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Chiayi Utopia: a literary salon for the young. This bookstore was conceived without a shred of commercial intent; it came into being by pure chance, a gift from Chiu Siji, owner of Taichung’s Gallery 107, to the youth of Chiayi as a place to meet and share ideas. Inside, coffee, music, and books converge. Under what the artist calls an “impractical” renovation, the sharp-angled triangle of the old house—dubbed Autumn Bookroom—rises amid the traffic on Linye West Road like a ship that sets sail at sunset, keeping every dreamer awake. Lose yourself in pages, sit in wordless reverie, or linger at the bar demanding caffeine and the jolt of contemporary thought; Autumn Bookroom has no fixed menu—once aboard, you’re free to improvise. Worth savoring is the atypical bookstore space designed by Hsiao-yü Tsai Chih-hsien: dialogues between old and new materials, hard lines braided with soft curves, the tilt of the stair, the light and shadow falling through the windows, books casually displayed. The voyage ends at the third-floor prow: a suspended ship’s engine planted at the triangle’s apex. Stand at the bow at dusk and watch the sun set—nothing short of majestic. Bibliophiles should hunt for treasures: every volume comes from founder Chiu Siji’s private library, offered for all to read. If you meet him here, sit down and talk; that is the only proper way to open the doors of this literary salon. *Opening hours: by appointment Photo: Mag / Chiayi City Government Tourism and News Department