Taitung’s old station was the southern terminus of the eastern railway. It closed in 2001, and passenger services were taken over by the station at Yanwan. Platforms, warehouses and tracks were retained and reused as the Taitung Railway Art Village. Railway structures and open ground now form a public cultural space.
From the journal
The station that became a studio
Taitung moved its railway out of the city centre and kept the old station. The platforms, warehouses and tracks are now an art village.
In the same city · Taitung ↗A station in the middle of town
Studios in the warehouses
The village is not a single museum but a scattered group of buildings, some restored and some left rough. Local artists and craftspeople use the warehouses as studios, and the spaces between them host markets, performances and temporary installations. The scale is small and the atmosphere is quiet; on a weekday afternoon there may be more cats than visitors. The Taitung Art Museum and the Taitung Story Museum are nearby, and the forest park and Pipa Lake are within walking distance. The area has become the centre of the city's small contemporary art scene.
An evening in the city
Taitung is a city of low buildings and wide skies, and the old railway land is one of the few places where people gather in the evening. The nearby Tiehua area has hosted music and food events, though its programme has changed over the years and visitors should check what is running. The harbour at Fugang, a short drive away, is the ferry port for Green Island and Orchid Island. In the city, the night market and the seafood restaurants along the streets serve the catch of the coast. The railway village is a good place to start, and the sea is never more than a few minutes away.
