In every country you visit, you’re likely to discover quirky things that are pretty much common knowledge among the locals, but come off as a bit confusing to outsiders. Almost every city and town in Taiwan seems to have something that it is well-known for, even if most people don’t actually realize why that’s the case.

Take the ubiquitous Taiwanese Meatball (肉圓) for example: Can you find them in restaurants all over the country? You sure can. Are they just as tasty in Taipei as they are elsewhere? Arguably yes! So why is it that whenever Taiwanese people visit Changhua, one of the first stops includes eating a meatball? Is there something special in the water there that makes them better? I don’t really know the answer to that. I’ve been here long enough however to know that if I’m in the area, I’d better stop by and ensure that this tradition continues.

Over the past few months, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time writing about the “Coastal Railway Five Treasures” (海線五寶), a set of five century old wooden train stations from the Japanese-era. For most people in Taiwan, it’s unlikely that they’ve ever actually heard the term before (save for railway enthusiasts) would be excused for having never heard the term before. Even though the five stations are pretty cool, and are quite historically significant, their existence as a whole hasn’t really entered the national conscious in a way that even remotely resembles some of the iconic culinary dishes you’ll find around the country.

Interestingly though, when we talk about the five stations, namely Dashan (大山), Tanwen (談文) and Xinpu (新埔), Rinan (日南) and Zhuifen (追分) - only one of those names is going to peak the interest of the proverbial national conscious.

With this article I’ll be introducing the fifth and final of the five (wooden) Japanese-era stations along Taiwan’s Western Coastal Railway, Zhuifen Station (追分車站). The southernmost of the group is the one that is most likely going to be a household name no matter where you go in Taiwan, and is part of an interesting, yet quirky local railway tradition that goes back several decades.

Unlike most of the other stations along the line, Zhuifen’s importance wasn’t derived from the freight that was loaded at the station, but due to the fact that it became an important transportation hub where the Western Trunk Railway and the Coastal Railway meet at Changhua Station (彰化車站), just across the Dadu River (大肚溪).

Below, I’ll detail the history and the architectural design of the station, and introduce why it was technically-speaking one of the most significant stops along the Coastal Railway, but before I do that I’m going provide a short language lesson to better explain why the station has become a household name in Taiwan.

To start, the original Japanese-language name of the station was “Oiwake Railway Station” (追分驛 / おいわけえき), which is coincidentally a common name among railway stations back in Japan with almost a dozen with the same (or a slight variation) name. In Japan, the word “oiwake” (おいわけ) refers to a “forked road” also known as a “divergence” or “bunkiro” (分岐路 / ぶんきろ). In the case of this particular station, what the name alluded to was its geographic location, where the Coastal Line would fork in one direction toward its final destination in Changhua and connecting directly to the Mountain Line (山線).

The Kanji for “Oikwake” (追分) however has a much different meaning in Mandarin - The first character “zhuī“ (追) translates as “to chase” or “to pursue” while “fēn” (分) is just simply a “part” or a “division,” among other things. When you put the two together, the meaning is similar to what you’d find in Japan, but for locals it is interpreted as an abbreviation for a much more auspicious meaning, essentially “chasing your dreams” or “pursuing your destiny” (追到緣分).

When Oda Station (王田驛) was officially renamed Chenggong Station (成功車站) in the 1960s, the line that connected the two stations became an instant hit as railway tickets would read “Zhuifen to Chenggong” (追分 - 成功), which is even more auspicious as it means you’ve “successfully made your dreams come true” (zhuī fēn chéng gōng / 追分成功). For young people, that ticket is almost as useful as visiting the God of Literature (文昌帝君) to pray for success on upcoming exams.

Similarly, in Taiwanese Mandarin (台灣國語), the pronunciation of the ‘fēn” in "zhuī fēn” can be pronounced as “f” (ㄈ) or “h” (ㄏ), so for some people “zhuī fēn” might instead be pronunced as “zhuī hūn” or “pursuing marriage” (追婚), making the trip between the two stations just as popular as a visit to the God of Matchmaking as the ticket symbolizes a couple’s success in marriage proposal.

Even more interesting is that the station to the west of Zhuifen, Dadu Station (大肚車站) similarly has a symbolic meaning for young couples in that the Chinese characters “大肚” (dà dù) refer to a ‘large belly’ while “成功” (chéng gōng) means success.

In this case, I probably don’t have to explain what the symbolism here is referring to.

For people in Taiwan, a ticket from these stations has symbolic purpose, and acts as a “good luck charm” comparable to the amulets you might receive after a visit to a local temple.

