Longtian chahcha Educational Cultural Park Reborn through Technology, Art and Greenery
Preserved are the industrial heritage from "four types of railways.” Railway tracks, remnants of the weighing bridge, and the historic Taiwan Salt Company Longtian Depot and Warehouse Cluster buildings can be seen today. The largest immersive theater in Taiwan with the theme of “Chianan Irrigation”, interactive devices, public art installations and the Tainan Center of Archeology can be found here as well. Modern technology will hopefully re-introduce people to the ingenuity of century-old engineering. The “chacha” in the name of the park expresses the hope that the public will “come here again.”
The park is divided into three main exhibits: North Warehouse, South Warehouse, and the Archeology Zone
North Warehouse Exhibition Zone
Includes an interactive learning space on the theme of Chianan Irrigation, the Rice Laboratory, Satoshi Ito's living Room, and the immersive theater. The immersive theater features an interactive mode and a theater mode. The interactive mode is based on the Construction of Chianan Irrigation painted by Satoshi Ito and presents how the people, land and water are connected to each other in an interactive format. The audience is invited to approach the projection and interact with elements of the painting; in theater mode, a video record on the development of Chianan Irrigation is presented with the colors and textures of sculptures and golden rice ears setting the tone.
South Warehouse Exhibition Zone
Consists of interactive devices such as the Channel Pachinko, Farmland Jump, and Chianan Sounds. Channel Pachinko is a giant pachinko machine inspired by the design of the Chianan Irrigation system. When the water supply (pinballs) come into contact with each device it triggers different sound and lighting effects. A slide is also incorporated for extra interactive fun. The theme of Farmland Hopscotch is the agricultural landscape on the Chianan Plain. The interactive ground projection has different color blocks each representing a different crop. Stepping on a color block triggers environmental sounds from the agricultural ecological environment of Chianan. Chianan Sounds incorporates everyday sounds from the people that lived around the canal. Tsang-cheng Wu, the sound artist, was invited to collect samples of sounds throughout Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan. Touching a sensor with the hand results in a corresponding sound being played. The building blocks can also be moved to take part in a collaborative sound-mixing experience.
Archeology Zone
The historic “Taiwan Salt Company Longtian Depot” had previously been used by the National Taiwan University archeology team and as the “Longtian Archeology Gallery.” It has now been reborn as the “Longtian chacha Educational Cultural Park.” Depot Warehouse B, C and D are now used to house the collection of excavated relics and for education & promotion.
A number of very photogenic public art installations both indoors and outdoors can also be found here. One of the highlights is "Waterscape in Play.” The artistic team cast the profile of Coral Lake in mirrored stainless steel and the reflections resemble the trees and the sky reflected on the lake’s surface. “Bouncing Hills” reinterprets Wushantou Reservoir by creating a scaled model of the reservoir’s annual water consumption. Bounce on top of the installation to experience the ripple-like vibrations, creating very different viewing and interactive experiences.
There are many other fun and colorful sighs and installations in the park. Come and experience them for yourself!
