Zhutian Township

This farming-dominant township, with a predominantly Hakka population, is southeast of Pingtung City. “Zhutian” means “bamboo fields.” In 2019, celebrated as Small Town Ramble Year in Taiwan, Zhutian was Pingtung’s sole Top Ten Hakka Towns selection.

Zhutian Station

The township’s unbusy railway station sits outside slow-paced Zhutian village. In its front square is a collection of intriguing heritage facilities. The original Zhutian Station (1939) is a classic Japanese-style wood-built work with a cottage look, housing a waiting room, ticket office, and staff office. Beside an old well is a compact concrete-and-wood public bathhouse (1939) for traveler use. The Dr. Ikegami Ichiro Library, “Asia’s southernmost Japanese library,” is in a restored/converted warehouse; the Japanese doctor, head of the local hospital in the 1940s, donated money and his entire vast library to the township.