From a colonial-era branch classroom to today.
Xindong Elementary began in March 1939, under Japanese rule, as a branch classroom of Jingliao Public School serving Xingangdong. It became an independent school in 1945 as "Houbi Township Xindong National School" and took its current name in 1968. The school sits in Changduanshu Village, near the Jingliao rice-farming community central to "Let It Be."
新東國小前身為昭和14年（1939年）3月設立的「菁寮公學校新港東分教場」，民國34年（1945年）獨立設校，定名「後壁鄉新東國民學校」，民國57年（1968年）改為現名。校址位於長短樹里，鄰近《無米樂》故鄉菁寮的稻作社區。
What makes this school worth knowing.
🪵 The "Mahogany Schoolhouse"
桃花心木小學堂
Known locally by this nickname, tied to the mahogany trees on campus.
🏚️ Japanese-Era Wood Construction
日治時期木造建築
Its wooden principal's office and staff residence, built in 1953 by local craftsmen, preserve Japanese-era wood-construction techniques.
🌾 Near "Let It Be" Country
鄰近無米樂故鄉
A small farming-village school in Changduanshu, near the Jingliao rice-farming community central to the "Let It Be" documentary.
Neighboring "Let It Be" country.
Sitting in Changduanshu Village, Xindong Elementary is a small farming-village school just next door to Jingliao — the rice-farming community made nationally famous by the 2004 documentary "Let It Be" (無米樂). Its own colonial-era wooden buildings, hand-built by local craftsmen in 1953, are a physical trace of the same farming village history that the film later captured on camera.
Find the school.
731 Houbi District, Tainan City, Taiwan (Changduanshu Village)
731台南市後壁區長短樹里下長81號
School's Official Website (Chinese) ↗
Last updated: July 2026 · Content adapted and condensed from the school's official Chinese-language website by the Taiwan Bilingual Hub team, not yet reviewed by the school. If you're from Xindong Elementary School and would like to correct or expand this page, please contact us.