Ciaotou Sugar Refinery metro station

Ciaotou Sugar Refinery R22A 橋頭糖廠
Ciaotou Sugar Refinery station exit 2
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	橋頭糖廠站
Simplified Chinese	桥头糖厂站
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qiaótóu Tángchǎng Zhàn Bopomofo ㄑㄧㄠˊ ㄊㄡˊ ㄊㄤˊ ㄔㄤˇ ㄓㄢˋ Wade–Giles Ch'iao2t'ou2 T'ang2ch'ang3 Chan4 Tongyong Pinyin Ciaótóu Tángchǎng Jhàn
General information
Location	Ciaotou, Kaohsiung Taiwan
Coordinates	22°45′11″N120°18′53″E / 22.75306°N 120.31472°E / 22.75306; 120.31472
Operated by	Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation
Line(s)	Red line (R22A)
Platforms	One Island platform
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
History
Opened	2008-03-09
Passengers
1,359 daily (Jan. 2011) [1]
Services
Preceding station Kaohsiung Metro Following station Ciaotou towards Gangshan Red line Cingpu towards Siaogang
Location

Ciaotou Sugar Refinery is a station on the Red line of Kaohsiung Metro in Ciaotou District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Added during the planning of the metro to fill a gap between Cingpu metro station and Ciaotou station, Ciaotou Sugar Refinery station was built near the former Ciaotou Sugar Refinery, which had been converted into the Taiwan Sugar Museum. The station opened in 2008, along with the rest of the Red line. In 2020, a stray cat named Mikan was appointed as station master, and rapidly became a symbol of the wider metro.

Structure

The 167 metres (548 ft) station is a three-level, elevated station with one island platform and three exits. ^{[2] [3]}

History

Exit 1, opened in June 2013

Planning for the Kaohsiung Metro began in 1989. While Ciaotou Sugar Refinery station was not part of the original plans, the distance between the planned Cingpu metro station (designated R22) and Ciaotou station (R23) was 1,947 metres (6,388 ft), much longer than the standard 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) distance between stations. As development in the area began to be viewed as increasingly important, Ciaotou Sugar Refinery station was planned and given the designation R22A. ^[4]

The area around the Ciaotou Sugar Refinery was planned to be a new development in 1991. While these plans were abandoned in 1997, with development focus shifted 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west, related plans to build part of the metro through the area continued. At the time, Ciaotou District's population was declining, and the government hoped the metro would reverse this trend, and create economic growth. Some locals opposed the development, noting it would involve destroying some historical sites, including parts of the refinery. The refinery was designated a historic site in 1998. ^[5]

The Red line, including Ciaotou Sugar Refinery station, opened on 9 March 2008. Travel was free until 6 April. ^[6] Following the merger of Kaohsiung County with Kaohsiung City, new funds were devoted to improve the area. On 9 June 2014, an access road project for exit 1 of the station costing NT$212 million was completed. This had the goal of reducing congestion that had emerged as tourist numbers increased, as well as widening a road connecting exit 1 to the sugar refinery. ^[7] Abandoned land next to exit 1 had long been a site for illegal dumping. During cleanup operations on 2 April 2020, a dead body was discovered. It was later discovered that the body had been disposed there on 17 December 2014, and two murder sentences were passed down on 12 April 2022. ^{[8] [9]}

In September 2020, a stray cat that had been adopted by station staff and named Mikan was appointed station master. Mikan was then incorporated into the branding of the station, and the Kaohsiung Metro as a whole. Mikan gained fame quickly, with fans visiting the station to meet him. These fans included Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who visited in March 2021. ^[10]

The wider area through which the metro line was built has continued to see investment, including university, business, and housing development. ^[11]

Ridership

Annual Passenger Numbers

Year	Boarding	Alighting
2008 [12]	462,510	474,517
2009 [13]	346,760	349,407
2010 [14]	288,845	297,245

Around the station

The metro line passing over the old Ciaotou Sugar Refinery

Through exit 2 is the former Ciaotou Sugar Refinery owned by the Taiwan Sugar Corporation. This large estate, first established in 1901, has now been converted into the Taiwan Sugar Museum (opened in 2006) and other facilities aimed at attracting tourism. The grounds contain some trees that were transplanted during the construction of the metro line. ^[15] The sugar refinery is one example of older architecture preserved in the immediate area of the station. ^[11]

Also nearby are the:

• Taiwan Railway Administration Western Line railways
• National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology ^[11]
• Ciaotou Old Streets
• Singtang Elementary School ^[11]

References

1. "統計資訊 > 統計月報". Transportation Bureau, Kaohsiung City Government. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
2. "R22A - Ciaotou Sugar Refinery". Kaohsiung Metro. Archived from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
3. "橋頭糖廠站週邊地圖" (in Chinese). 高雄市政府捷運工程局. Archived from the original on 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
4. Zheng Zhiying (鄭哲英) (2006-06-01). "高雄捷運小故事 消失的車站R1 R2 O3" (in Chinese). Kaohsiung Metro. Archived from the original on 2014-03-08.
5. Su Lingyao (蘇玲瑤); Xu Qifeng (徐啟峰). "捷運通過百年糖廠 橋頭居民憂心". Public Television Service (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-09-20.
6. Wu Fengwen (吳鳳雯) (2008-03-20). "高捷正式通車 北捷搭乘人數破30億". PeoPo (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-09-20.
7. Lin Xiangci (林湘慈) (2014-06-10). "高捷橋頭糖廠站聯外道路通車 疏解假日觀光人潮". Mygonews (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-09-20.
8. Lin Yahui (林雅惠) (2020-04-03). "橋頭糖廠站整地 挖出女桶屍". Yahoo! News (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-09-20.
9. "高雄橋頭桶屍案二審 行凶情侶各判19年7月、17年8月". Yahoo! News (in Chinese). 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
10. Wang Jung-hsiang; Esme Yeh (2025-02-22). "Cat rakes in NT$10m for Kaohsiung MRT". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
11. Lin Yaowen (林耀文) (2021-02-06). "【高雄】橋頭鬧區生活圈 高質感透天推案新熱區". The Liberty Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-09-20.
12. "高雄都會區大眾捷運系統各站旅運量統計表" (PDF) (in Chinese). Kaohsiung Metro. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-27.
13. "高雄都會區大眾捷運系統各站旅運量統計表" (PDF) (in Chinese). Kaohsiung Metro. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-27.
14. "高雄都會區大眾捷運系統各站旅運量統計表" (PDF) (in Chinese). Kaohsiung Metro. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-27.
15. Qin Yaru (秦雅如) (2022-12-09). "高雄低碳微旅行 搭捷運遊糖廠、學科普，玩樂也要愛地球" (in Chinese). CommonWealth Magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-20.

External links

• KRTC Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station (in English, Chinese, and Japanese)