Kuanhsi Police Substation

The Kuanhsi Police Substation is the only county-designated historic site for a police station within Hsinchu County. It preserves a complete compound for police officers' work and daily life, bearing witness to the evolution of the police system from the Japanese colonial period to modern times, as well as the history of local public order. Its overall scope includes official buildings and residences from the Japanese colonial period's police administration. The substation, along with the chief's dormitory and officers' dormitories, forms a complete area, possessing local characteristics and historical significance for the Kuanhsi police system. The buildings within the Kuanhsi Police Substation complex exhibit different architectural styles due to variations in their functional uses or construction eras. They can primarily be divided into two types: Western historical style architecture and traditional Japanese wooden architecture. The Kuanhsi Police Substation building itself is a Western-style, reinforced concrete and brick, single-story structure covered with Japanese tiles. The main entrance features a triangular pediment, multiple layers of molding, and column decorations with Western geometric patterns on the gateposts, reflecting the "Kōa style" (興亞樣式) that was very popular at the time. The 'Chief's Dormitory,' the 'Four-Unit Single Officers' Dormitory,' and the 'Japanese Dormitory' located at the back are Japanese-style wooden buildings topped with traditional Japanese roof tiles (文化瓦). The *onigawara* (demon tiles) on their roofs are important decorative elements.