【Sunday Slow Time】Art Salon in a Sugar Town Drifts with Tea Aroma ─ Huzicuo

Text by TRAVELER Luxe

 

Hidden in a narrow alley in the bustling area of Huzi, where only a single dead tree stands on the lively street, engraved with the words “Huzicuo Salon.” Stepping into the alley, on the right is a huge blackboard wall, with white chalk writing this month’s salon theme and detailed schedule. A few steps further, you’ll see a whimsical gate crafted by Wang Zhonglong, an iron sculpture artist from Dali, Taichung, using curved iron rods and plump birds made of pebble-like material.

 

Pushing open the gate, you’re greeted by a Japanese-style garden with a robust five-needle pine standing at the entrance, beneath which sits a stone lantern commonly found at Japanese temples. Wang Liping transplanted a large traveler’s palm from Tianwei Highway Garden into the courtyard, and laid down soft Korean grass. Surrounding Huzicuo are various flowers and plants carefully cultivated by the owner. In March, the blooming wax apple flowers display their white-with-pink hues on the branches. Three months later, the crepe myrtle takes the stage, with its pale purple petals of the hybrid Japanese-Western style architecture gently falling in the breeze, covering the entire courtyard.

 

The short Korean grass spreads from the ground up the mounds specially sculpted by the landscape designer, creating a natural slide. Shop assistant Kimi laughs that while moms enjoy tea in the salon, the children often roll around here. The grass here is child-friendly — Wang says she often walks barefoot in the courtyard tending to the plants, using this way to communicate with the space and get closer to her inner self.

 

On the left side of the courtyard lies Huzicuo Salon. This “hybrid Japanese-Western building” was originally the private residence of a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner during the Japanese colonial period, with great attention paid to its materials and structure.

 

As the operator of Huzi’s only independent bookstore, Wang Liping’s conversations are full of local thinking. “Yunlin people need to have their own voice,” Wang says. Yunlin lacks cultural resources, and in Huzi alone, there is just one Eslite bookstore and another small shop. She hopes to use this independent bookstore as a platform to consolidate local strength, integrating agriculture and education, so that children in Yunlin can grow up feeling as proud of their roots as those from Yilan do, no matter where they go.

 

To enable more local activities and documentation, at its peak, Huzicuo Salon held events on 16 days out of every month: Wednesdays were literary days featuring talks, book launches, and poetry readings; Fridays and Saturdays hosted concerts, film screenings, and documentaries. So many events were held that when Yunlin County Cultural Affairs Bureau’s performance hall was under renovation, the head of the bureau joked, “I’ve turned Huzicuo into our branch venue.”

 

As an independent bookstore, Huzicuo Salon selects books based on ecology, gender, and globalization, and curates monthly themed book exhibitions to match the salon themes. For example, in March this year, the theme was parent-child, and the art gallery displayed picture books published by Yunlin Social Affairs Bureau, encouraging local parents and children to write picture books about their community stories — both reflecting local identity and serving a heritage purpose.

 

The salon has four reading rooms, divided into social sciences, natural sciences, gender and queer studies, and literature. Each room features unique decor. Described by staff as having a “fetish for objects,” Wang Liping loves collecting European antique furniture. Most of the chandeliers, tables, chairs, and tea cabinets in the shop are furnishings once used by British and French aristocrats — for example, the British carved wooden table displaying books near the entrance on the left is styled with the popular 17th-century European “animal-foot” leg design; in a corner sits a meticulously crafted British writing desk dating back to the 1810s. These European antiques from the last century blend surprisingly well with the hybrid Japanese-Western architecture, subtly exuding a sense of quiet strength.

 

Besides the open seating in the art gallery, the corners here offer various private reading spaces. One room by the window has a wooden woven chair that seems to be missing an armrest. Sitting there with a book, you’ll soon feel a gentle breeze, surrounded by lush greenery outside, with warm sunlight adding extra coziness. Outside the salon, there are also a few tables and chairs. Despite being outdoors, there’s no strong wind — perfect for a couple of friends to sit, sip a pot of fine tea, and chat.

Besides great books and freshly brewed cold drip coffee, Huzicuo Salon also offers uniquely flavored dried fruits. The shop has a custom fruit dehydrator, and the staff places sliced pineapple, orange, banana, guava, and starfruit neatly inside every day. After 12 hours, they become fruit chips concentrated with every drop of essence, each with varying sweet and sour tastes. Additionally, the cheesecake in the shop is handmade by the owner’s sister, guaranteeing an authentic British flavor.

 

As a native of Huzi, Wang Liping has noticed how much the town has changed over the past decade. Preserved historical buildings such as the Yunlin Story House, HeTong Hall, and Huzi District Office, along with the growing influence of Huzicuo Salon, are gradually transforming the town through the soft power of culture, thought, and aesthetics. This influence will continue to ferment and endure.

 

【Info】

Address: No. 3, Lane 51, Minquan Road, Huzi Township, Yunlin County

Phone: 05-631-3826

Hours: Tue–Fri 11:00–23:00; Sat–Sun 10:00–22:00; Closed Mon

Website: www.huweisalon.com