Postcards From Ershui (二水明信片)

二水明信片

December 7th, 2017

Ershui is a rural township located in the southeastern corner of Changhua, bordering Yunlin and Nantou. Ershui Station (二水車站), constructed in 1935, is the primary point of transfer between the Main Line (縱貫線) of the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) and the Jiji Line (集集線), a tourist railway leading into the interior. Ershui, which literally means “two water”, is named after the Bābǎo Canal (八堡圳), an extensive system of artificial waterways still responsible for irrigating much of the Changhua Plain (彰化平原) three centuries after it was devised. During the Japanese colonial era this small town prospered as a center of woodworking while farmers in the countryside cultivated bananas, grapes, guava, and tobacco, among other crops. Nowadays it is mainly known as a sleepy stopover on the way to parts beyond—but a closer look will reveal several points of interest for anyone curious about Taiwanese history, architecture, and vintage style.

The modest railway station building in Ershui dates back to 1935 but has been renovated with tile and a new paint scheme since then.

The first of several old red brick mansions, the Zhèng Dǐng House (鄭鼎宅).

Ershui offers an interesting case study in small town urban planning in Taiwan. The original Qing dynasty era settlement can still be found at the southern edge of town, distinguished by a maze of laneways and a motley collection of traditional three-sided courtyard homes. The railway station—which originally opened in 1905—was built some distance to the north of the existing village, and the main street connecting the two is where you’ll find most remaining traces of colonial times¹.

Another red brick building on the main street, Xiè Máo House (謝毛宅). Notice the “M” on the top of the façade?

The sprawling red brick Zhāng Lǎoyīng House (張老嚶宅). That’s the former owner’s name, by the way!

Not far from the railway station you’ll encounter a trifecta of red brick buildings: Zhèng Dǐng Residence (鄭鼎宅), Xiè Máo Residence (謝毛宅), and Zhāng Lǎoyīng Residence (張老嚶宅), all named after their original owners, wealthy members of the local gentry in Japanese times. Zheng Ding studied medicine in Taipei and returned to his hometown to found Yīngyuán Hospital (英源醫院), the first Western-style clinic in Ershui, which was based in the building that still bears his name. The other two were more focused on trade and commerce from what I’ve read.

An old shophouse near the station. This was a newspaper stall, once upon a time.

Another distinctive shophouse further around the bend from the old public hall.

An old shop offering denture repair (整修假牙). Many more hand-painted signs can be found in Ershui if you go looking.

A curious feature of many temples in Changhua: carp-shaped incense holders (鯉魚形的香爐) mounted next to the entrance.

The old fire station and new post office. From what I’ve read the fire station was originally someone’s home in colonial times. It certainly doesn’t look like it was built for its current use, does it?

The ruins of the Ershui Assembly Hall (二水公會堂), built in 1930, can be found just south of the station.

The administrative center of colonial Ershui is immediately south of the old red brick shophouses. Here there is a bend in the road, which curves east to run along the perimeter of the old Qing dynasty settlement area. Along the outer rim of the bend: a new post office (almost certainly built on the original site of the first post office in town); an old fire station, apparently a repurposed colonial house on private land; an open patch of ground that was until recently an old police station (see this link for a photo); the historic but unprotected ruins of the Ershui Assembly Hall (二水公會堂); and finally, a rare and historic wooden office of the hokō system. From what I understand a legal battle over the fate of these buildings has not been resolved—but if the land owner has his way the remaining structures will be knocked down just like the police station.

Hónghé Hospital (宏和醫院), built in 1933. Despite its obvious historic value I haven’t been able to find out much about it.

The faded text below the sign reads Kō-Wa Hospital, mixing the Japanese romanization of the name (Honghe) and, inexplicably, a little English! I would be surprised to find out this were original.

Further around the bend one will find several more shophouses and the Hónghé Hospital (宏和醫院), built in 1933 (if the date on the façade is to be trusted). I’m somewhat surprised that none of my many sources about the history of Ershui have much to say about this building, though from what I gather it is still owned by the founder’s family, which would explain its present state of neatness despite having not seen any real use in decades. I was intrigued to learn that the text below the sign—Kō-Wa Hospital—includes the Japanese romanization for “Honghe”. Something tells me this is a late addition to the design of the building.

An abandoned tobacco barn in the small village of Kǔlíngjiǎo (苦苓腳).

Inside a tobacco barn on the right bank of the Zhoushui River in Ershui. The curing chamber is through the doors on the right.

The remains of another tobacco barn sandwiched between more modern residences in this tiny village.

