Xinpingshi Coal Mine Museum Park

100 years ago, the Pingxi Line railway, built for coal mining, was once Taiwan's primary coal production area. In 2003, the Xinpingshi Coal Mine established a museum in the original mining area. In the same year, it was designated by the Council for Cultural Affairs as a local cultural museum and has been operating ever since, dedicated to issues such as cultural heritage preservation, local revitalization, cultural pathways, and international exchange. The Xinpingshi Coal Mine held mining rights until 2019. In addition to mining facilities, it also possesses various complete mining plans, maps, and tunnel data. The 'One-Eyed Monk' electrified railway system, originally set up for coal production, is still fully operational today, bearing witness to Taiwan's early electrified railway systems. The park has been participating in the National Development Council's Local Revitalization Plan since 2019. In recent years, it has also assisted in promoting the Bureau of Cultural Heritage's Mining Cultural Pathway Project. Recent development overview: 1. In 2016 and 2023, it signed agreements to become a sister museum with the Tagawa City Coal History Museum and the Kushiro City Museum in Japan, respectively. Furthermore, the three museums signed a tripartite friendship agreement in April 2024. 2. From 2017 to 2018, it participated in the Ministry of Culture's Bureau of Cultural Heritage 'Industrial Cultural Heritage Regeneration Project'. The project, named 'Xinpingshi Coal Mine Industrial Cultural Heritage Preservation and Utilization Project,' inventoried the park's flow and scope. Today, the museum's visitor routes and paths align with the operational conditions of the coal mine in its production era, serving as an excellent example for preserving mining culture and the secondary utilization of mining areas. 3. In 2019, it participated in the National Development Council's Pingxi District Local Revitalization Plan. From 2022 to 2023, it implemented the 'Ministry of Culture's Project for Promoting Local Revitalization and Cultural Environment Creation,' with project names 'International Prayer Town' and 'International Mining Town Theme Park.' During the implementation period, various local revitalization activities were held, which significantly attracted visitors, establishing it as an important local revitalization platform for the Pingxi District. 4. From 2021 to 2022, to celebrate the centenary of the Pingxi Line railway, the park successfully hosted the 'Centenary of Pingxi Railway and Coal Mine Culture Special Exhibition' New Year's Eve main venue event, organized by the Bureau of Cultural Heritage. During this period, numerous events combining local characteristics and resources were held. 5. In January 2024, the park hosted the annual conference of the 'All Coal Mine Museum Research' (全炭博研) association, a long-term Japanese partner, which was held in Taiwan for the first time. A 'Taiwan-Japan Joint Forum' was also convened, where the topics presented and discussed were 'East Asian Coal Mining Cultural Pathways and Their Social Significance'. 6. In December 2024, to preserve Taiwan's only most systematically and completely preserved coal mine, the museum applied to the New Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs for the registration of a group of historical buildings. Ten sites, including part of the horizontal adit, pit entrance, measurement room, rail system, wagon tippler, coal chute, coal washing plant, coal storage silo, coal unloader, and dedicated railway, were approved and publicly announced. 7. In January 2025, the park, together with its sister museum, the Kushiro City Museum in Hokkaido, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, and the Belgian Office in Taipei, organized a seminar titled 'Reflections on International Mining Cultural Pathways,' which explored international mining cultural preservation and its interpretive work through the perspectives of mining professionals, ecologists, and artists. 8. In August 2025, the park participated in the 'International Mining Culture Exchange Roundtable Conference' held at the Belgium Pavilion of the Osaka Expo. The conference featured speakers from Japan, Taiwan, and Belgium, discussing the coal mining industry, which once symbolized the cornerstone of industrial modernization in Europe and Asia.