Restoration of Japanese-Style Dormitories at Taiwan Tobacco Improvement Society Completed, Witnessing Changhua's History

(Central News Agency reporter Cheng Wei-chen, Changhua, June 16) The restoration project for the Japanese-style wooden dormitories of the historic 'Taiwan Tobacco Cultivation Improvement Society' in Changhua County has been completed. Changhua County Magistrate Wang Hui-mei announced today that the county government will revitalize and reuse the site to create a community space that combines historical warmth with contemporary living values.

Magistrate Wang Hui-mei and Lin Bing-yao, Section Chief of Historic Sites and Settlements at the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, attended the completion ceremony, witnessing the dormitories in Tianzhong Township, Changhua, come back to life.

According to information from the Changhua County Cultural Affairs Bureau, the 'Taiwan Tobacco Cultivation Improvement Society' served during the Japanese colonial era as a facility for the Taiwan Governor-General's Office Monopoly Bureau, and after World War II as a site for the Taiwan Provincial Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau, where tobacco leaves were purchased, appraised, and temporarily stored from farmers. It stands as a witness to the early development of Taiwan's tobacco industry and physically represents the social and economic lifestyle of Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period.

Wang Hui-mei stated that the 'Taiwan Tobacco Cultivation Improvement Society' was established in 1938 (Showa 13 of the Japanese colonial era) and has over 80 years of history. The site includes one storage hall and two wooden dormitories for field supervisors, carrying the shared memories of many farmers. She expressed gratitude to former Changhua County Magistrate Cho Po-yuan for initiating preliminary renovations during his term, leading to its designation as a historic building in 2013.

She added that after completing a research survey in 2014, the county government progressively advanced restoration efforts: completing the main storage building restoration and surrounding environmental improvements in 2015, finalizing restoration design plans for the two dormitories in 2019, and receiving approval in 2023 from the Bureau of Cultural Heritage for a total restoration budget of NT$45.52 million, with over NT$29.58 million in subsidies provided by the bureau.

Lin Bing-yao stated that the two Japanese-style dormitories will now be comprehensively planned by the county government to extend into local social welfare spaces. He hopes more young people will visit the site to deeply understand the historical development of the early tobacco industry and strengthen identification with local cultural heritage and regional development. (Edited by Li Ming-tsung) 1150616