Taichung visitors could soon have the chance to stay at the Huang Family Garden Estate (黃家薄園), following the completion of a multi-year restoration project, the first historic site in the nation to be converted into a bed-and-breakfast (B&B) site.
The Japanese colonial era estate in what is now the Chingshui District (清水) was completed in 1929, occupying more than 8,000m2, making it the largest private estate in the area, Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Chang Ta-chun (張大春) said on Sunday.
“It is the largest private estate to have been designated as an historic site for Taichung’s coastal region,” Chang said. “The owner raised the idea of renovating it to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast, so people could stay there, surrounded by history.”
Photo courtesy of the Cultural Affairs Bureau via CNA
Chang said he supported the B&B idea as long as the main structure and the estate’s architectural framework are not damaged.
“There have been quite a few successful cases of re-utilization of historic architectural sites in other nations, such as turning castles into hotels. We have also seen success in Japan in revitalizing historic places for new commercial uses,” Chang said. “So we are optimistic about the push to turn the Huang Family Garden Estate into the first ‘historic site and lodging place’ in Taichung, as it could become a hot spot for tourism along the coast.”
The estate’s architecture is a mix of Minnan (閩南) and Western styles, with two courtyards and a main residence surrounded by a double-section of annexes, bureau officials said.
The main residence and central gate’s pillars, arched entrance and gable walls were based on the Baroque style, while a second gate was based on traditional Minnan style, with white-tile walls, ceramic roof decorations and bird-form brackets to support the main beams, they said.
The estate was officially designated in 2013 as a city historic site, and a NT$70 million (US$2.33 million at the current exchange rate) restoration project was launched.
Chang led his staff to inspect the work last week, which he said had been mainly aimed at restoring and shoring up the earthen walls, roof truss, doors and windows, and the exterior ceramic decorations.
“We will request funds for phase two of the project, which would restore the surrounding landscape, and will work to encourage the revitalization of the Huang Family Estate so it can continue to be used,” Chang said.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
RSS