From Coal to Coffee Aroma！One of Taiwan’s Top 100 Historical Attractions — Jing Tong Carbon Factory Café

▲ Carbon Factory Café located in Jing Tong, New Taipei. (Photo / Reproduced from New Taipei Tourism Website)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

In today’s rapidly urbanizing and tourism-developing world, it’s not easy to find a building over a hundred years old that remains undamaged or unrenovated. But in Jing Tong, there’s a café that was once a coal washing plant and has now transformed into a uniquely charming coffee shop — and it’s even been listed as one of Taiwan’s Top 100 Historical Sites.

▲ The Carbon Factory Café building is over 100 years old. (Photo / Provided by netizen irisusu, please do not reproduce without permission to avoid copyright infringement.)

In the past, Jing Tong was a booming hub of Taiwan’s coal mining industry, and the Taiyang Mining Coal Washing Plant was established here in 1921. As the coal industry declined, the plant was eventually abandoned until it caught the eye of the future owner of Carbon Factory Café, allowing this century-old structure to be preserved and transformed into the café it is today.

▲ Formerly the coal washing plant of Jing Tong. (Photo / Reproduced from New Taipei Tourism Website)

Although the building of Carbon Factory Café is over a century old, its nostalgic, weathered red brick walls remain well-preserved. These historical traces have made this mountainside café a rare and unique sight.

▲ Vintage-style doors and windows. (Photo / Provided by netizen meaningoftravel, please do not reproduce without permission to avoid copyright infringement.)

Sitting by the window at Carbon Factory Café, with an unobstructed high vantage point, you can watch trains pass by and gaze out at the scenery of the old street. It attracts many foreign visitors and has become one of the representative cultural and historical spots in Jing Tong.

▲ View of passing trains from the window. (Photo / Provided by netizen meaningoftravel, please do not reproduce without permission to avoid copyright infringement.)

▲ Simple and rustic interior décor, with a panda mascot. (Photo / Provided by netizen adlib1102, please do not reproduce without permission to avoid copyright infringement.)

Carbon Factory Café
No. 50, Jing Tong Street, Jing Tong Village, Pingxi District, New Taipei City