Taisugar Yuemei Tourism Sugar Factory
Yuemei Sugar Factory is located in Houli District, Taichung City. It was founded in 1909 (during the Japanese colonial period) by Japanese Komatsu Kusunami and named "Dajia Sugar Factory". It belonged to Nippon Sugar Industry Co., Ltd. After the restoration of Taiwan, the Yuemei Sugar Factory of Taiwan Sugar Corporation took over the production. In 1999, due to environmental changes, it stopped sugar production and transformed into a tourist sugar factory.
Although the Yuemei Tourist Sugar Factory has stopped pressing sugar, its huge machines, distinctive architectural structure and the country's only chimney tunnel still attract people to visit. In addition to the historical sites everywhere in the entire park, in order to make good use of the historical space, the warehouse with large spans of pure cypress beams and no pillars has been converted into a store. In addition to selling Taiwan Sugar products, it also sells snacks and specialties from all over the country. The park also has a koi pond with a waterfront trail, providing a place for parent-child interaction. It also has century-old precious cold-zone black pine, ginkgo and camphor trees, and displays ancient farm relics for outdoor teaching in schools.
Sugar production was an important industry during the Japanese colonial era. From March to June 1945, the Allied Forces bombed Taiwan's sugar factories with tall chimneys in order to block Taiwan's support for Okinawa. Sugar factories with tall chimneys were obviously eye-catching targets, so today the chimneys of the Yuemei Sugar Factory are still riddled with bullet holes.
The ancient sugar factory is the only chimney tunnel in the country. It is a way to exhaust smoke and is taller than a person. It is the flue connecting the back of the boiler and the chimney. It is an arch-shaped passage made of bricks, making people feel like walking into a time tunnel. Walking to the end of the chimney tunnel and looking up at the sky, you will experience what it means to "see the sky through a well". The zenith has become a small bright moon in the distance, which reminds people of the description in Haruki Murakami's novel "The Last Bird Chronicles", where he sat at the bottom of a well and felt the ultimate light.
The Yuemei Tourist Sugar Factory renovated an old warehouse into a product display and sales department, selling Taiwan Sugar's by-products, ice cream, and agricultural products. The two warehouses were planned as a corridor to provide tourists with shelter from the rain and sun on sunny days.
The ice shop sells Taisugar's famous ice products with various flavors, including popsicles: red bean, mung bean, taro, milk, strawberry, rice cake, roselle, wine, durian, salty... and other flavors ~ Take-out in 30-stick and 50-stick packages, ice cream: vanilla, strawberry, taro, brown sugar, milk, durian, yam... and other flavors, also available in take-out boxes, other flavors of ice: tri-color ice tray, Italian shortbread ice cream, sandwich ice cream, etc.
You can stroll on the Koi Bridge that connects the Sugar Warehouse and the Ice Products Department and watch a large group of carps scrambling for food. The golden, red, black and white patterns shuttle across the water, enriching the vitality of the entire pond. In addition, the timed fountain, when the water splashes into the pool, adds a touch of romance and brings coolness to the scorching afternoon heat.
Taisugar Yuemei Tourist Sugar Factory is a great place to visit with your family on weekends and holidays. It is highly recommended for everyone to visit. Foreign tourists will definitely be amazed and experience the characteristics of an old-fashioned sugar factory.