Visiting the Three Neighborhoods along the Railway
Photo and text /Teacher Mei-tu 2015.2.6
After opening to traffic, the Yuanling Elevated Railway that crosses through the west of Nanping Neighborhood, Hsinsheng Neighborhood, and Sanyi Neighborhood has made these neighborhoods become thriving. By January 2015, Yuanlin Township has 41 boroughs and a population of 124741. Among them, Nanping Neighborhood had 6091 people, Hsinsheng Neighborhood had 5247 people, and Sanyi Neighborhood had 3162 people; the subtotal was 14500 people, which was 12% of the entire township. These three neighborhoods have taken the spotlight in Yuanlin Township.
Yuanlin Station Opening to Traffic and Driving Prosperity
In the early years, the place was a green plain. Since it was in the south of Dachuang, it was named Nanping Village. In 1832, the place first appeared in the Changhua County Annals. Hsiachuang was the original place where Hakka people with the last names of Chang, Huang, Feng, Lai, and Lu lived. In the east, Dingchuang, lived people with the last name Yang. In 1905, Yuanlin Station opened to traffic. The railway crossed through the west of Yuanlin St. and east of Nanping Village. In 1906, a pineapple-canning factory was built in Nanping Village. In 1990, Nanping Village belonged to Yanwuxiabao, Dachuang District, Yuanlin Branch of Taichung County. A few years later, Light Railway Station and Sugar Railway Station were built one by one. In 1920, it belonged Yuanlin Prefecture. Yuanlin Stage was built at the entrance of a vehicle road in 1930, and Taiwan Sugar South Yuanlin Station was built at the other entrance of the vehicle road in 1993. In 1936, Datong Rd. was built.
Historical Events of the Three Neighborhoods along the Railway
In 1945, the population of Yuanlin Township was only 38000. Nanping Neighborhood and Sanyi Neighborhood became independent. In September 1953, Jingsiou Public School became independent. In 1972, Yuanlin Fruits and Vegetable Market moved to Nanping Neighborhood. In 1970, the south of Sanyi Neighborhood, divided by Yuanlu Rd. and Jinhsiu Rd., became Hsinsheng Neighborhood. In 1976, Juguang Rd., an overpass, and the Railway Silo opened. In 1979, the railway was electrified. In 1980, Mingsheng Underpass opened, which made the business at entrances of vehicle roads decline. Taiwan Sugar Yuanlin Station closed bus services in 1995 and truck services the next year. On September 21, 1999, an earthquake occurred, which caused the Longbang Building in Sanyi Neighborhood fell down and the three neighborhoods along the Yuanling Railway became disaster areas. The auditorium of Jingsiou Elementary School was set up as the disaster rescue command center.
Protecting the Yuanlin Railway
In 2002, the Railway Silo was reused. In 2005, the Shuangping Underpass opened to traffic and Teacher Mei-tu’s Yuanlin Railway that reviews the past one hundred years won the Huang Stream Literature Awarded. In 2006, Teacher Mei-tu wrote Cross Nanping Village through Time about the village history. In 2007, the construction of the Yuanlin Elevated Railway started. In 2014, the Jingsiou Vanguard Team was formed in October and the elevated railway opened to traffic and the original railway was removed in November. In 2015, Jingsiou Station was established in January and the Jingsiou Vanguard Team’s “Love Yuanlin Railway” participated in the Cyberfair competition in February.
Transformation and Takeoff
Due to the elevated constructions, these three railway neighborhoods are transforming, railroad crossings and underpasses are being removed, refilled, or opened to traffic, and many places are taking off. However, the issues such as tradition or modernization and innovation or reminiscence have become topics among families, communities, and schools of these railway neighborhoods. The Jingsiou Vanguard Team, being the first to record and study the transformation and channel of the Yuanlin Railway, would like to change the residents’ discussions of environmental protection into effective actions through the backwash education effect.