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Taipei Travel

Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau 菸酒專賣局

Anchor point

Tuesday:08:00 - 18:00

3.9

11.8k

Introduction

The monopoly system of Taiwan started during the Japanese colonial era. In 1901, Taiwan Governor’s Office consolidated the Taiwan Pharmaceutical Factory, Taiwan Salt Bureau and Taiwan Camphor Bureau into the “Monopoly Bureau of the Taiwan Governor’s Office”, marking an important beginning of the monopoly system. Before the Retrocession of Taiwan, the eight commodities included in the monopoly system were: tobacco, liquor, opium, salt, camphor, matches, petroleum and measuring instruments. The building was constructed in 1913 to cater to the voluminous workload of the monopoly system. It was designed by an engineer of the Construction and Maintenance Division of the Taiwan Governor Office, Matsunosuke Moriyama (1870 -1949) and was completed in 1922. The architectural style is similar to that of the Presidential Office, and it became the model structure that was copied after by other elites architectural projects at that time. The building features an L-shaped floor layout and there is a semi-circular gable at the facade. The foyer has a spherical roof top and the façade; both the right and left wings feature a column-style design, giving the exterior of the building a rich and grandiose look.

After the Retrocession of Taiwan, the Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office, in an effort to maintain its financial resources and minimize the taxpayers’ burden, decided to continue the monopoly system. The organization was restructured as “the Taiwan Province Monopoly Bureau”, with the number of monopolized items down to five: tobacco, liquor, camphor, matches and measuring instruments. By 1968, the two items that remained in the monopoly system were tobacco and liquor.

Information

Themes
Historic Sites
Subject
Campus teaching
Suggested Months for Visiting
All year
Phone Number
+886-2-23214567
Address
No.4, Section 1, Nanchang Road, Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City Taiwan, R.O.C

Opening Hours

SundayOff day
Monday08:00 - 18:00
Tuesday08:00 - 18:00
Wednesday08:00 - 18:00
Thursday08:00 - 18:00
Friday08:00 - 18:00
SaturdayOff day

Reminders

The Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau was an organization responsible for the production, transportation and marketing of tobacco and liquor to meet the public demand. It also implemented the Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Act to govern the organization, the tobacco and liquor distribution units as well as the approved retailers throughout Taiwan. The Bureau performed very well in product marketing and sales through the years, and the profit brought into the treasury became an important tax revenue source for the country.

In recent years, in response to internationalization and liberalization, the Government abolished the monopoly system on January 1st, 2002, and restructured the bureau into “Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation” on July 1st, 2002. This building, which has witnessed the history of Taiwan’s monopoly system, was designated as a historical site by the Ministry of the Interior in 1998.

Services & Facilities

  • Toilets

Transportaiton

Nearby MRT

R Tamsui-Xinyi Line Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

G Songshan-Xindian Line Xiaonanmen

R Tamsui-Xinyi Line NTU Hospital

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