【From Sweetness to Hope — The Rebirth of Hualien’s Guangfu Sugar Factory】
【Passing by Guangfu Sugar Factory? Buy big, buy lots.】
The Story of Guangfu Sugar Factory:
For the past decade, whenever we headed south to Taitung, we’d stop at Guangfu Sugar Factory for ice cream before continuing. Later, as tourist crowds and tour buses grew, we paused there less often, and grabbing ice cream became occasional rather than every time.
After the 9/23 disaster in Hualien’s Guangfu,
Taisugar’s Guangfu site turned into the rear base for shovel heroes and heavy machinery,
becoming the focus of Guangfu.
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From the Taisugar Guangfu Sugar Factory fan page:
In the face of disaster, Taisugar Guangfu Sugar Factory acted at once:
🏠 Provided space as a forward command post and first-aid station
🛏️ Supported lodging in Hualien hotels for rescuers to rest
🥡 Offered ready-to-eat products to replenish rescue energy
This land has nourished us for a century; now it’s our turn to protect her.
🙏 Salute to all heroes on the front line — Taisugar stands with you.
When Hualien needed it most, Taisugar’s Guangfu Sugar Factory jumped in immediately, serving as a backbone for disaster relief and recovery, guarding Hualien together with everyone.
During this time, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has gone all-in on relief — power and water repairs, supply scheduling — while Taisugar provided space and logistics. Guangfu Sugar Factory became a vital hub, supporting a temporary command center, first-aid station, and materials center so those in need could access supplies, and offering rest areas for responders and residents to catch their breath and carry on.
Colleagues on site also handed out ready-to-eat products to refuel frontline partners, and opened the grounds for large equipment to move in and out — standing shoulder to shoulder with every rescue hero. Thank you to all who fight on the front line.
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In Guangfu Township, Hualien, there’s an old smokestack that has stood with the community for nearly a century.
It once puffed white steam day and night, sending a sweet aroma over the town.
That was the glory era of Taiwan’s sugar industry — and Guangfu’s liveliest, most hopeful years.
[ One Sugar Factory, A Generation’s Memory ]
Founded in 1921 (ROC Year 10), Hualien Sugar Factory was the most representative sugar base in eastern Taiwan.
From the cane fields of Danong and Dafu to the bustling scenes of crushing, refining, and packing inside the plant,
everyday life in Guangfu Township was tightly woven with this factory.
Cane farmers hit the fields before dawn, hauling full loads into the plant;
workers toiled amid clouds of steam;
the blend of sugar scent and sweat became Guangfu’s truest daily smell.
The factory whistle set the rhythm of everyone’s life—
Back then, Guangfu’s population peaked at 24,000.
Schools rang with children’s laughter, shopping streets bustled, and trains stopped daily at the station.
Guangfu was the model of “prosperity born of sugar.”
[ The Day the Furnace Went Cold ]
But the tides of time can be unforgiving.
As global sugar prices fell and industry structures shifted,
on April 2, 2002 (ROC 91), Hualien Sugar Factory officially shut down its boilers and machines.
That day, veteran workers took off their uniforms and watched the last wisp of white steam fade into the sky.
Some eyes reddened; others sat in silence.
It wasn’t just a shutdown — it was a shared farewell for the whole community.
From then on, cane fields went fallow, courtyards emptied;
the sugar aroma no longer drifted, and fewer TRA trains stopped at Guangfu Station.
Within a decade, the township’s population fell from 16,000 to just over 13,000.
Once-busy factory housing grew quiet;
kids grew up and left for work elsewhere, leaving elders to guard old memories.
[ The Sugar Factory as a Way of Life ]
For many in Guangfu, the sugar factory was more than a workplace — it was the heart of life.
The hot-bath house when shifts ended, little vegetable plots before dorms, the year-end factory sports day —
it was a rhythm of community and a shared life.
One longtime employee recalls: “In the old days, the public bathhouse buzzed every evening.
Adults washed away the day’s fatigue while kids splashed nearby.”
Those seemingly ordinary slices of life
are now the most cherished scenes in the old photos of the factory.
[ The Turn: Tourism for Sugar Heritage ]
Fortunately, Taiwan’s sugar story wasn’t sealed away.
Taisugar promoted a “Sugar Factory Tourism” program across the island,
allowing old plants to be reborn with new roles.
Hualien Sugar Factory also transformed from a production site into a tourism park.
Old buildings were preserved, dorm clusters repurposed into cultural-creative shops and lodging,
and the biggest charmer became the slow-rolling park train.
This miniature train follows the old cane rails,
carrying visitors through big trees, former cane fields, and historic workshops.
When the bell rings, it feels like traveling back half a century to the sugar era.
Kids wave excitedly; elders gaze into the distance —
a moment where memory and the present meet.
The park’s ice shop has become a favorite check-in spot.
Scoops of ice cream carry on Guangfu’s sweetness —
even if it’s no longer cane sugar made on site,
it still symbolizes the warmth and sweetness of this land.
[ September 23: A Different Kind of Action at the Factory ]
This September, disaster struck Hualien without warning —
the Mataian landslide lake overflowed, and many parts of Guangfu were hit hard.
Roads were cut off, homes flooded, power failed; darkness and uncertainty fell over the township.
And in that moment —
the spirit of “sharing sweetness and bearing hardship together”
kept flowing through this land.
This time, the factory wasn’t producing sugar; it was giving sweetness through action — the warmest force in the aftermath.
From cane fields to forest rebirth —
today, the vast former cane lands around the factory are planned as the Danong Dafu Flatland Forest Park.
What was once agricultural production has turned into a base for eco-tourism and environmental education.
Birdsong, dappled shade, and wind now replace steam and whistles —
and that change symbolizes hope for local regeneration.
Guangfu Sugar Factory is no longer just a sightseeing stop.
It has become a springboard for local youth entrepreneurship —
some open cafés, some guide cultural tours, some shoot documentaries —
helping more people rediscover the value of this place.
The sugar factory is more than history; it holds the memories of Guangfu’s people.
A place of love and stories.
Next time you pass Taisugar’s Guangfu Sugar Factory, go big — buy lots!
May this sweet land keep shining.
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