Qishan Sugar Factory & Railway Station

The Qishan Sugar Factory (旗山糖廠), originally known as the Qiwei Sugar Manufacturing Plant (旗尾製糖所), was established in 1909 by the Takasago Sugar Company (高砂製糖株式會社) in what is now Qishan District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It was one of the many sugar factories built across southern Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945) to exploit the island's ideal sugarcane-growing conditions.

In 1910, the factory was absorbed by the Enshui Port Sugar Company (鹽水港製糖株式會社), and in 1927 it was further consolidated into the Taiwan Sugar Company (臺灣製糖株式會社). With a daily crushing capacity of 1,500 metric tons, Qishan was among the larger sugar mills in southern Taiwan. By 1914 it is said to have been producing plantation white sugar directly from cane.

The Qiwei Line (旗尾線), a narrow-gauge sugar railway, began operations in 1910, running from Jiuqutang in Dashu through Qishan to the sugar factory, and was extended in 1912 to Zhutoujiao in Meinong, reaching a total length of 39.4 kilometers with 22 stations. The railway transported not only sugarcane but also rice, bananas, and passengers, becoming a vital transportation artery for the region. In the 1930s the line carried roughly 300,000 passengers a year.

During World War II, the Japanese military authorities intensified sugar production across Taiwan to supply industrial alcohol fuel for military vehicles and aircraft. The Qishan factory, like other major sugar mills, was placed under wartime production quotas. This strategic importance made Taiwan's sugar factories prime targets for Allied bombing campaigns. The Qishan Sugar Factory is reported to have been damaged by air raids, and it resumed production after the war under the Taiwan Sugar Corporation.

The Qishan Station building (旗山車站), constructed between 1913 and 1915, is the most significant surviving structure from the sugar railway era. Its distinctive octagonal pointed roof combines Western Tudor-style half-timbered construction with traditional Japanese architectural techniques, creating a unique hybrid colonial-era design. After the Qiwei Line ceased operations in 1978, the station fell into disrepair. It was registered as a historic building by the then Kaohsiung County in 2005, was restored by 2009, and after further repairs reopened in 2016 as the Sugar Railway Story Hall (糖鐵故事館) under the management of the Kaohsiung City Cultural Affairs Bureau. The sugar factory site itself has been partially converted into the Qitang Agricultural Innovation Park.