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Huang Yi-Chen, a 25-year-old office worker in Taipei, conceived the dream of opening a café after reading *The Song of the Sad Café*. After fifteen years in the workforce, she finally realized that dream at age 40 on Zhongzheng Road in Chiayi City. The name “25×40 Art Space” comes from those two numbers. Step inside and a 60-year-old hinoki house tells its history; the moment Yi-Chen first saw it she decided to rent it, spending three months restoring it. Its high, open-plan layout seems to spread its arms in welcome to every passer-by who chances inside. The shop hosts rotating exhibitions and sells original creative goods; the idea sprang from Yi-Chen’s graduate research on cultural products, when she realized how few opportunities artisans have to show their work. She wanted a platform where their creations could shine. Beyond selling objects, Yi-Chen curates art events, regularly inviting nationally known speakers for talks, workshops, and concerts, hoping to enliven Chiayi’s cultural exchange. The old hinoki building once connected to its neighbor, and the craftsmen say its timber is top-grade Alishan cypress—likely the property of someone of wealth or status. Times have changed; the house has shed its former prestige, and, having met Yi-Chen, has become Chiayi’s first open art space, sincerely inviting anyone with art in their heart to come share their beautiful dreams. Recommended: Alishan High-Mountain Tea