Pingtung revitalizes area around Zhutian Station to create new Hakka landmark

Pingtung revitalizes area around Zhutian Station to create new Hakka landmark

2026-03-25

The Pingtung County Government has revitalized the area around the historic Zhutian Station, bringing together Hakka restaurants, accommodation, art spaces, and more to create the new "Zhutian Station Takeda." At the formal opening of the site, Pingtung County Commissioner Chou Chun-mi praised the township’s slow pace of life and deep Hakka influence. She hoped that with the revitalization of the space, more visitors would come to experience the charm of this new Hakka landmark.

Golden scissors in hand, Pingtung County Commissioner Chou Chun-mi cuts a ceremonial ribbon to mark the official opening of Zhutian Station Takeda, Pingtung’s new Hakka landmark.

Chou Chun-mi
Pingtung County Commissioner
Zhutian Station was a major hub for freight shipping for a while during the Japanese era. So nearby the station, there were lots of warehouses for storing goods. We’ve preserved them well. Now that many young people from Zhutian are coming back, the county government has stepped in to restore two large railway warehouses.

Inside, you can still clearly see the building’s original structure. The county government refurbished the buildings surrounding Zhutian Station, which now house Hakka restaurants, a hostel, and arts spaces. Every corner contains traces of its locomotive history.

Chou Chun-mi
Pingtung County Commissioner
Everyone is invited to come visit, just like it were a Hakka village or restaurant. They can also walk around and stay in the rest of Zhutian Township. I think it’s a great place for the trend of “slow travel.”

Many tables were also set up in front of the station for Taiwan’s first-ever immersive Hakka theater banquet. Guests were treated to theater and music while enjoying Hakka cuisine, giving them an authentic cultural experience. The county hopes the new space will become a jumping off point for people to experience the many charms of Zhutian.

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#Pingtung #Zhutian #ZhutianStation #ZhutianStationTakeda #slowtravel #Hakka #revitalization #renovation #architecture #Japaneseera

客庄小鎮新亮點! 屏東活化車站周邊打造”竹田頓物驛"

2026-03-25

屏東縣府活化竹田車站周邊的舊有建物，結合客家餐飲、住宿、藝文展演空間等，打造”竹田頓物驛"，昨天(21)正式開幕，縣長周春米表示，竹田鄉是座慢城小鎮，深具客家文化特色，期盼透過空間活化，吸引更多旅客到竹田，感受客庄文化新地標的魅力。

屏東縣長周春米，手持金剪刀剪綵，宣告屏東客庄文化新地標”竹田頓物驛"，正式營運！

[[屏東縣長周春米]]
“竹田車站是長年來在日本的時期，是我們很多很多貨運交流的中心，所以在我們竹田車站旁邊，有很多的倉庫，也就是頓物，那我們都保留的很好，現在很多竹田的孩子回來，我們縣府就來修復台鐵的兩個大倉庫”

走進館內，原有建築物的樣貌，還清晰可見。屏東縣府活化竹田車站周邊舊有建物，內部空間結合客家餐飲、住宿、藝文展演空間等，每個角落，都能感受鐵道建築的歲月痕跡。

[[屏東縣長周春米]]
以這個客庄，客家餐廳為概念，歡迎大家來這邊做客，然後也可以到我們竹田鄉，到我們客家庄走走逛逛住住，我想這個是現在慢遊的一個，很棒的風氣”

竹田車站前，席開多桌，舉辦全台首創的”客家沉浸式劇場祈福宴"，透過戲劇、音樂表演，融合客家特色料理，讓民眾來到這，體驗最真實的客庄生活，未來也盼竹田頓物驛的新空間，成為慢遊竹田的新起點。

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Many people are nearsighted, but if you find that your myopia or astigmatism is getting worse, that your glasses are no longer effective or you experience double vision, beware! You may be having symptoms of Keratoconus. If you delay in getting treatment, it can lead to irreversible damage to your vision. Let’s find out more.

Ms Chang, a sprinter, had a history of allergies but did not have symptoms such as coughing or sneezing. She’d unconsciously rub her eyes. Because she often felt like she had a foreign body in her eye and even experienced vision abnormalities, she got a check up and was diagnosed with Keratoconus.

