A Century of Time: The "Taipei Railway Culture Festival" Unveils the Bathhouse Filming Location from *The Rooftop*

▲ The "Taipei Railway Culture Festival" will recount a chapter of Taipei’s history to the public. (Photo / Courtesy ofTaipei Railway Culture Festival official website)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

The Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Taiwan Railways have collaborated for the first time to host the "Taipei Railway Culture Festival." To showcase the important industrial heritage along Taipei’s former railway lines and the city’s development trajectory, the Taipei Railway Workshop has been specially opened to allow visitors to explore the story of Taipei’s railways.

Taipei’s railway history spans a long period. Since 1887, when Liu Mingchuan, the Governor of Taiwan, built the first railway, Taipei has become the driving force behind Taiwan’s extensive railway development and has also spurred the growth of a series of monopoly production factories such as those for tobacco, alcohol, sugar, and camphor, all of which developed along the railway lines. As time passed and the city flourished, these once-prosperous production facilities and railways gradually aged and became obsolete. Although they hold the status of "cultural assets," they have gradually faded from public view. Through the "Taipei Railway Culture Festival," these forgotten assets from the old industrial era will be revived and brought back into the spotlight, telling a chapter of Taipei’s history.

▲ The bathhouse filming location in Jay Chou’s movie *The Rooftop* was shot at the Taipei Railway Workshop. (Photo / Courtesy ofTaipei Railway Culture Festival official website)

The "Taipei Railway Culture Festival" runs from September 3 to October 26, featuring a variety of activities. These include the "All-Connected Railway Tour," which offers an in-depth look at the history of industrial factories that developed along the railway lines; the "Beichang Workshop," a family-friendly activity where participants can create robots using spare parts; the "Beichang Lecture Hall," which explores Taipei’s railways from various perspectives including space, architecture, culture, and history; and the grand "Taipei Railway Culture Carnival" celebrating the October 30, 1935 completion of what is known as the "Railway Hospital"—the Taipei Railway Workshop. Visitors can explore the bathhouse filming location from Jay Chou’s *The Rooftop*, ride a miniature train, or browse the railway-themed creative market, all while learning the story of Taipei’s railways.

For more event details, please visit the"Taipei Railway Culture Festival" official website