Cuti-Cuti Taiwan: Songshan Cultural Creative Park, Taipei City, Taiwan

Location:  Songshan Cultural Creative Park, Taipei City, Taiwan
Date of photo: 29/04/17
Camera/Lens: Sony ILCE-7M2/FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

The park was initially constructed in 1937 as a tobacco factory under the name Matsuyama Tobacco Plant of the Monopoly Bureau of the Taiwan Governor's Office  under the Japanese government.

After Japan ceded Taiwan in 1945, the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau took over the factory and renamed it as the Songshan Tobacco Plant of the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau. In 1947, the plant was renamed again as Songshan Tobacco Plant of the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Bureau.
The factory ceased to produce cigarettes in 1998 for concern over urban planning, tobacco and liquor marketing regulatory changes and the decline in tobacco demand.

In 2001, the Taipei City Government designed the defunct tobacco factory as Taipei's 99th historic site and converted it into a park comprising city-designated historic sites, historical structures and architectural highlights. Together with Taipei Dome, the site is known as Taipei Cultural and Sporting Complex.

For more efficient reuse of space, in 2011 the former factory was turned into a creative park by its current name to provide venues for diverse cultural and creative exhibitions and performances.