Highways & Byways: Taiwan’s boozy past and presentThough Taiwanese aren’t great boozehounds like their neighbors Japan and South Korea, a drinking culture has existed since the Japanese colonial eraBy Steven Crook / Contributing reporterBy global standards, the Taiwanese aren’t great boozehounds. Yet, as a result of Japanese rule, former alcohol-production sites occupy prominent locations in some of Taiwan’s cities. Photo: Steven CrookThe best known of these places is Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914文創產業園區), a repurposed winery in central Taipei where production was halted in 1987. Chiayi Cultural and Creative Industries Park (嘉義文創園區), also known as G9 Creative Park, occupies a complex that was founded in 1916 by Taisho Brewing Co, Ltd.Once a water tank, now an artist’s canvas, at G9 Creative Park. Photo: Steven CrookThe distillery was transferred from the private sector to the public sector in 1922, when Taiwan’s alcohol industry became a state-run monopoly.

Source: Taipei Times April 22, 2021 15:56 UTC