Miners' Dormitory

Updates : 2024-12-02

1973

Route 2 Taiwan

Introduction

During the heyday of Houtong mining, many miners' families moved here, and the miners' dormitories were also called "Liauzi." In Houtong, there are Neiliauzi, Sanzuoliau, Wuzuoliao, Fanziliau, and Meiyuancuo, all of which are workers' dormitories. In the early days, they used wooden boards to partition most houses and opened a small hole in the wooden wall to install electric lights for two households. They shared a kitchen, bathroom, and toilet.

Although the building looks like a two-story building, it has three floors inside, and each small window space is for a family to live in. At that time, thousands gathered in the miners' dormitories to live and work here. Everyone lived in the space separated by this window, which included children reading, sleeping, and eating. As the government ordered the mines to be closed one by one, many residents moved out of there to live elsewhere, leaving only the original miners' dormitories standing here, introducing the scenes of the miners' lives at that time to future generations.

How to Get There

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National Taipei University Arts Boulevard

Development in the area surrounding the Sanxia campus of National Taipei University is occurring rapidly. Beautiful residential sky rises are cropping up, with spacious roads and heavy tree cover, but what is most astounding is the 1.2-kilometer-long pedestrian arts boulevard that was built in front of the row of homes on Xueqin Road, starting by the university’s main entrance.

Peng Garden

Walking up from Jiufen Police Station, you can find the Peng Garden on the side of Shuqi Road. It used to be a recreational clubhouse for the workers at the Tauyang Gold Mine Office. Taiyang's Chairman, Mr. Yan Qinxian was concerned about the well-being of his mining employees, as they were prone to injury and pneumoconiosis due to the nature their work. Therefore, he turned the clubhouse into a hospital for the miners in 1948 - the Taiyang Mining Associate Hospital. Dr. Peng Qinghuo, who graduated from Tohoku University's Medical Department in Japan, was invited on board as the Chief of Medicine.Dr. Peng is of Hakka decent from Hsinchu. After graduating from his studies in Japan, he continued his degree for another 4 years, serving as a military doctor for Japanese soldiers sustaining injuries of war.