Travel Date: 2023/12/24
Despite the chilly weather, we embarked on a journey to document the process of harvesting and loading sugar cane in Baozhong. Our stops were stations 10 and 9 (10番裝車場), where we hoped to witness the iconic sugar cane train in action. The last operational sugar cane train in Taiwan continues its route from Beigang to Huwei, offering a unique glimpse into the sugar cane industry. The train operates between December and March, possibly extending into early April. We chased it through fields and waited in town to witness its passage—a yearly tradition for us!
Check out my video:
Now, let me share more about the sugar factory. Established in 1907 during the Japanese occupation, Huwei Sugar Factory played a significant role in Taiwan's sugar industry. Remarkably, the factory is still involved in the sugar business, being one of the two remaining sugar factories in operation. Shanhua Sugar Factory in Tainan is the other one. Unfortunately, the sugar factory cannot be visited, but there are still Japanese dormitories left and other attractions in the town. I've covered the topic in my other posts, so for more information, check here [LINK].
Today wasn't our lucky day, as no matter where we arrived, we had to wait for a long time. Since it was noon, it was their lunch break, and time for maintaining the sugarcane harvester. We spent about 4 hours in the fields waiting for the train to come and sugar canes to be harvested. As we waited there for quite a long time, during noon, their resting time, we also had the chance to try sugarcane straight from the farm. It was nice, sweet, and juicy, but biting into it was quite tough.
If you want to come here and see it for yourself, you have to be patient, as the timings of the train and which station it will stop at depend on the harvest that day, so there is nothing certain. I can only tell you roughly that the first train we saw was around 10 am, and another came around noon. As we got to know, the train runs 6 times a day, so it shouldn't be that difficult to see it.
We also went for lunch in a nearby village called Maguang and ate at the beef noodle shop. The flavor is fine, but I feel like the beef noodle portion is quite small for the price compared to other places in Huwei. When we were living in Huwei back in 2017, I would often hear the sound of the train early in the morning. The places have changed since then; for example, the Jianguo Military Village has been refurbished. I'm still waiting for it to be finished as there are still some things being built, so I'll introduce it more after that.
There were also some Christmas decorations at the National Formosa University
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