The Yilan Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA Yilan) has renovated the store at the Jhongjian Service Station in Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area. The renovated store, named “Jhongjian – Take a Seat,” reopens [Ling1] with a fresh new look on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Working with designer Hu Chi-Cheng and his team at HUdesign Studio[Ling2] , the FANCA Yilan [Ling3] adopted “FOREST MADE” as the central concept for the spatial design. Inspired by the history of forestry, sustainable use of domestic timber, Taipingshan’s unique cultural and creative products, as well as the need to “take a break” during a journey, the aim was to transform the venue into more than just a souvenir shop, but also a place where people could sit down, look around, and rediscover the forest through everyday objects.Jhongjian: Originally a Transportation Hub The name Jhongjian (“halfway” in Mandarin) itself reflects its position in the development of Taipingshan. During the logging era, transporting the timber of Taipingshan down the mountainside entailed transfers section by section across different timber transport systems such as rail and aerial cableway. Jhongjian thus became a crucial hub, where rail, cableway, log gathering, and related forestry infrastructure and facilities were set up in the vicinity. With the end of the logging era and the transformation of Taipingshan into a national forest recreation area, the relay service station gradually became a tourist service and exhibition site. From forestry production to forest recreation, Jhongjian has always played a role as a stopover and relay location.Rediscovering the Stopover Value of Jhongjian In recent years, travelers mostly plan their trip itineraries online before departure. In addition, most tourists visit Taipingshan on day trips. As a result, the traditional role of the service station as a source of tourist information has gradually changed. Furthermore, in recent years the FANCA Yilan has launched a series of limited-edition products, as well as domestic timber and forest-themed cultural and creative merchandise for Taipingshan. With convenient parking and located just a one- to three-minute walk from the parking lot, Jhongjian service station has gradually become a key stopover for tourists to buy souvenirs. This renovation is not simply about updating the onsite store, but about reflecting on how to make Jhongjian a worthwhile stop once again in today’s tourism landscape.From Wood to Trees to Forests The design team led by Hu Chi-Cheng of HUdesign extended the spatial concept of “Wood, Trees, and Forests” to bring the forestry history, timber utilization, and forest value of Taipingshan into the store. The renovation process retained some of the existing wood for reuse and also incorporated domestic timber such as Taiwan cypress, Japanese cedar, and Taiwania. It also drew inspiration from past forestry transportation, timber construction, and woodworking techniques, transforming these design elements into a new spatial vocabulary. The design also incorporated the idea of “reading wood in a library,” in the hopes that every piece of wood and every wooden product can draw visitors’ interest, thus allowing tourists to learn about trees, forests, and forestry.Domestic Timber Entering Daily Life Domestic timber has always been an important feature of the relay service station. Following the renovation, a new display featuring 56 wood samples from different Taiwanese tree species has been installed. This content is the result of a long-term collaboration between the FANCA Yilan and Professor Lu Fuy-Yuan’s team from National Chiayi University. Visitors will now have the opportunity to observe the hue, texture, and grain of different types of wood up close. Most of the products produced from domestic timber sold onsite come with relevant verification and traceability labels such as the Traceable Forest Product Label, Taiwan Forest Products Production Traceability Label, and the Taiwan Wood Label. The goal is to move beyond simply “seeing timber” to actively “choosing timber,” bringing legally sourced and traceable Taiwanese wood into everyday life while encouraging consumers to support sustainable forest management[Ling4] .Let Jhongjian Tell Its Own Story The new store also incorporates the forestry history of Jhongjian itself into the space. Some of the content extends from the accumulated results of historical and cultural research and publications on Taipingshan, carried out in collaboration between the FANCA Yilan and Professor Lee Jui-Tsung in recent years. Through stories of former railway tracks, cableways, timber transportation systems, and Jhongjian’s role as a transfer station, visitors can discover how this location once connected the upper and lower areas of Taipingshan. The FANCA Yilan hopes that the store will not only be a place where products are displayed, but also play a role in demonstrating how goods, spaces, and local history can interact with one another.Taking a Seat also Becomes Part of the Journey To make “Jhongjian – Take a Seat” a place where visitors can pause and relax, a self-service pour-over coffee area has also been established. It offers coffee produced by the Jhaoyang Community of Su’ao Township, Yilan County, where land-friendly planting practices are adopted. Jhaoyang Community has long been committed to land-friendly initiatives, community industries, and environmental education. It has an ongoing collaboration with the FANCA Yilan in areas such as the Jhaoyang Trail and community forestry. The community also participates in the entire process of coffee production, from planting and weeding to harvesting and subsequent processing. Bringing Jhaoyang’s coffee under the “FOREST MADE” brand was not just about adding a beverage option, but also about showcasing how mountain forest resources and local livelihoods are connected, from land and production to the community. It also allows tourists to learn, during their travels, about the story of another community that is closely tied to the mountains and forests of Yilan through a cup of coffee.Connecting Jioujhihze with Jhongjian - An Alternative Taipingshan Journey As renovations to the Jioujhihze Hot Spring area are gradually completed, the FANCA Yilan [Ling5] hopes to further connect Jioujhihze with Jhongjian Service Station, offering visitors a more relaxed way to experience Taipingshan. Visitors to Taipingshan won’t necessarily have to head all the way to Taipingshan Village, ride the Bong Bong Train or go to Cueifong Lake. An alternative itinerary would be a shorter, slower journey from the Jioujhihze area to Jhongjian, where hot springs, forest therapy, and mountain recreation can be enjoyed while also experiencing domestic timber and unique cultural and creative products. Travelers will be able to immerse themselves in more stops and experiences along the way, as well as discover a different way of visiting Taipingshan other than a typical day trip.Starting September 23, Spend to Get Free Gifts To celebrate the reopening of “Jhongjian - Take a Seat,” a spending reward promotional campaign will be starting September 23. Jean Cultural & Creative Co., Ltd., a long-time partner of the FANCA Yilan and creator of a variety of Taipingshan-themed products, is offering a “magnetic wooden photo frame” as a gift for spending over certain thresholds. For every NT$1,000 spent at the Jhongjian Service Station store, customers will receive one complimentary magnetic wooden photo frame valued at NT$220. Customers spending NT$2,000 will receive two frames, and so on. There are six different photo frames, which will be given away at random. Quantities are limited and only available while stocks last.Let Tourism Become a Way to Understand Forests The FANCA Yilan [Ling6] stated that “Jhongjian – Take a Seat” aims to carry forward Jhongjian’s historical role as a transfer station in a contemporary setting. Back in the day, people and timber would stop here or be transferred before continuing their journey. Now, visitors can rediscover the forest before them through a product, a piece of timber, a moment in history, or a brief rest. The original display space of the relay service station has also been updated to become a permanent exhibition titled “At Jhongjian - Wonderful Encounters in Nature,” providing additional information to enrich visitors’ understanding of Taipingshan from the perspectives of natural history and ecology. The FANCA Yilan hopes that tourism in Taipingshan will involve more than simply traveling to attractions and admiring the scenery, instead it should also offer a travel itinerary where forestry history, sustainable use of domestic timber, nature and ecosystem, and the relationship between people and forests can be experienced naturally. “Jhongjian – Take a Seat” officially reopens on September 23. The next time you visit Taipingshan, why not take a moment to sit down and relax at Jhongjian before continuing your journey deeper into the mountains?
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