Culture-Railway Hospital

Close shot of the Railway Hospital (originally Gaobinge Tavern)

Railway Hospital

Currently the Railway Hospital (see map ) is no longer in business. Built in around 1937 and during the Japanese Occupation period it was originally “Gaobinge Tavern,” a place where intellectuals, among which such well-known figures as He Lai, father of Taiwan New Literature, and Tswon-ming Du, father of medical studies in Taiwan, would frequently gather to talk about politics.

After the defeat of Japan Gaobinge Tavern was taken by the Railway Administration, and was renovated into the Railway Hospital, but due to poor management it was forced to be shut down in 1984.

Architecturally, the Railway Hospital resembles the appearance of a giant ferry, and the asymmetrical parapet wall to the left of the building was a remarkable innovation that broke from the conventional demands of symmetrical beauty; distinguished historical monument scholar Li Chien-lang and architecture scholar Chau-ching Fu were hence compelled to marvel that “this is one of the most avant-garde buildings of the Japanese Occupation period". As one of the few remaining buildings that retains the Modernist architectural stylistics, the Railway Hospital can be seen to have influenced the overall architectural design of the entire Xiaoxi area.

Rear View of the Railway Hospital

Because the it has been left untended for quite some time, and because the Railway Administration had not the budget to support its regular maintenance, the Railway Hospital was once almost demolished, but thankfully the decision was repealed after the public hearing organized by numerous cultural activists, and on April 29 of 2011 Changhua County government passed the decision to officially register the Railway Hospital as a county-level historical relic and as an “important Changhua County Historical Architecture,” saving it from future threats of demolition.

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