TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Tainan prison restoration project has been completed, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) announced last week.

Construction began in 2022 with a budget of NT$130 million (US$4.21 million).

Huang wrote in a Facebook post that the structures of the former Tainan Prison have stood for over a century, bearing witness to the city’s history. With restoration completed, they have a new lease on life, he said.

The mayor said that in addition to zoned commercial investment, the city will introduce cultural and creative exhibitions, artistic performances, and other events to enrich the city’s character and “bring new life and brilliance to these long-silent historic buildings.”

Huang said the city followed the principle of “maximizing preservation of original components,” using traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery techniques combined with modern reinforcement methods. Materials such as wood, roof tiles, and glass were sourced from the Tainan Cultural Heritage Materials Bank to match the original construction period.

The Japanese-era Tainan Prison was originally located in the city’s West Central District, per CNA. It was later relocated to the Guiren District. The original site was cleared and redeveloped into an area that now includes the Silks Place Tainan Hotel and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s Tainan New Life Square. The former residential compound for prison administrators and staff, however, still stands beside the old prison site.

The complex comprises five wooden buildings: the warden’s residence, officers’ quarters, the martial arts hall, bathhouse, and staff dormitory.