Baxienshan Forestry Farm, one of Taiwan's three major forestry farms during the Japanese colonial period, was once selected as one of the famous “Eight Views of Taiwan” for its beautiful scenery. Drawing on the National Center of Photography and Images' collection of the “Commemorative Photo Album of the Taichung Branch of the Forestry Office,” the center invited Professor Hsieh Kun-Hua of National Chung Hsing University's Center for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences to conduct research and interpretation of the images. The result is the online exhibition “Hinoki Aroma and Steam Dreams: Unpacking the Secret Photo Album of the Forestry Office Taichung Branch in 1927,” inviting the public to explore the history of Taiwan's mountain forests.
The year 1927 marked an important turning point for Baxienshan Forestry Farm. Its administrative center was moved from the mountainous area to Fengyuan, a transportation hub on the plains, and renamed the “Forestry Office Taichung Branch.” The change helped Fengyuan develop into an important center of the timber industry. Mountain railways and cable systems built for forestry development demonstrated the engineering and transportation technology of the time. The photo album also documents timber storage ponds, office buildings and the Yixianzhuang lodging facility, showing the close relationship between forestry development, the growth of Fengyuan and the regional economy.
The history continued after World War II. The album includes a 1951 group photograph of logging workers, offering a different view of life from the formal official images of the Japanese colonial period. Since Taiwan fully prohibited the harvesting of natural forest timber in 1991, Baxienshan Forestry Farm has gradually transformed into an environmental education site, while forest management has shifted from timber production toward ecological conservation and natural resource management.
The online exhibition features 54 historical images divided into four themes: “Steel Arteries Above the Clouds: Engineering Marvels of Forest Railways and Cableways,” “The Palace of Wood: From Primeval Forests to the Fengyuan Timber Pond,” “Daily Life in the Mountains: Officials, Workers' Quarters and Rituals,” and “A Postcolonial Gaze: A Dialogue Across Time Between the Postwar Period and Today.” The exhibition offers an opportunity to explore Taiwan's forestry history and local development through historical images.
The National Center of Photography and Images, Taipei is located at No. 70, Section 1, Zhongxiao West Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed on Mondays. The online exhibition is available on the National Center of Photography and Images website.
