Photos Taken and Texts Written by: YU-YU HUNG

The Ciaotou Sugar Refinery was built a century ago. It is a place with lush green surroundings and embraces history and art. In the refinery, there are a lot of valuable relics on displays. For example, the locomotives that used to haul sugarcanes and sugar, the figure of the Bodhisattva, air raid shelters left from the war period against Japanese ruling. Stepping inside the shelters, I could feel the horrors of war. Every time I take the Red Line KRT to Ciaotou Sugar Refinery with my family, we will stop at the souvenir shop to get ourselves some delicious popsicles. This time I went with my classmates for an outdoor education trip. We had popsicles in our hands while we listened to the museum docent explaining the history of the refinery. This trip has enhanced my knowledge and it was a remarkable experience. I am looking forward to my next visit. I would love to learn the process of how sugar is produced. I believe this learning program will transform what I have learned into practical knowledge.


Photos Taken and Texts Written by: WEI-LUN KANG

After the teacher finished explaining the history of the refinery and its ecological environment, my classmates and I walked around the museum and enjoyed the collections on displays. It is hard to imagine that it used to be a busy and prosperous factory. It seems so deserted and quiet now. Trees are everywhere. I took a photo of the sky. It was so blue. In the photo, there are thin branches sticking out from both sides, as if they are saying "Hi" to me. There are a few old Japanese wooden houses remained in the area, surrounded by all kinds of climbing plants. The first tree that caught my eyes was the old banyan tree. I quickly hid myself from the sun under its shade and it was very comfortable. Next to the old banyan stands the orchid tree. A few pinky flowers were swaying atop the branches. It was burning hot at noon. My classmates and I ran into the souvenir store to get popsicles. As we were walking out from the store, I felt I was being starred at from not too far away. Ah! It's the red tropical hibiscus. It’s long thin stamen looked like it would like to have some of our popsicles. The weather was pretty strange that day. It was actually winter but it felt like a summer day.