Taiwan Today
Date: April 19, 2019

HCP is a multipurpose cultural complex located in downtown Taipei. (Staff photos/Jimmy Lin)

Taiwan’s cultural and creative industry started receiving large-scale public sector attention in 2002 after inclusion in the central government’s six-year national development plan. Eight years later, progress under the initiative was cemented with promulgation of the Law for the Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries.

The most visible result of such efforts was the establishment of five creative and cultural parks in the cities of Taipei, Taichung, Chiayi and Tainan, and Hualien in northern, central, southern and eastern Taiwan, respectively. Each facility utilized refurbished structures formerly operated state-run Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp. (TTL).

One of the leading examples of this successful repurposing initiative is Huashan 1914 Creative Park (HCP) in the heart of Taipei. Originally used as a distillery, the site traces its origins to Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945). Upon commencement of operations in 1920, the facility was one of the largest of its kind in Taiwan.

HCP was managed for more than four decades after the end of World War II by Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau, which was incorporated and renamed TTL in 2002.
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