The British Tudor-style Alishan Forestry Club Tells Centuries-Old Tales

By MOOK Travel Life Network, reported and compiled by Li Xinyi

The Forestry Club is a designated municipal heritage site in Chiayi City. Constructed in 1914 (the third year of the Taisho era) during the Japanese colonial period as a leisure venue for the Taiwan Governor-General’s Forestry Bureau, it has close ties to the history of Alishan forest development. Its unique and finely crafted British Tudor-style architecture is rarely seen in Taiwan. To revive this significant structure representing Chiayi’s forestry history, the Chiayi Forest District Office meticulously restored it using original materials and techniques in 1999 (the 88th year of the Republic of China). It suffered damage in an earthquake in 2010 (the 99th year), but has since been restored to its former glory and now hosts the "Stories of the Alishan Forest Workers" exhibition.

The "Stories of the Alishan Forest Workers" exhibition held at the Forestry Club showcases the forest area, brief history, organization, operations, and the lives of surrounding people as recalled by elder Chiayi residents—through old photographs, documents, artifacts, and objects. By paying tribute to time, it invites visitors to revisit the century-long transformation of the Alishan forest. To enrich the exhibition, multiple films related to Alishan are also screened on-site, including the especially notable documentary *Nanshin Taiwan* (Southern Advance to Taiwan), provided by the National Museum of Taiwanese History.

The organizers edited footage from the film—including scenes of the Yushan mountain forests, the Alishan Forest Railway, cherry blossoms, the log yard operated by the Taiwan Governor-General’s Forestry Bureau, and the planing mill (now the Chiayi Cultural Center), which was once the largest of its kind in Asia—into a precious black-and-white historical film with Japanese narration and Chinese subtitles. The "Stories of the Alishan Forest Workers" exhibition runs from May 11 to December 31, 2012.

● Read more: New Travel Passes for Sun Moon Lake–Alishan Now Available

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