Chiayi County takes over Xiezhi Industrial and Commercial School Property Planning Cultural Education Park

Xie Zhi Industrial and Commercial donated to Chiayi County Government. (File photo, provided by Minxiong Cultural and Educational Foundation)

After Chiayi County Xiezhi Industry and Commerce entered history, founder He Mingzong donated the school property to the Chiayi County government and planned to turn it into a "cultural education park". The county government will carry out planning and utilization across bureaus. Each school building will be converted into an art gallery and planned to be a teacher professional training center, a Taiwanese language education base and a vocational training base. The Taiwanese language education base is expected to be completed by the end of the year, and the art museum is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.

The Chiayi County Council held a regular county government general inquiry today. County Councilor Huang Qihao said that he was grateful to the founder He Mingzong for selflessly donating about 6 hectares of school land. He was honored to be able to introduce and promote this matter. People from all walks of life look forward to the county government accepting the post-production plan of Xiezhi Industrial and Commercial School.

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Chiayi County Culture and Tourism Director Xu Peiling said that the Bureau of Culture and Tourism is responsible for the Xiezhi Art Museum and is working on the design plan. The first phase of the review was approved on September 15, and the famous architect Qiu Wenjie won the bid; a consultation meeting was held, with He Mingzong, artist Wang Wenzhi, museum experts and alumni participating in the deliberations. All 1,500 cultural relics donated by founder He Mingzong have been inventoried, and collection planning will follow.

Xu Peiling said that in the planning part of the Xiezhi Art Museum, the first and second floors are expected to be used as exhibition halls, and the third and fourth floors will be used as promotional education and administrative offices, as well as provide alumni space. The overall renovation is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.

Li Meihua, director of the county's education department, said that the education department is responsible for the teaching building and the science and technology building. The teaching building is planned to be a teacher professional training center. The county government's expatriate units such as academic counseling centers and digital offices will be integrated there, and a space will be set up for non-profit education units. A teacher selection examination room will also be built. The science and technology building will be established with funding subsidies from the Department of Lifelong Education of the Ministry of Education to establish a Taiwanese education base, which will be operated by National Chung Cheng University and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Li Meihua said that the current internal space arrangement of the teaching building and the science and technology building will be funded by the county, and will be planned according to needs after each unit moves in.

Chen Yihan, director of the county labor and youth development department, said that Xiezhi's original work on business and industry focused on vocational education, and related equipment such as beauty salons and baking kitchens are well preserved. In the future, building safety appraisals will be carried out and it is planned to be used as a vocational training base in Minxiong area.

County Councilor Huang Qihao asked the county government to explain the follow-up plan for Xiezhi’s industrial and commercial donation. (Extracted from Chiayi County Council live video)