Following a restoration project lasting more than one year, on Thursday last week the scaffolding finally came down on the nearly 100-year-old Sanjia train station, revealing its new look to visitors. Washed granolithic finish columns and wooden eaves showcase the fusion of Western and Japanese architecture that forms the building’s style. Sanjia station, which is full of the quirks and details of a small railway station, is expected to become a popular new tourist destination in New Taipei City’s Shulin District.
The station, now a New Taipei City-designated historic site, was originally constructed in 1903. Its primary function was for the transport of coal from the Sanjia mountain area. Starting in 1928, the line was used to transport ferroconcrete and wood for use in the construction of buildings. Over the years, the station’s superstructure gradually fell into disrepair and became riddled with termites. After a new station building was opened in 2011, the old building was boarded up and shrouded in tarpaulin.
In 2015, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) set aside NT$21 million to carry out a restoration of the old station. Sanjia is now the only surviving Japanese colonial-era train station, preserved in its original form, on Taiwan’s west coast mainline between Cidu station in the south and Taoyuan in the north. As such, Sanjia holds a special place in the history of Taiwan’s railways.
Photo: Chang An-chiao, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者張安蕎
The TRA says the station’s roof was reconstructed using Chinese cedar, and windows and doors were matched to the originals by using Taiwanese cedar. After replastering the walls, straw was rubbed onto the outer surface to produce a special textured effect, restoring the building to its original form, just as it was when it was first built in 1928.(LIiberty Times, translated By Edward Jones)
近百年歷史的山佳火車站歷時一年多的修復工程,上週四終於拆除圍籬,以嶄新的姿態呈現在旅客面前,洗石子廊柱與木造屋簷,呈現日式與西洋混和的建築風格,極富小站風情,預料將成為樹林觀光新亮點。
現為新北市市定古蹟的山佳火車站,原興建於一九0三年,主要功能是運輸山佳地區的煤礦。一九二八年以鋼筋混凝土與木構造重建,歷經歲月的洗禮,站體逐漸變得殘破失修、長滿白蟻,二0一一年新站房啟用後,舊站便以帆布、圍籬封存。
Photo: Chang An-chiao, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者張安蕎
二0一五年底,台鐵局斥資兩千一百萬元展開修復工程,成為西部幹線七堵以南、桃園以北之間唯一保存日治時期原貌的的車站,在台灣鐵路建築史中具有特殊意義。
台鐵指出,車站屋頂以杉木重建,門窗以台灣檜木仿舊,牆面重新粉刷後,以稻稈拓模,製造具粗粒感的特色外壁,致力恢復其一九二八年的日治原貌。(自由時報記者張安蕎)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from
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