Taiwan Food Atlas

Huwei Sugar Factory Creative Park

Once the largest sugar mill in the East, where narrow-gauge locomotive engines and red-brick factory buildings witness the golden age of sugar production
📍 Yunlin · Huwei Township · Minzhu 3rd Road🎨 Cultural Park🔖 Sugar Industry History · Narrow-Gauge Locomotives · Taiwan Sugar Ice Cream

Huwei Sugar Factory was established by Dai-Nippon Sugar Manufacturing Co., Ltd. during the Japanese colonial period and was one of the largest sugar mills in East Asia at its peak. Taiwan's sugar industry served as a primary source of foreign exchange from the 1950s through the 70s, and Huwei Sugar Factory was the industrial core of Yunlin County during that era. Today the factory grounds are open as a creative park, preserving the sugar railway tracks, narrow-gauge locomotives, and red-brick factory buildings — an important site for experiencing Taiwan's sugar industry history.

Highlights of Huwei Sugar Factory Creative Park

The park displays several 762-mm narrow-gauge steam and diesel locomotives — physical artifacts of Taiwan's sugar railway ("sugar rail") system. The red-brick factory buildings retain the architectural style of the late Japanese colonial period through the early postwar years, and some have been converted into exhibition and event spaces. Sections of the old sugar rail tracks are still visible within the factory grounds, evoking the era when small trains linked the cane fields to the mill.

The Taiwan Sugar direct retail outlet sells traditional frozen treats made with Taiwan Sugar cane sugar — the most popular consumer experience at the factory, with noticeably long queues in summer. The park holds an annual sugar factory cultural festival with performances and market activities. For event dates, check official information from Huwei Sugar Factory or Taiwan Sugar Corporation.

How to make the most of your visit

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Look carefully at the locomotive enginesThe steam and diesel engines on display are from different eras and had different roles. Information panels beside each document the vehicle's history — first-hand material for understanding the development of Taiwan's sugar railway.
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Explore the red-brick factory interiorsThe factory walls are thick with clearly visible Japanese-era brickwork. Some interiors are open to the public, retaining the spatial scale of industrial architecture.
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Avoid peak hours for Taiwan Sugar ice creamThe Taiwan Sugar retail ice cream stall draws crowds in summer. Arriving before 10 a.m. or after 3 p.m. reduces waiting time.
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Visit during the Sugar Factory Cultural FestivalThe festival typically includes a market, performances, and sugar production history tours — an ideal occasion to explore sugar history and local culture in depth. Check official sources for exact dates.

Practical information

Getting there and hours

  • The park is open year-round, but individual exhibition spaces and the Taiwan Sugar ice cream stall have their own hours. Check Taiwan Sugar Corporation's Huwei Factory official information before visiting.
  • By car, take Provincial Highway 19 or a county road into Huwei Township. The sugar factory is on Minzhu 3rd Road. There is a car park on the grounds, but spaces are limited on busy weekends.
  • City buses serve Huwei town; from the stop, walk or rent a Youbike to reach the factory. It is about one to two kilometers from Huwei Joint Government Hall and the Puppetry Museum.

Nearby connections

  • Huwei one-day cultural route: Sugar Factory → Huwei Iron Bridge (for sunset) → Joint Government Hall → Glove Puppetry Museum. The whole circuit can be done on foot plus short cycling stretches — no car rental needed.
  • Xiluo Bridge is about fifteen kilometers south; Douliu City is about fifteen kilometers east. Huwei is the geographic hub for a central Yunlin itinerary.

Sources: Taiwan Sugar Corporation, Yunlin County Government Tourism Information. Photos pending Dio's own shots.

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