Lane 46 Cultural Commons

Starting from the reclamation background of Jianzili during the Qing Dynasty, this work focuses on the urban development of Zhongli from the Japanese colonial period to the early post-war era. Using old photographs, maps, and field surveys, it introduces the hand-pushed light rail of the Zhongli Track Co., Ltd., Zhongli Station, and railway transportation. It also visits old streets, hospitals, agricultural warehouses, government offices, public halls, markets, commercial firms, churches, and Japanese-style dormitory complexes. Readers can understand how Zhongli became an important agricultural and livestock distribution center and urban hub in Southern Taoyuan through clues such as transportation, medical care, administration, commerce, faith, and architecture, while discovering the contemporary significance of preserved historical spaces like the Zhongli Elementary School Story Forest and Lijingding.

Using the Old Street Stream (Laojie River) as its axis, this guide begins with Zhongli's ancient name 'Jianzili' and Qing Dynasty land reclamation, tracing the river's source, basin, and the history of its culverting and subsequent daylighting restoration. The content connects the River Education Center, Xinshi Park, irrigation canals, retention ponds, weirs, Bogong (Earth God) worship, bridges, riverside settlements, and landscape art to show how the water environment shaped Zhongli’s agriculture, lifestyle, faith, and urban memory. This field study material also explains hydraulic and restoration methods such as gravel contact oxidation treatment, compound cross-sections, submerged dams, and ecological ponds, making it an ideal introductory text for local history, river education, and field investigations.