Author: Levarcy Chen
Photo: Levarcy Chen, Julien Huang
Editor: Julien Huang
Chiayi—a city both familiar and enigmatic. Beyond its island-famous turkey rice and Wenhua Road Night Market, a different rhythm quietly unfolds in the city’s corners. Walking through its streets to discover historic buildings and cultural spaces, this art and culture trail connects not only time and space, but also reveals the cultural richness and aesthetic character that Chiayi embodies.
A Contemporary Art Space Born from the Interweaving of Old Architecture and New Structure
Chiayi Art Museum comprises three renovated historic buildings, originally the Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau and its auxiliary facilities from the Japanese colonial period. The renovation preserved original elements—red brick, terrazzo, aged wooden structures—while incorporating the concepts of “symbiosis” and “extension of street fabric,” adding contemporary architectural volumes and courtyard designs that create a layered dialogue between history and modernity.
The main gallery, secondary gallery, and family exhibition hall occupy separate buildings, interconnected by atriums, corridors, and greenery. With transparent sightlines and open circulation, the viewing experience becomes a flowing urban walk. Exhibition themes span contemporary art, local culture, photography, and installation curation. The museum also houses a curated shop, reading area, and light café, creating a shared cultural space for both residents and travelers.
Afternoon sunlight filters between the old brick walls and white volumes, drawing out layer upon layer of shifting light and shadow, lending the architecture a quiet, poetic quality. Hidden within is “J-Biiru,” a bistro and bar where every dish is named after paintings by Chen Cheng-po. The menu features Taiwanese street food alongside Western plates—all perfectly paired with drinks.
📍No. 101, Guangning Street, West District, Chiayi City 600
✍🏼Reservations: Walk-in friendly
🕰️Hours: Tue-Sun 9:00-17:00, Mon closed
💰Average spend: NTD$50/ticket
Tiles and Patterns Woven into Every Corner of Daily Life
Following a quiet lane into the residential area of Linsen East Road, a modest two-and-a-half-story heritage house stands discreetly at a corner. This is the Museum of Old Taiwan Tiles. It never occurred to me that everyday brickwork could, through curation and display, transform decorative tiles from mere exhibits into elements woven into daily living.
The museum’s founder spent years collecting tiles from different eras, embedding them in various forms throughout the building’s details—furniture, table legs, walls, stair treads. Every corner bears the imprint of tile motifs. Vibrant in color and intricate in pattern, some retain the traces of time while others are carefully reproduced restorations. They not only showcase craft and beauty but also tell stories of the rhythms and aesthetics that once existed in everyday life.
Don’t balk at the NT$100 admission—it includes guided tours and can be applied toward purchases. In this intimate, exquisite space, every step invites lingering. Here, tiles transcend building materials to become vessels of time and memory.
📍600No. 282, Linsen West Rd, West Dist, Chiayi City 600
✍🏼Reservations: mail to [email protected] for English touring service
🕰️Hours: Mon,Wed Sun 10:00-17:30, Tue closed
💰Average spend: NTD$100/ticket
2025 Lightening Show Launches October 4: Alice in Wonderland Theme
Since 2020, the Chiayi City Government has organized the annual lightening show, using the Mid-Autumn moon as its theme to create atmospheric light art installations at Beixiang Lake Park, establishing Chiayi’s distinctive Mid-Autumn celebration. This year marks the first time the event centers on Disney’s classic animation Alice in Wonderland, featuring a 30-meter immersive luminous tunnel and a 4.2-meter-tall pocket watch. Following rabbit footprints on the ground, visitors traverse the rabbit hole into a glowing dreamscape, encountering beloved character installations including the Cheshire Cat, oyster babies, and Alice herself—eight fantastical installations in all.
Curator Daniel Wong, who has lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, London, and Milan, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Central Saint Martins in London and studied at Istituto Marangoni in Milan. He has contributed to design and creative work for internationally renowned brands including Alexander McQueen and Versace. After three years of collaboration with Chiayi City Government, he has always felt that Beixiang Lake Park’s environment perfectly suits the narrative of Alice in Wonderland. He specifically arranged for all park pathway lights to be turned off during the event, allowing the enchanting, elegant light installations—accompanied by original music from the animation—to take center stage, successfully creating an interplay between fantasy and reality. It’s well worth a special trip for a comfortable evening stroll.
📍No. 600, Wenhua Rd., West Dist., Chiayi City
🕰️ Hours: October 4 (Saturday) – October 19 (Sunday)2025 from 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
💰Average spend: Free
