Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

The “creative hub of Taipei” was once the site of a tobacco factory but now has upscale galleries and cafés rising from the company’s symbolic ashes.

Made up of imposing warehouses and laboratories, the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park is an innovative multifunctional space filled with restaurants, gardens and museums. It began as a tobacco company in the 1930s and retains a retro industrial vibe around its converted edifices. Learn about the former cigarette factory as you explore the five warehouses with gabled roofs that line the main square.

Leave your belongings in the lockers in the Information Center and ask about any current exhibits. Inspect the paintings and other works of art on display in the converted factory storerooms. Various temporary displays, art shows and conferences regularly take place in the creative park.

Browse the works in the comprehensive bookstore on the northern side of the former factory. Participate in an artistic workshop and purchase supplies, vinyl discs and other vintage products.

On a pleasant day, appreciate the picturesque setting in the ornate garden at the heart of the old factory. As you explore the building, visit the various exhibits providing information about the history of Taiwan and its Japanese occupation. Relax with a meal at the Liuli Museum Café, whose terrace overlooks a picturesque pond.

Note that the original tobacco company that was built here in 1937 was called the Matsuyama Tobacco Plant of the Monopoly Bureau of the Taiwan Governor’s Office. Today, operational hours vary, but many sites open daily from morning to evening. The complex is free to access, while certain exhibits may charge an entrance fee.

Find the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in the center of the Xinyi District, in central Taipei. Ride the metro to the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall or Taipei City Hall stop and walk north for a few minutes to get here.

While in this part of the city, check out nearby sights such as the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, the Puppetry Art Center of Taipei and the Discovery Center of Taipei.