And now you know why Zhuifen Station is a household name across the country!

Before I get into the history of the station, let me take a few minutes to introduce the significance of the Coastal Railway. If you’ve read this already, feel free to skip it and scroll down.

Coastal Railway (海岸線 / かいがんせん)

The history of the railway in Taiwan dates back as far as 1891 (光緒17), when the Qing governor, attempted to construct a route stretching from Keelung (基隆) all the way to Hsinchu (新竹). Ultimately though, the construction of the railway came at too high of a cost, especially with war raging back home in China, so any plans to expand it further were put on hold.

A few short years later in 1895 (明治28), the Japanese took control of Taiwan, and brought with them a team of skilled engineers who were tasked with coming up with plans to have that already established railway evaluated and then to come up with suggestions to extend it all the way to the south of Taiwan and beyond.

The Jūkan Tetsudō Project (ゅうかんてつどう / 縱貫鐵道), otherwise known as the ‘Taiwan Trunk Railway Project’ sought to have the railroad pass through all of Taiwan’s already established settlements, including Kirin (基隆), Taihoku (臺北), Shinchiku (新竹), Taichu (臺中), Tainan (臺南) and Takao (高雄).

Completed in 1908 (明治41), the more than four-hundred kilometer railway connected the north to the south for the first time ever, and was all part of the Japanese Colonial Government’s master plan to ensure that Taiwan’s precious natural resources would be able to flow smoothy out of the ports in Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan.

Once completed, the Railway Department of the Governor General of Taiwan (台灣總督府交通局鐵道部) set its sights on constructing branch lines across the country as well as expanding the railway network with a line on the eastern coast as well.

Link: Taiwan Railway Museum (臺灣總督府鐵道部)

However, after almost a decade of service, unforeseen circumstances in central Taiwan necessitated changes in the way that the western railway was operated, with issues arising due to typhoon and earthquake damage. More specifically, the western trunk railway in Southern Miaoli passed through the mountains and required somewhat of a steep incline in sections before eventually crossing bridges across the Da’an (大安溪) and Da’jia Rivers (大甲溪), which started to create a lot of congestion, and periodic service outages when the railway and the bridges had to be repaired.

Link: Long-Teng Bridge (龍騰斷橋)

To solve this problem, the team of railway engineers suggested the construction of the Kaigan-sen (かいがんせん / 海岸線), or the Coastal Railway Branch line between Chikunangai (ちくなんがい / 竹南街) and Shoka (しょうかちょう / 彰化廳), or what we refer to today as Chunan and Changhua.

Link: Western Trunk Line | 縱貫線 (Wiki)

Construction on the ninety kilometer Coastal Line started in 1919, and amazingly was completed just a few short years later in 1922 (大正11), servicing eighteen stations, some of which (as I mentioned above) continue to remain in service today.

Those stations were: Zhunan (竹南), Tanwen (談文湖), Dashan (大山), Houlong (後龍), Longgang (公司寮), Baishatun (白沙墩), Xinpu (新埔), Tongxiao (吞霄), Yuanli (苑裡), Rinan (日南), Dajia (大甲), Taichung Port (甲南), Qingshui (清水), Shalu (沙轆), Longjing (龍井), Dadu (大肚), Zhuifen (追分) and Changhua (彰化).

(Note: English is current name / Chinese is the original Japanese-era station name)

Oiwake Railway Station (追分驛 / おいわけえき)

Opening simultaneously with most of the other stations on the Coastal Line, Oiwake Station (追分驛 / おいわけえき) officially opened on October 11th, 1922 (大正12年), and is geographically the southern-most station in Taichung as trains cross the Dadu River (大肚溪) into Changhua where the railway merges into one.

Earlier we learned about the symbolic significance of Oiwake Station, now it’s time to go into some detail about its technical significance, which has over the past century made it one of the most important on the Coastal Line.

The first thing to keep in mind is that the Western Trunk Line (縱貫鐵道) spanned the entire western coast of Taiwan, from Kiirun (基隆 / きいるんぐん) in the north to Takao (高雄 / たかおしゅう) in the south, or Keelung and Kaohsiung as they’re known today. As mentioned earlier, when the Coastal Line was completed in 1922, the western line split into two separate railways from Chikunan (Zhunan / 竹南 / ちくなんぐん) to Shoka (Changhua / 彰化 / しょうかぐん).

The Mountain Line (山線) followed the original inland route through Miaoli into Taichung and then into Changhua, while the newly constructed Coastal Line (海線) followed a route closer to the coast on the other side of the mountains. The construction of the Coastal Line two decades later was necessary in order to ensure the efficiency of the railway, the movement of freight, and connecting newer communities to the new form of public transportation.

