Where to go during the Spring Festival? 4 Historic Districts in Pingtung City with Well-Preserved Classic Architecture

Reported by You T-Ru / Comprehensive Report

There are 4 historic spaces in Pingtung worth visiting: Shengli Veterans' Village, Lingyun Veterans' Village, Pingtung Tobacco Factory, and the Old Pingtung Pulp Mill. Each of these four sites holds stories worth preserving and protecting. To revitalize historical architecture, the Pingtung City Government has launched the "Golden Finger" initiative, encouraging visitors to explore Pingtung while also reflecting on how these old buildings can be repurposed. Although some parts of the 4 historic areas are not yet fully open to the public, visitors can still take the opportunity to explore them during the Spring Festival holiday.

Shengli Veterans' Village
Also known as the "Shengli Cultural and Creative Park," it is currently the most well-preserved high-ranking officers’ Japanese-style military dependents' village in Taiwan, spanning both the Japanese colonial period and the Nationalist government era. The area consists of 71 buildings, some of which have already been renovated and are now home to shops and creators. More will be gradually restored and opened for leasing in the future.

%Visitors can check out the official website of Pingtung Golden Finger (a href="http://pingtung.f3art.com/">Pingtung Golden FingerOfficial Site).


Lingyun Veterans' Village
Located in front of Liukuocuo Railway Station in Pingtung City, between 1963 and 1965, the expansion of the Pingtung South Airport base necessitated relocation. The original site of Chang’an Li became vacant due to this move. At that time, Soong Mei-ling, then-chairwoman of the Women’s Association, sponsored the construction of housing here to serve as residences for air force dependents, divided into Dapeng 7th Village and Lingyun 3rd Village, later administratively renamed as Pengcheng Li and Lingyun Li.

%Visitors can check out the official website of Pingtung Golden Finger (a href="http://pingtung.f3art.com/">Pingtung Golden FingerOfficial Site).


Pingtung Tobacco Factory
Taiwan has only three tobacco factories, and Pingtung Tobacco Factory holds great historical significance because Kaohsiung-Pingtung was once the largest tobacco-producing region in Taiwan, and it remains the best-preserved tobacco factory. However, as domestic tobacco leaf production declined year by year, the factory ceased operations in 2002. After its closure, the factory complex retained 24 main buildings, primarily warehouses and machinery plants, among which the production equipment buildings, machinery, chimneys, and the Zhongshan Hall administrative center from the Japanese colonial period were designated as historical architecture in 2010.

%The area offers deep historical insight, especially since the tobacco industry played a huge role in the region. (a href="http://pingtung.f3art.com/">Pingtung Golden FingerOfficial Site).


Old Pingtung Pulp Mill
Among the aforementioned historical buildings, the youngest is the Old Pingtung Pulp Mill, located within the Pingtung Sugar Factory complex. Its establishment in 1967 was driven by the then-Nationalist government’s suggestion to use sugarcane bagasse to produce pulp, aiming to increase the added value and revenue of sugarcane, as well as elevate Taiwan’s papermaking technology. After ten years of planning and construction, the mill was finally completed in 1976, and the Pingtung Pulp Mill was officially established in September 1977. Pulp production ceased in 1994 after 18 years of operation, producing nearly 120 tons of bleached pulp. During the 20th century, this “bleached sugarcane pulp” supported many Pingtung families.

%It helped sustain numerous households in Pingtung. (a href="http://pingtung.f3art.com/">Pingtung Golden FingerOfficial Site).