Get to know West District
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- Administrative area
- District · 區
- Part of
- Chiayi City
- Chinese name
- 西區
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 29.87 km²
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
The 1936 office building
The former monopoly office is a three-storey reinforced-concrete building with an L-shaped plan. Its raised base, rounded external corner and horizontal window bands are prominent features. The exterior uses scratch-pattern tiles made in Beitou (北投). Around the staircase between the first and second floors, columns have eight-sided profiles.
From offices to museum
The original complex contained four buildings used for offices, storage and retail. The museum project was designed by Studiobase Architects (黃明威建築師事務所) and M. H. Wang Architects (王銘顯建築師事務所). Commissioned in 2014, it entered construction in 2018 and was completed in 2020. The older office building had already been designated a Chiayi City historic monument in June 2000.
Sources for this guide
嘉義市立美術館 | 建築師雜誌 · Taiwan Architect magazine, National Association of Architects
關於 | 建築師雜誌 · Taiwan Architect magazine, National Association of Architects
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-27.
Explore West District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
West District 西區
Plan your visit
Getting there
West District covers the centre of Chiayi City. Search for 西區 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →More in Chiayi City
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.