Tainan Travel

Houbi Train Station (後壁車站), built in 1902 during the Japanese Colonial period, is a noted scenic spot of Houbi District (後壁區). Tourists visiting Houbi District will invariably get on and off at the train station, and it is a good location to rent bicycles to meander through the abundant fields and old streets of Jingliao (菁寮). The square in front of the train station features bronze statues of the four main characters and one cow from the documentary film known in English as Let it Be (無米樂), and which depicts many of the cultural elements of Houbi. The characters of Mr. and Mrs. Kunbing (崑濱伯夫婦), Uncle Huangming (煌明伯) and Uncle Wenlin (文林伯) frequently take center stage in photos taken by tourists. The exterior of Houbi Train Station has undergone renovation after the Jianan Earthquake (嘉南大地震) of 1941 left the station scarred and tilted. During the renovation, some changes were made to the structure of the station which gives it its present day form. The outside features overlapped boarding and the foundations are made up of a washed granolithic concrete. The station is one of the best remaining examples of wooden Japanese style train stations within Taiwan.