Head out into the countryside and you might find traces of the tobacco industry in Ershui’s many small villages. Tobacco is no longer cultivated here but several tobacco barns—chimneyed buildings purpose-built for curing tobacco before shipping leaves to market—can still be found. The flat-topped chimneys are unique in my experience—nowhere else have I seen tobacco barns with such a design. From what I’ve read Ershui was the only part of Changhua deemed suitable for tobacco cultivation in the late Japanese colonial era².

Overlooking a more modern complex of sluice gates controlling inflow to the historic Babao Canal.

No post about Ershui would be complete without at least one picture of the historic Bābǎo Canal (八堡圳), originally built in the early 18th century to capture part of the Zhuóshuǐ River (濁水溪), the longest river in Taiwan, and irrigate the Changhua Plain. The canal system has been extensively modified since it was first built with the guidance of the mysterious Mr. Lin, the fabled progenitor venerated at a nearby temple I haven’t yet had the opportunity to visit³. Nowadays the water entering the canal system is diverted from the Jiji Weir (集集攔河堰), an engineering project only completed in 2001. The sluice gates in this picture might have been built at the same time.

Zhānghóng Woodworking Factory (章宏製材工廠), an unusual building that might date back to the late Japanese colonial era.

The name of the factory is emblazoned on an ornate column surrounded by pink sheet metal. I wonder what the rest of the building looks like?

Back in town one may notice the ruins of the Zhānghóng Woodworking Factory (章宏製材工廠). I’ve not found much in the way of credible historic information about this building—only this post came up in a search—but it evidently dates back to the late colonial period. Ershui was once a transfer point for timber coming down from the mountains of Nantou so it makes sense that you’d find some woodworking shops in town. While the front of the building is sealed tight an open window around back will afford a glimpse of the rusting hulks of old, discarded machinery inside.

The CT278 steam locomotive on display to the west of the railway station. Purchased from Japan, it was in service until 1983.

One of hundreds of F5-E Flying Tigers produced in Taiwan from 1974 to 1986. These planes were stenciled with “Chung Chen” (中正) on the nose to honor the late dictator, Chiang Kai-shek.

On one of my most recent trips to Ershui⁴ I was surprised to see an old steam engine and fighter plane on display a little west of the railway station. These are located in a small park that was under reconstruction when I visited, but the workers didn’t mind me poking around and taking a few photos. The CT278 steam engine displayed on site was purchased from Japan in 1953 with the assistance of USAID and was in service until 1983⁵. The Republic of China Air Force (RCAF) fighter plane is a Northrop F5-E Flying Tiger II built and assembled here in Taiwan, probably in the late 1970s. Much more information about this line of fighter planes can be found here and here.

There’s something funny about this place on the west side of Ershui. The name is Héhé Community (合和社區).

Waiting for the lights to change on the outskirts of Ershui.

Since Ershui is easy to visit thanks to its location on the Western Trunk Line (縱貫線) there are many Chinese language travelogues available online. For a taste, have a look here, here, here, here, and here. For a more extensive and in-depth local history (again, in Chinese), this article is worth reading.

Have a look at the map in this post for a visual diagram of the older and newer parts of town. ↩
Some additional information about tobacco cultivation in Ershui can be found here, and here. For more insight into how Taiwanese tobacco barns function have a look at my original post about the subject. Linnei, the district immediately to the south, is similarly the only part of Yunlin where tobacco was grown. ↩
As is often the case, I only learned about Mr. Lin’s Temple (林先生廟) after drafting up this post. I never claim my posts about obscure places in Taiwan are comprehensive; nobody’s helping me out with anything so I often stumble upon important details later on! ↩
This post compiles photographs from something like four or five visits to Ershui over a four year timespan. ↩
Railfans might be interested in this video of the CT273 in action. It was on display at the Taiwan Folk Village (台灣民俗村) but later returned to the Changhua Roundhouse and totally refurbished. ↩

Map

Themes

Japanese Colonial Era Taiwan (台灣日治時代)
KMT Authoritarian Era Taiwan (國民政府時期)
Railways in Taiwan (臺灣鐵路建設)
Tobacco Industry in Taiwan (台灣菸業)
Shophouses in Taiwan (台灣街屋)
Postcards From Taiwan (台灣明信片)

Regions

Ershui (二水)
Changhua (彰化)
Taiwan

Series: Taiwan Summer Road Trip 2017

In the summer of 2017 I borrowed a scooter to ride to a music festival in Nantou and only returned it several months later. It wasn’t a continuous road trip—I’d leave the scooter parked at various HSR stations as I slowly made my way around central and southern Taiwan—but each leg of the trip usually involved 3 or 4 days of riding. In the end I gathered enough material for 60 or 70 posts, only some of which have been published.