Songshan Sanatorium Superintendents’ Dormitory 松山療養所長宿舍

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Nangang, the district in Taipei where I live and work, has a rich history that includes being a center for industry and transportation. One such building that lies hidden in Nangang from the Japanese era called “松山療養所長宿舍” which I have translated as “The Songshan Sanatorium Superintendent’s Dormitory.” Now it has been renovated and converted into a coffee shop called "Jingxin Yuan 靜心苑."

View of the building in 2017 before it was renovated.

Historical Background:

Built in 1925, this dormitory was made for the Japanese doctor who watched over the sanitorium nearby.
The Sanatorium’s main purpose was to treat mentally disabled patients, and later was turned into a center to cure tuberculosis. It has had multiple names through the ages, beginning with松山錫口養生院 (Songshan Xikou Health Hospital), and then changed to 松山療養所 (Songshan Sanatorium) in 1925. When the ROC took control, its changed name was changed again to 台灣省立松山療養院, (Taiwan Provincial Songshan Sanatorium) in 1946, with the first superintendent being Yang TianMu (楊添木). It was also known as (or part of it was) 治肺結核療養所 (Tuberculosis Treatment Sanatorium). 

​Made a historical building in 2006, the government later said the dormitory required 20,000,000 NT to restore the building and open it to the public. After the government bought the land for over 60,000,000 NT, it was planned to be reopened as an “Art Therapy” center for children with special needs, where they can learn to paint, draw, and perform. ​Originally this building was under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture, but then the government decided to hand it over to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which did not want to take on such an expensive project. The Ministry of Culture promised to give funds to help the project, but it has not happened. Supposedly the Ministry of Culture was supposed to pass on funds to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The final renovation took place in 2018 and was completed in 2020. It has now been converted into a coffee shop called "Jingxin Yuan 靜心苑."

Hours:
11 AM - PM
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Price:
Free entrance but socks are required.
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​Tours:
You can book a tour of Taipei on Tripadvisor here, KKday here or Klook here.

Where to stay:
High end: We have stayed at and recommend the Nangang Marriott (book on Booking.com here or Agoda here). We have also stayed at and recommend the Yuanshan Grand Hotel, once the tallest building in Taiwan and still the most grand (book on Booking.com here or Agoda here). 
Looking for a hotel? We recommend booking through Booking.com here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan.
Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here.
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How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: The dormitory is within walking distance of Kunyang MRT station, on Kunyang Road. There is limited parking near the side of the road. 
Looking for scooter rental in Taipei? You can search on Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. 
If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or  KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.  
By Bus/MRT: The dormitory is within walking distance of Kunyang MRT station. There is limited parking near the side of the road.  You can purchase a discount easy card to use on the MRT from Klook here or KKday here. You can also book an MRT travel pass on Klook here.
By Bicycle: Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan's landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can use Taiwan's many Youbike sharing stations, or search for rentals on KKday here, and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. You can also book a Sunset Riverside Bike Ride and Historical Tour, 4 Hour Cycling in Taipei, Ultimate 8-Hour Cycling City Tour, or Taipei City Bike Tour with Night Market Experience on TripAdvisor here. 
For more information, check out our Taiwan transportation guide here. 

Map:
Please see below:

Our Journey:

The renovation of the Songshan Sanitorium Superintendent's dormitory has been a long time in the making. However I was really pleased with the result. It is definitely worth a visit and is now a great restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere. The only sad part is the city decided not to preserve the actual sanitorium itself. 

View of the front entrance. 

Old shed with a pond mural. 

Front entrance with an old rickshaw.

Side of the building. 

Fancy pet duck and bonzai tree.

Side view of the building. 

Back porch of the building. 

Back end of the building. 

They have also made a fish pond here.

Another view of the fish pond. 

View of the front entrance. To get inside you need to be wearing socks. If you don't have socks, you can buy some.

This long wall of windows is nice.

Old memorabilia, some of it for sale I think. 

Another table. 

Hexagonal window.

This is the menu for the restaurant. 

Chicken soup meal. 

This is really just a full hot bot. 

BBQ eel meal. 

This eel was really delicious. 

