Suantou Sugar Factory was built in year 1906 and was once the third-largest sugar factory in Taiwan during the Japanese era. In year 2001, Typhoon Nari flooded the plant and badly damaged the sugar-making equipment, so sugar production stopped. Today the factory combines Taiwan Sugar's distinctive five-cent trains and has been transformed into a tourist and leisure site themed "Sugarcane Yard Cultural Park." Inside you can see Japanese-style dormitories and Baroque buildings, or enjoy the factory's best-selling ice treats, red bean milk ice cream and sandwiches, guaranteed to chase away the heat.
The century-old sugar factory at Suantou Sugarcane Yard Cultural Park is well worth a visit. Although the machines have stopped, the factory has carefully planned a visiting route with displays such as sugarcane boards and molasses. With the witty commentary of guides, visitors can clearly understand how cane sugar is made. The Suantou Sugar Factory is a quaint wooden building, and you can take the little five-cent train for an outing. The train departs the station toward Taibao and Nanjing, and guides on board explain the countryside scenery along the way, including the white sugarcane fields that have decreased year by year.
Suantou Sugarcane Yard Cultural Park also has a Railway Artifacts Museum displaying many related items, and on the crisscrossing tracks you can see all kinds of five-cent locomotives and cars, including a steam locomotive that spent 30 years adrift in Japan. In addition, a new attraction, an ecological park, will be completed at the end of year 93 of the Republic of China, combining environmental concepts with resource recycling so that it also works for outdoor learning.
Holiday departure times
(1) Palace Museum Southern Branch Line
[Suantou Station] to [Palace Museum Southern Branch Station] 09:50, 11:15, 13:30, 14:50, 16:15.
[Palace Museum Southern Branch Station] to [Suantou Station] 10:20, 11:45, 14:00, 15:20, 16:35.
*One-way travel time 15 minutes
(2) Chiayi High Speed Rail Line
[Suantou Station] to [Five-Cent Train HSR Station] 09:30, 11:00, 14:30, 16:00.
[Five-Cent Train HSR Station] to [Suantou Station] 10:15, 11:45, 15:15, 16:35.
*One-way travel time 30 minutes
Weekdays by appointment
Bookable by groups of 30 or more visitors, with flexible departures. Mondays are maintenance days for the five-cent train and it does not run; if a Monday is a holiday, maintenance moves to the next day.
Experience time slots are arranged by the provider; please confirm when booking.
