造橋黃春城校長故居

August 8th, 2024

The path to the principal’s residence is overgrown and partly collapsed; part of the former gate now lies in a small gully carved by heavy rains.

Zaoqiao is home to the former residence of Huang Chuncheng (黃春城), the principal of Taiping Elementary School (太平國小), which was later renamed Jinshui Elementary School (錦水國小), starting in 1945. Completed around 1935, it is a simple house made with Taiwanese cypress, a Japanese-style roof, and influences from Western architecture. This modest building was recognized for its heritage value around 2007 but subsequently de-listed around 2016, an exceedingly rare occurrence. Some sources indicate repairs were not completed before the building succumbed to the elements, but others suggest the descendants of Principal Huang became reluctant to shoulder the burden of repair and maintenance.

Approaching the old residence is a hassle with such dense foliage around.

The location in Pingxing Village (平興村) is somewhat obscure and made for good hunting on satellite maps. It is located on a small hill behind another simple dwelling, but the former access road to the front of the property has collapsed in a small landslide likely brought on by heavy rains. The original plaque denoting the heritage status of the building is still visible next to the former gate to the property, which has broken apart and tumbled to the ground.

Sliding doors mark the simple entrance to this 100 year-old house.

The house itself is relatively intact, though the forecourt is extremely overgrown and tricky to traverse. Not much remains inside to indicate its former use, perhaps due to the residence being tidied up for restoration work that never came.

First glimpse just inside the old residence.

Although it is quite rundown the building is still intact. Here you can see the main room and a raised side room that likely would have had tatami floors.

Not much remains in the old residence except for decaying screen doors, dusty furniture, and other oddments.

Exposed dirt floors in the dark and dusty kitchen.

Musty old furniture in another wing of the house.

One last glance at the principal’s former residence on the way out. Notice the old-fashioned address plate affixed to the doorframe.

Such plaques indicate a site has been awarded heritage status. Ironic that nobody saw fit to remove it after that status was abolished in 2016.

No doubt some part of this old house will eventually collapse, accelerating the inevitable decay and dissolution that seems all but certain since heritage status was stripped away. As of 2024 it is not overly difficult to access, although long pants and sleeves are recommended to protect against the dense foliage, and you may encounter a guard dog on the neighboring property.

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。