We finished it off with some cheesecake. 

We also noticed they had some glass art pieces for sale. 

You can see more photos of the main building above. 

Across the street there is another Japanese era house that is open from 1-5 PM and closed Tuesday. It's called the Jingxin Yuan No. 2 (靜心苑二館). 

There is no restaurant here, but it is a nice place to relax. They also have free yoga classes here. 

Old electrical hardware. 

Side room. 

View of the building from the backyard. 

More photos of the building above. Again, there are free yoga classes here. 

Across the street they are building a new office building where the old sanitorium used to stand. 

They are also tearing down quite a few old military dormitories in the area. Who knows what will be built in their place.

Another view of the old military dormitories across the street. 

​Timelapse of the Songshan Sanitorium:

The following is a dated post of what the dormitory looked like before the renovation:

​My Exploration in 2017:

Besides climbing over the low brick wall, one can squeeze through an opening between a tree behind someone's private parking space. I was carrying a baby on the front of me so I imagine any fat person could slip through just fine.

Walking around the back of the building, one can see collapsed brick wall and rubble everywhere. This brick wall has collapsed recently because I have seen it standing in other people's blogs.

Behind the dormitory is garden, and a red tin house construction that has been added on recently for cleaning purposes I assume. The entire house is very much securely locked, so even the most skilled ninja will have trouble getting in.

That is a new deadbolt. The person that "regularly cleans" the place surely comes in through here. There is no other entrance into the building that hasn't been boarded off.

There are a few storage shed type constructions around the dormitory. I assume that perhaps their purpose was to store wood or coal fuel.

There is quite a large sinkhole in the ground here, I imagine this is one of the reasons why restoring this place would be so expensive.

View from inside the front yard shed. I'm not sure what the metal object in the far right corner is. Perhaps a well. Also I am not sure what the red wooden object is in the background, and why it is not stored in the house.

You will notice that the windows protrude out of the house. This is to protect the rooms from rain. Also the cement foundation with airways is supposed to protect the house from pests such as termites, although I imagine they now spray the house for bugs.

At this point I had given up on getting inside the house, but I found that there was still a way to get pictures of the inside.

This is the best I can give you for the house's interior. There is wood everything, and it all looks in somewhat decent shape. Although I think they should fire whoever they hired to "regularly" clean this place.

 I took off my my loyal steed, which I left unlocked because this is Taiwan, and thus concluded my exploration of the place.

Some work has been done to preserve this building, but now it simply sits in southwestern Nangang, boarded up, empty, and rotting. Although this building is kept in somewhat good condition and is cleaned regularly, it seems a great pity that more has not been done to preserve it for the public to enjoy. It is now in a political tennis court where different government agencies to not want to pay for its repair. As Mayor Ke said, having a historical building placed under your bureau is like getting a fine; you have to pay for the repairs. Now everyone wants to pass this “fine” around. So I guess the general feeling in the government is to ignore history and culture and do not spend money to restore these burdensome "fines" at all costs. It’s a sad mindset that has all but destroyed most of Nangang’s history.
 
This building is one of the few well preserved Japanese wooden buildings in Taipei. It should be preserved for the public to enjoy, and the Taipei city government should be ashamed for greedily hoarding funds and putting it its renovation for so long.

The location of the actual Sanatorium itself not well documented and currently lies on protected private property. It too is boarded up, but unlike the dormitory it is hidden away, forgotten, and thus has not been made a historical building. For more info please send me a message. If I have time I might make a follow up blog on it.

Conclusion:
The Sanitorium was destroyed after writing the above article, but as you can see the dormitory has been beautifully preserved. The best we can do is enjoy what Taipei City has left us with. 

You can also look for more activities in Taipei such as Rock Climbing, Surfing, Speedboat Surfing, Diving, Snorkeling, Cooking Class, Glamping, Motorcycling, and more on Klook here or KKday here. 
You can get a 20% discount on the Taiwan High Speed Rail to Nangang on Klook here or KKday here. 

Check out our full guide to Nangang here. ​

Check out our Taipei Museum Guide here. 

Also be sure to check out our full guide to Taipei here. 

You can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here. ​

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