Hexing Railway Station

Date CapturedSeptember 3rd, 2015 at 05:16 UTCCameraNIKON D3100LensAF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IIApertureƒ / 4Shutter Speed1/60 secFocal Length18.0 mmISO400Exposure Value9.9 EVOriginal Size1920 × 1280

Last week I went out with a friend to explore rural Hsinchu. After checking out a cable car tower we slipped over the township line to Hengshan to make a brief pitstop at Héxìng Station (合興車站), the only remaining wooden train station on the newly reopened Nèiwān Line (內灣線). Inside the station house we discovered this wall of vintage clocks, obviously somewhat contrived but every bit as photogenic as intended. Although this station (and the rest of the railway line) was built in the 1950s, after the Japanese colonial period, many of these mechanical wind-up clocks bear Japanese names like Gifutokei, Aichi, and, of course, Seiko.

Apart from the quaint old station house itself you’ll also find several vintage train carriages converted into the sort of place where you may order light meals, coffee, and tea. These can be found immediately next to the platform.