping 49.

Located at No. 49, Anping Road, Tainan City, Anping 49 Humanistic Café is a place with the exterior of a historic Western-style mansion. With the brand concept of “Just Peace,” it combines a café with a space showcasing local Tainan cultural and creative art.

Time flows like water, and this old Western-style mansion, exuding a classic and majestic aura, has witnessed 60 years of bustling history. Before being transformed into Anping 49 Café, this hundred-ping Western-style building, constructed in 1953, was the foremost mansion in Anping during the 1950s. It served as the ancestral home of the Chang family for nearly a century — the former iron factory owner, Grandpa Chang Tianbu.

The architecture of the old mansion was deeply influenced by the era. Its exterior features a Western-style pebble-dash technique, the roof adopts a Japanese-style timber truss structure, while the interior is built using Taiwan’s traditional terrazzo method. The integration of diverse architectural techniques left architects who saw the old house in awe of Grandpa Chang’s avant-garde thinking.

Among these, the well-preserved lime wall prints on the second floor are regarded by historians as exceptional craftsmanship that defines the house’s status. In early Taiwan, when wallpaper didn’t yet exist, the unique embossed patterns on lime walls were said to be a practice reserved for those with official status or from prominent families. Preserving them to this day is incredibly rare. To complement the wall patterns, the shop owners also came up with the clever idea of having artisans use spray printing to transfer the patterns onto the tabletops inside, creating a harmonious echo with the walls.

▲ The wall patterns that resemble wallpaper were actually created in the 1940s and 1950s using lime embossing techniques.

Many years ago, the boss of Yongkang’s tech company Shuntai Electronics fell in love with this historic mansion at first sight. After going to great lengths and obtaining consent from four former owners to sell, he purchased the property. With tremendous effort and the oral accounts of the old homeowners, he renovated Zhang’s old house under the philosophy of “primitiveness,” preserving the main materials and original historical charm of the historic building. The first floor, originally an iron factory, was transformed into a restaurant with a 1950s American-style café vibe, while the second floor provides spaces for art exhibitions and performances, presenting a humanistic art space with an aesthetic atmosphere of old and new interplay.

▲ (Refer to the image above) The warm lighting makes the first-floor dining area even more romantic and charming. The second floor is mainly used for exhibitions and performances. The image below shows a simulated setting imagining the interior furnishings of the old mansion, an exhibition reminiscing about the old times, with items generously loaned to Anping 49 Café by Mr. Wenhua, Ms. Huang, and Mom Huang.

Café manager Wu Chih-heng stated that the boss, an alumnus of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, wanted to give back to the city that nurtured him. After renovating this historic mansion, he also collaborated with Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, providing job opportunities for students. He also regularly invites artists or performance groups to perform in the café. Artists also place their designs — works featuring Tainan’s local cultural characteristics — in the café for consignment sales. The goal is to use this space to showcase more of the hidden beauty within Tainan’s Anping district through the creations of these artists.

▲ The cultural and creative products sold at “Anping 49” can also be found here. Both images above show cultural and creative goods sold by the popular booth Shuanghe Hao in the café, including the popular paper tape (top), which reveals different styles when unfolded.

[Anping 49 Café Humanistic Hall]

Address:No. 49, Anping Road, Anping District, Tainan City

Phone:(06)221-9949

Business Hours:Weekdays: 11:00 AM – 9:30 PM; Weekends: 9:00 AM – 9:30 PM

[Anping 49 Café Humanistic Hall Official Website]
[Anping 49 Café Humanistic Hall Fan Page]