Even by the bucolic standards of South Taiwan’s Tainan County (台南縣), Shanshang Township (山上鄉) is a rural backwater. Its inhabitants are mostly fruit farmers, and few buildings have more than three stories.

The Zengwun River (曾文溪), which forms the township’s northern boundary, is one of the region’s most important drainages. Controlling and exploiting this waterway has been a priority for the various regimes that have ruled Taiwan, and soon after Japan’s 1895 takeover of the island, plans were made to build a riverside facility that could supply clean water to Tainan City.

The facility, now known as the Old Tainan Watercourse (原台南水道), has not been used since the 1980s. But the complex—two large structures plus a handful of smaller buildings, surrounded by tall trees—remains a striking sight. When Gotō Shinpei (後藤新平), a leading official in the Japanese colonial government at the beginning of the 20th century, said major public buildings in Taiwan should be "soldiers in civilian clothes," this was the effect he was aiming for. Through architecture, he thought, the colonizers could impress upon the local population a sense that the island’s new rulers were wise, mighty, and here to stay.

In 2002, Tainan County Government designated the Watercourse an official historical site. Since 2005 it has been a relic of national standing, classified as such by the Ministry of the Interior.

The Tainan Watercourse was first proposed in 1897 by W.K. Burton (1856-1899), a Scotsman who made great contributions to public hygiene in both Taiwan and Japan. His Japanese assistant, Yashiro Hamano, was active in Taiwan until 1919, and is credited with designing the facility.

It was not until 1912, however, that funds were allocated for the construction of the watercourse. Within a decade the British-made filtration system—the first installed in Taiwan—was cleansing 450,000 cubic meters of water a day.

Much of the original equipment remains in place. There is a backwash-pressure engine that was used to unclog the filters by blasting water back through them.

Makers’ plaques can be found on several of the machines. Some have been polished by time and are almost illegible, but visitors can still read enough to see how, in the 1920s, Japan still depended on imported Western technology. One plaque reads, “E.H. Hunter & Co, Contractors – Osaka, Kobe & London.”

Of the four engines that would pump clean water out of the watercourse and up to a covered reservoir on a nearby hilltop (this reservoir is open to visitors) three are original. The fourth dates from just after World War II, and bears an unusual stamp of origin: “Yasukawa Electric Mfg. Co. Ltd. – Made in Occupied Japan.”

The steam generator that provided backup power for the complex if the grid electricity failed is long gone. But only recently has the laboratory—where quality testing was done, and alum and soda ash were added to the water—been made safe for visitors. When this writer first visited the Watercourse, dusty bottles of dangerous chemicals lined the shelves.

The laboratory benches and cabinets are made of cypress wood. Like everything else in the Watercourse they were built to last. And except for some termite damage, they have.

Some Western visitors remark that the more westerly of the two main buildings resembles a cathedral. Indeed, the large windows and the flying buttresses are church-like, although the redbrick exterior is in keeping with typical Taiwanese buildings such as sanheyuan (三合院) courtyard homes. The roofs were originally covered by square ceramic tiles, but these have been replaced with faux-tile metal sheeting.

Several former industrial sites around Taiwan have already been repackaged as tourist attractions or cultural centers, and the Old Watercourse is set to follow suit. In October 2007, the Chinese-language China Daily News (中華日報) reported that the central government has set aside NT$80 million for the renovation of the Watercourse. Work is due to begin in 2008.

According to Lin Hsiao-wei (林曉薇), an assistant professor in the Department of Architecture at Chung Yuan Christian University (中原大學), the conversion of landmark factories into tourist attractions is a result of the economic shift away from heavy industry, together with a simultaneous growth of interest in “traditional culture and local identity.”

“Many unused industrial buildings, such as mining sites, sugar factories, wine factories and electronic factories have been involved in different types of reuse plans all over Taiwan. Many of these industrial buildings… represent a symbol of history and people’s memories,” Lin wrote in a paper for a 2006 conference.

Until the renovation is completed, the Watercourse will probably continue to open to the public only sporadically. For up-to-date information, see the multilingual website of the Siraya National Scenic Area Administration (西拉雅國家風景區管理處) or call the administration at (06) 6990-335.

The Old Tainan Watercourse is at 16, Shanshang Village, Shanshang Township, Tainan County (台南縣山上鄉山上村16號), right beside Taiwan Highway 178 (台178線), a road that continues westward to both north-south freeways.

Written by Steven Crook for culture.tw
Photos by Richard Matheson