彭堂城菸樓

October 9th, 2024

Hundreds of tobacco barns can still be found all across Pingtung, one of the main centers of cultivation in the 1960s. These purpose-built structures allowed farmers to cure tobacco on site before onward transport to government-run markets or factories. Whereas most tobacco barns are typically drab and utilitarian, this particular example exhibits an eclectic mix of architectural styles, drawing upon the vernacular of Taiwan’s mid-century shophouses and market streets. This is despite the location in Cailiao Village (菜寮村), quite some distance into the countryside north of urban Gaoshu.

An oblique look at this unusual tobacco barn. Such structures are not usually so ornamental.

The interior has already partly collapsed, as you can see from the window at top.

No record of this tobacco barn seems to exist, or at least I wasn’t able to surface anything while searching for what is evidently the name of the structure, Pengtangcheng (彭堂城). This is not altogether surprising; few of these structures are recognized and preserved, and no special effort seems to have been undertaken to promote Gaoshu as a tourist destination. That being said, it is worth making note of the distinctly Hakka flavor to the name.

A peek inside the old tobacco barn. That slot on the wall must have served some function…

Perusing a storeroom at the back of the tobacco barn.

The entrance to the curing chamber. Notice the viewing panel on the left side, a mechanism for monitoring heat and humidity in the chamber while it was in use.

One last glance at this unique tobacco barn in rural Pingtung.

Unfortunately this old tobacco barn was in poor shape when I visited in 2018. A review of Google Street View’s history mode reveals the curing chamber, with its Osaka-style (大阪式菸樓) ventilation shafts popping out of the top of the roof, was still intact in the early 2010s. It must have collapsed sometime around 2016, leaving the building in its current state of disrepair. I am curious to learn the history of this obscure site, but we may never know more.

Warning: this location is abandoned, hazardous, or otherwise neglected and may be unsafe and even dangerous! Exercise appropriate precautions when visiting.

警告：此處已廢棄或長期無人管理，可能存在潛在危險。造訪時請務必提高警覺，並做好相關安全防護措施。

Map

Address: 高樹鄉菜寮村大平路45之11

Recorded On

December 4th, 2018

Themes

Minyang Fusion Architecture (閩洋折衷式樣建築)
Tobacco Industry in Taiwan (台灣菸業)

Series: Southern Taiwan Ride 2018

Dispatches from a weeklong bicycle trip around southern Taiwan in late 2018. I began the ride in Tainan, crossed into Qishan, headed into the mountainous interior as far as Liugui, did a loop through Pingtung, and finished around Zuoying, visiting the sites of nearly 25 old movie theaters. Many entries remain to be added; this series is far from over.