National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) has implemented the “Good Neighborliness Residency Project at the Big Chimney Factory Base” for Hsinchu Sixth Fuel Factory, commissioned by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Hsinchu City government, since 2018. This project is one of the earliest projects aimed at preserving and activating the historical relics of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Sixth Fuel Factory from World War II, which is located at Jianmei Road and neighbors NCTU and National Tsin Hua University. The goal of this project, which is part of a national project by the Ministry of Culture aimed at regenerating historical sites, is to transform the historical factory, which was used to generate industrial fuel for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and was employed as a military dependents’ village after the war, into a museum cultural park. To fulfill its social responsibilities as a university, NCTU has invested additional human resources in preserving and activating Hsinchu Sixth Fuel Factory and conserving the Asian parti-colored bats in the area through humanistic criticism, smart technology applications, and art intervention in society. The contextual relationship between the history of industrial production in the factory during World War II and the history of high-tech industries in Hsinchu Science Park are also highlighted. Furthermore, the colonial history of Hsinchu Sixth Fuel Factory as a war factory as well as the special history of the housing within the building as a military dependents’ village are introduced. NCTU has served as the leader for curating the 2019 The Sixth Fuel Factory Documenta, establishing the ecological monitoring system for Asian parti-colored bats, making the global debut of the Sixth Fuel Factory Interactive Theater, and organizing the Sixth Fuel Factory Interactive Art Exhibition. These efforts have made Hsinchu Living Museum a global paradigm for preserving and activating cultural assets.
