Chiayi Old Prison

Chiayi Old Prison (嘉義舊監獄)

Hidden northeast of Chiayi City (嘉義市), a little treasure of tourist attractions is waiting for exploration. Built in 1919 and finally opened in 1922 as a branch of Tainan Prison (台南監獄), Chiayi Old Prison still holds the charm and unique architecture of the Japanese governance.

Entrance of Chiayi Old Prison

However, Chiayi Old Prison is more than just a relic of the past, but a national monument and a museum, that impressively provides an insight into the life of inmates and warders of the facility. In 1924, it was renamed to Chiayi Branch of  the Taiwan Department of Correction.

written from right to left, 以德化人 (yǐ dé huà rén) is a confucian
quote and means "teaching people by using morals"

After reassigning in 1945, when the Republic of China gained control over Taiwan, it was renamed again to Taiwan Chiayi Prison in 1947. Remarkably, despite of all the necessary renovations over the decades, Chiayi Old Prison is the only unit of that kind in Taiwan which still owns the original prison structure.

View over a model of Chiayi Old Prison, exhibited in the museum

Adopting the original idea for the plant layout from Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania, it was the first prison with the highly efficient radial floor plan in Taiwan. Therefore it was possible to supervise a large amount of inmates at the same time in the control center. This can still be empathized by standing at the point, where the attendant once had a look over his captives.

Control Centre of Chiayi Old Prison

The interior of the prison is still well preserved or even extensively renovated. A total of 62 prison cells were designed to hold 300 male and 30 female inhabitants, but were temporarily occupied by the overwhelming number of 728 prisoners due to space limitations. Apart from this unusual situation, the raised ceilings and the numerous windows provided air circulation and natural lighting. The doors, made of cypress wood from Mount Ali (阿裡山), endured the time until today.

Corridor with cells for the male inmates

Chiayi Old Prison exhibits visiting rooms, where captives once had the opportunity to communicate with the outside world, separated by glass. To ensure that there were no intentions of jailbreak or rebellion, phone conversation are always recorded. At least, there was just one prisoner who could escape in over 70 years.

Visiting Room

After relocation to Lucao (鹿草鄉), a rural township of Chiayi County (嘉義縣), it was finally closed in 1998 and nearly torn down to make place for habitable surface. Fortunately, these plans were abandoned, which is why we have the opportunity to attend this historical place today. Although the information given is generally in Chinese, the museum of human rights and prison history in Chiayi Old Prison is definitely worth a visitation.

Garden of Chiayi Old Prison

Chiayi Old Prison opens from Tuesday to Sunday and offers guided tours four times a day, that last about one hour. The visiting hours are as written below. Make sure you are there beforehand. Furthermore it is not far away from Chiayi Park (嘉義公園), which holds a huge range of attractions as well. We would recommend visiting the prison first and then take a relaxing tour through the park. 

Guided Tours:

Tuesday to Sunday

09:30

10:30

13:30

14:30