Ms Chang
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When I was in high school, I found that my astigmatism was especially severe. By the second examination, my astigmatism was over 800 degrees. Last June, I started to feel that my eyes were red and itchy. Actually, I have never realized that I rub my eyes, but I went to see an ophthalmologist and they said that I might have a slight allergy that was causing me to rub them.

Keratoconus is related to factors such as constitution, genetics, and prolonged eye rubbing. It is estimated that there are as many as 40,000 people in Taiwan with the disease. Because symptoms often appear between adolescence and age 30, and are frequently mistaken for worsening myopia or astigmatism in the early stages, most people only discover the condition when their vision has severely deteriorated, at which point irreversible damage has already occurred.

Sun Chi-chin
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If your astigmatism or myopia is constantly worsening and cannot be corrected with lenses within a short period, you should seek help, as this usually indicates a problem with your cornea. We have found that about 90% of clinical cases are related to allergies, so you need to be more vigilant.

Fortunately Ms Chang received a course of treatment involving new technology and her vision has improved significantly. This surgery is considered to be a major advancement in Taiwanese medical circles. Doctors also remind high-risk groups to take good care of their corneas, including avoiding rubbing them, avoiding over use of the eyes, and most important, getting regular checkups to effectively protect their vision.

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Two years ago, plant lover Tu Sung-i from Tainan created his own business selling staghorn ferns that he learned to cultivate entirely on his own. In a greenhouse he built himself, he has crossbred ferns to produce over 100 different varieties. He’s participated in regional plant expos many times as well as the Taiwan International Platycerium Competition, drawing attention from international buyers. He now sells the ferns to Japan, after successfully turning his passion into a career.

Tu Sung-i carefully scrape the spores from under a leaf. All starting from these spores, he’s grown an entire garden of staghorn ferns.

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The daily work of caring for his plants is what makes Tu happiest. To him, the ferns are not just beautiful, but also therapeutic.

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It’s like food for the soul. When you’re feeling down, if you look at them, you’ll feel, wow, it’s not bad. It relieves stress. I’ll probably be with these ferns the rest of my life.

Learning to put all of his passion into what he loves is the most valuable lesson his experience has taught him. And luckily, his family also supports what he does.

Tu Ming-chieh
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This younger generation is so creative. They can think for themselves. We older folks shouldn’t limit them. We should support them as much as we can.

The family has a background in farming. Tu studied aquaculture in college, but following his childhood passion fell head over heels for plants. In his eyes, Taiwan’s staghorn ferns have just as much market potential as its orchids. When watered properly, the plants will flourish in the most spectacular fashion.

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A woman had just entered the restroom when she noticed punctures on the partition panel. She covered them with round label stickers she’d prepared specifically for this trip.

Voice of Ms. Lee (voice altered)
Tourist
Just two to three days before I was about to leave for Korea, I saw a Threads post cautioning that the punctures you see on restroom partitions are in fact, pinhole cameras. The video was taken at the airport. Yes, this happens even at the airport. So I reached for the stickers to cover up the two punctures.

Ms. Lee had just landed at Gimhae International Airport when she noticed the hidden cameras. But that would only be her first encounter with this notorious activity in Busan.

Voice of Ms. Lee (voice altered)
Tourist
Every single day, I’d run into this problem in one or two stalls. Usually it’s at the restroom in metro stations. The wooden partition panels would have four punctures, and you’d see that someone had already tried to cover them up. There’s sticky residue where the stickers were and got peeled off. It’s really frightening.

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Inside the storage room are racks fully stocked with figurines of deities in folk religion. It looks no different than any other warehouse, except everything here was stolen.

The thief being arrested is a 47-year-old woman surnamed Hou. She’s a warehouse manager at a religious memorabilia shop in Fengshan, Kaohsiung. With a truck driver, they’ve conspired stealing from the warehouse during shipments, and then listing the stolen items online for illicit gains.

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Fengshan Precinct, Kaohsiung City Police
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The drill marks the second time the military has held exercises in Taimali since last December, and US personnel were present in plain clothes observing the operations and underscoring the close military cooperation between the two countries.

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