Interestingly, when proposals started to appear for the Coastal Line, residents of Taichung protested in large numbers as they considered the new line a dagger to the heart of the development of their city thinking that the new line would push industry outwards towards the coast. Nevertheless, the Governor General’s office pushed ahead with plans for the railway as exporting natural resources and agriculture products was far more important to the colonial regime, and ensuring that development of the island could continue.

The ninety kilometer Coastal Railway between Zhunan and Changhua officially started service on October 11th, 1922 and between Miaoli and Changhua serviced sixteen stations, some of which became incredibly important with regard to the export of agricultural commodities. Two years earlier however, service on the first section of the railway, known as the Oda Branch Line (王田支線) between Oda Station (王田驛) and Kiyomizu Station (清水驛) opened for service on Christmas, 1920 (大正10年).

In today’s terms, the line essentially branched off at Chenggong Station (成功車站) and curved north with a final stop at Qingshui Station (清水車站) where freight could be transported to Taichung Port. To this day, the opening of the Oda Branch Line is interpreted by many as a method of appeasing the people of Taichung. who were weary of the Coastal Branch, but quickly took to the new line as it provided a means of visiting the nearby beach on the weekend. Similarly, it was also seen as a practical move to ensure that freight could be transported to the Taichung port on the western coast as soon as possible.

The stations that opened on December 25th, 1920 are as follows (Japanese-era / current name)
Oda / Chenggong Station (王田驛 / おうたえき / 成功車站)
Daito / Dadu Station (大肚驛 / だいとえき / 大肚車站)
Tatsui / Longjing Station (龍井驛／たついえき / 龍井車站)
Sharoku / Shalu Station (沙鹿驛／しゃろくえき / 沙鹿車站)
Kiyomizu / Qingshui Station (清水水驛／きよみずえき / 清水車站).

When the remaining sections of the Coastal Railway were connected and officially opened for service in 1922, the connection between Oda Station on the Mountain Line and Oiwake Station on the Coastal Line remained in service with the two railways forming what is known as a “wye” or a “junction triangle” (三角線 / 分岐路). This allowed the two railways to merge into one at Changhua (and later at the Dadu River South Signal Station (大肚溪南號誌站)). However, as the Coastal Line and the Mountain Line remained separate entities until they merged at Changhua, the branch rail that connected the Mountain Line to the Coastal Line became known as the “Chengzhui Line” (成追線), a two kilometer line that connected both railways.

Even though the line was a short one, it was instrumental in ensuring for better efficiency for passengers and freight, which would have had to first travel into Changhua, and then turn around and head back north if it weren’t for the connection.

Link: Changhua Roundhouse 彰化扇形車庫 - Spectral Codex

In Japanese, the term “oiwake” (おいわけ) as mentioned earlier refers to a “forked road” and so even though we are able to find symbolism in the name of the station today, it was constructed essentially to allow trains running along the Coastal Railway a space to stop before they continued across the river into Changhua.

In terms of the number of passengers who pass through the station, Zhuifen tends to be one of the busiest of the ‘five treasure’ station with an annual number of passengers averaging between 293,000 in 2010 and 208,000 in 2020. Even though those numbers have been declining over the years, the station remains relatively busy with an average of 500-700 people passing through the station on a daily basis.

The recent construction of the nearby Taichung High Speed Rail Station (台中高鐵站) and the Taichung Metro (台中捷運) have recently factored into the decline of passengers at the station, but as things go, it remains a pretty popular tourist attraction with many arriving in order to enjoy the symbolism that the it provides with regard to relationships and school success.

Zhuifen Station was recognized as a Taichung Protected Heritage Building on November 26th, 2002 shortly after it celebrated its eightieth year of service. The protected status is important for buildings like this as it ensures that funding will be made available in case of emergency and that there are plans to ensure its long-term survivability. As the station is due to celebrate its centennial in late 2022, it should go without saying that the historical significance of the station deserves some special recognition, and hopefully we’ll see some celebrations planned in the coming months!

Before I get into the architectural design of the station, let me take a minute to provide a short timeline of events with regard to the station:

Timeline

12/25/1920 (大正10年) - The Oda Branch Line (王田支線) opens for service between Oda Station (王田驛 / おうたえき ) and Kiyomizu Station (清水驛 / きよみずえき).
10/11/1922 (大正12年) - The Coastal Railway officially opens for service.
10/11/1922 (大正12年) - Oiwake Station (追分驛) officially opens for service.
10/11/1922 (大正12年) - The Oda Branch Line officially becomes the Oda - Oikwake branch.
1987 (民國76年) - Passenger service on the Chengzhui comes to a stop as the line is instead reserved for emergency use.
1997 (民國86年) - Passenger service on the Chengzhui Branch Line opens up again for service.
06/30/2015 (民國104年) - The station switches primarily to card swiping tickets.
07/2017 (民國106年) - The track along the Chengzhui Branch line was widened into a dual track in order to increase the amount of trains traveling back and forth between the Taichung Line and the Coastal Line.
08/2021 (民國110年) - The widening project is completed after several years work.

Architectural Design

When we talk about the stations that make up the Coastal Railway’s Five Treasures, the architectural design of each of the five stations differ only slightly - and most of those differences are the result of the past few decades of operation. I suppose this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise given that they were all small stations, each of which opened in the same year, meaning that some funds were saved when it came to architectural design. That being said, the design of these buildings is about as formulaic as you’ll get with Japanese architectural design, but don’t let that fool you - the simplicity of these stations allows for some special design elements.

Like the other four stations, Oiwake Station was constructed in a fusion of Japanese and Western architectural design, and one of the reasons it stands out today (apart from its age) is that it was built entirely of wood (木造結構), more specifically locally sourced Taiwanese cedar (杉木), making use of a cement base and a network of beams within the building to ensure structural stability.

The architectural design fusion in the stations that were constructed during the Taishō era (大正) borrowed elements of Western Baroque (巴洛克建築) with that of traditional Japanese design. In this case, the design is somewhat subdued (likely for cost saving measures) allowing the traditional Japanese design elements stand out more.

To start, the station was constructed using Irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造 / いりもやづくり) style of design, most often referred to in English as the “East Asian hip-and-gable roof.” As mentioned above, the building was constructed with a network of beams and trusses found in the interior and exterior of the building. This allows the roof to (in this case slightly) eclipse the base (母屋) in size and ensure that its weight is evenly distributed.

The roof was designed using the kirizuma-zukuri (妻造的樣式) style, which is one of the oldest and most commonly used designs in Japan. Translated simply as a “cut-out gable” roof, the kirizuma-style is one of the simplest of Japan’s ‘hip-and-gable’ roofs. What this basically means is that you have a section of the roof (above the rear entrance) that ‘cuts’ out from the rest of the roof and faces outward like an open book (入) while the longer part of the roof is curved facing in the opposite direction.

To really appreciate the shape of the roof you’ll have to walk around and view it from all four sides because when you look at it from the front, it appears to be rather simple, save for the fact that it is split into two levels, with a lower section that covers the walkway that surrounds the building on three sides.

The space between the upper portion of the roof and the lower portion features glass windows that were constructed for the purpose of allowing natural light to enter the building. One of the modern additions to the front includes some square lighted signs with the name of the station, blocking some of the windows. Fortunately, there are windows on three sides of the station hall, so during the day you’ll find that there is an ample amount of natural light coming into the building.

The interior of the station is split in two sections, much like what we saw the former Qidu Railway Station, with the largest section acting as the station hall while the other was where the station staff and ticket windows were located. Given that this station is still in operation, only one side is understandably open to the public. Despite its popularity, the interior of the station isn’t all that flashy and you’ll discover that the space is a bit cluttered with notices, warnings and posters covering most of the empty space on the walls.

While inside, you’ll want to take note of the cement floor and the large sliding glass windows to the left of the ticket window and to the right of the entrance. Likewise, I recommend looking up to the ceiling at the wall opposite the ticket booth where you’ll see one of the ox-tail windows and the usage of wooden beams within the wall to ensure stability.

One of the most notable aspects of the interior is the wooden gate located near the ticket booth. The gate is rather unique in Taiwan these days in that it was constructed to look like the Japanese word for ‘money’ (円).

Interestingly, it appears as if the station was modified at some point with the ‘money gate’ on the left side as you’d find it at all of the other ‘five treasure’ stations. The ticket window however is currently located on the right.

Today you’ll find the iconic electronic ticket booth in front of the gate and my best guess is that with so many people visiting the station looking for their ‘good luck charm’ tickets, they kept the ticket machine while the other stations switched completely to electronic card swiping.

I could very well be wrong, but it would be odd for this station to be constructed differently than the other four given that they were all constructed together and appear the same.

Located on both the rear and eastern side of the building, one of the most notable Baroque inspired elements are the ox-eye windows (牛眼窗). Located just above the ‘cut’ section of the roof (near the arch) you’ll find these round windows that look almost as if they were something you’d find on a boat. The windows essentially help to provide natural light into the office section of the building, and are one of those architectural elements that Japanese architects of the period loved to include in their designs.

Similar to the other four ‘treasures’, once you pass through the gates you’ll find a beautifully constructed wooden fence that is somewhat rare among Taiwan’s railway stations these days. The fence has since been painted, but the original Taiwanese cedar that was used almost a century ago (like the rest of the building) has withstood the test of time and continues to remain in place today.

As you pass through the ticket gate to make your way to the platforms, you’ll notice the (relatively) new underpass to the platforms directly to your right. When the station was first constructed though, passengers would have made their way left and then (carefully) crossed the tracks to the waiting area for the train.

Today, that area features a modest garden with some statues of local deities (hint: they’re related to education and matters of love), but the rest of the area is blocked off.

Still, once you’ve passed through the gates and walk around to the rear of the station (or to the platform area) you get to see the arguably most beautiful side of the station where the roof is much more impressive and more time was spent on the architectural design. You’ll see the ox-tail window above the ‘cut’ section of the roof with all of the windows unobstructed. You’ll even get a pretty good view of the station while standing on the platforms waiting for the next train.

Getting There

Address: #13 Zhuifen Street, Dadu District, Taichung City (臺中市大肚區追分街13號)
GPS: 24.120540, 120.570160

As is the case with any of my articles about Taiwan’s historic railway stations, I’m going to say something that shouldn’t really surprise you - When you ask what is the best way to get to the train station, the answer should be pretty obvious: Take the train!

As the southernmost of the ‘five treasure’ stations on the Coastal Railway, getting to this station is probably going to take the most (or coincidentally also the least) amount of time depending on where you set off from. If you’ve been taking the Coastal Railway south from Hsinchu Station (新竹車站), it’s going to take around one hundred minutes, if you travel directly.

That being said, you’re in a bit of luck with this station as it is only about twenty minutes south of Taichung Station (臺中車站) by way of local commuter train (區間車), and even quicker if you take the High Speed Rail to the Taichung High Speed Rail Station (高鐵台中站) where you’ll switch to Taiwan Railway’s Xinwuri Station (新烏日車站), and ride for less than ten minutes.

Similarly if you’re in town and close to one of the newly established TMRT (台中捷運) station’s on the Green Line (綠線), you can ride all the way to the Xinwuri HSR Station, and then transfer to the normal train as mentioned above.

Link: Taichung Green Line Route Map (台中捷運綠線地圖)

If you’re already in the area and have access to a car or a scooter, you can easily find the station if you input the address provided above into your GPS or Google Maps. The station is located within Taichung’s southern Dadu District (大肚區) along the border with Changhua. If you’re driving, the station is a simple turn off of Shatian Road (沙田路) into a small alley where you should be able to find parking along the road.

If you’re relying on public transportation, but don’t want to take the train you have the option of taking the following buses, which will get you pretty close to the station. If you’re taking any of buses listed below, make sure to get off at the Zhuifen Stop (追分站).

Click the bus number to access the route map and schedule for each route:

Taichung Bus (台中客運) #93 - Xinwuri Station - Tongancuo (新烏日車站 - 銅安厝)
Taichung Bus (台中客運) #102 - Gancheng Station - Shalu (干城站 - 沙鹿)
Zhong-Lu Bus (中鹿客運) #105 - Sizhangli - Longjing (四張犁 - 龍井)
Zhong-Lu Bus (中鹿客運) #617 - Taichung Harbor Passenger Service Center - Renyou Parking Lot (台中港旅客服務中心 - 仁友停車場)
GEYA Bus (巨業客運) #180 - Shalu - Changhua (沙鹿 - 彰化)
SF-E Bus (四方客運) #245 - Dadu District Office - Asia University Hospital (大肚區公所 - 亞大醫院)

Having access to buses that will allow you arrive at the station is helpful, but once again unless you’re in some weird part of town that one of them serves, it’s probably better to just take the train. One helpful piece of advice is that when you’re inside the station they have a monitor set up that provides real-time arrivals of the buses that pass through the area, for those of you who prefer to take the bus.

Whether you’re visiting this station because you’re interested in these Japanese-era buildings, or because you’re in the ‘pursuit of success’, you won’t need a whole of time to appreciate this historic train station. In fact, you could probably jump off of the train, check out the station and then hop on the next train that rolls through. Obviously for a lot of Taiwanese people, this particular station holds a much deeper meaning than the other four of the so-called ‘treasures’, but given that it will be celebrating its centennial, it’s a pretty good time to visit and show this old station some appreciation.