In the midst of bustling Taipei lies a historical oasis where clusters of shops and homes are a reminder of what was once “the most important port in northern Taiwan.” What might be a little-known piece of history to non-Taiwanese is set to change with a series of walking tours introducing the region that is offered in English and Japanese.
The tours are held by Taipei Walking Tour in the Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Dalongdong (大龍峒) districts, about 10 minutes north of Taipei Railway Station by car. Throughout May and June, a number of themed tours and workshops on topics such as Taiwan’s puppet culture, Xiahai City God Temple’s (霞海城隍廟) daytime and nighttime processions, and a roadside banquet on Dihua Street (迪化街) will be offered for NT$200 and NT$400. The tours and workshops are held mostly on the weekends leading up to the festival at Taipei Xiahai City God Temple, beginning on June 8.
In the past two years, veteran interpreter Joey Ho (何良正) has witnessed a growing interest among young people in Taiwan’s history.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Walking tour
“It could be the Internet that attracts young people to come and listen. Before, it seemed like young people weren’t interested in history. But through our efforts, they are starting to be concerned about this place, Taiwan’s history, its relics and old streets.”
With roughly 20 people following tour guide Johnny Cheng (程華生), the Dadaocheng heritage tour began with a stroll under the red arcade facade reminiscent of European architecture. Many of these former shops were built in the late 19th century, which coincided with Japanese occupation of Taiwan from 1895 to 1945. As a result of the marriage of European-Baroque, Japanese and Minnan (Southern Fujian) architectural styles, the buildings lining the streets are distinctly unique to Taiwan.
Prior to the tour, Kelly Hsiao (蕭凌雲) said she knew little about Dadaocheng’s history as a prosperous riverside town. Hsiao runs a hostel and was looking for recommendations to travelers other than the usual shopping and night market experience.
Photo: Jenny Peng
“When you visit Europe [and] stay in a hostel, they provide so many free tours or walking tours... [B]ut in Taiwan... we don’t have so many local activities to join for foreigners.”
Hsiao doesn’t know any other English-language walking tours available, and she thought it was “sad” that Taiwan’s history wasn’t easily accessible to non-Taiwanese.
One of the surprise stopovers was a tour led by a descendant of Lin Lan-tian (林藍田), one of Dadaocheng’s first settlers. Lin’s residence, built in the mid-1850s, is an example of Minnan architecture, designed for doing business. It’s unusually long depth is broken up into three sections. Supplies would arrive in the rear, while living corridors were in the middle and the front was a shop.
“It’s a legacy,” said Scott Lin (林宗志). “The spirit and wisdom of that legacy is something we’re trying to pass on to future generations.”
Although Scott Lin’s ancestors made a living selling mixed goods and offering fortune telling services, the shop has become a modern tea house, hinting at Dadaocheng’s past as a renowned tea processing center. Today, however, dried goods and Chinese herbal medicine are the two most common businesses in the neighborhood, according to Cheng.
The two-hour tour also included stopovers at Ci Sheng Temple (慈聖宮) and Xia Hai City God Temple.
Though attracting non-Taiwanese was the original goal of organizers, the majority of participants on Sunday were Taiwanese.
Yang Jei (楊乃傑) said he enjoyed the tour.
“I am Taiwanese, but I never knew this part of our history.”
For comprehensive information about the tours in Chinese, Japanese and English, visit: www.taipei-walkingtour.tw.
In the March 9 edition of the Taipei Times a piece by Ninon Godefroy ran with the headine “The quiet, gentle rhythm of Taiwan.” It started with the line “Taiwan is a small, humble place. There is no Eiffel Tower, no pyramids — no singular attraction that draws the world’s attention.” I laughed out loud at that. This was out of no disrespect for the author or the piece, which made some interesting analogies and good points about how both Din Tai Fung’s and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) meticulous attention to detail and quality are not quite up to
April 21 to April 27 Hsieh Er’s (謝娥) political fortunes were rising fast after she got out of jail and joined the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in December 1945. Not only did she hold key positions in various committees, she was elected the only woman on the Taipei City Council and headed to Nanjing in 1946 as the sole Taiwanese female representative to the National Constituent Assembly. With the support of first lady Soong May-ling (宋美齡), she started the Taipei Women’s Association and Taiwan Provincial Women’s Association, where she
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) hatched a bold plan to charge forward and seize the initiative when he held a protest in front of the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office. Though risky, because illegal, its success would help tackle at least six problems facing both himself and the KMT. What he did not see coming was Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (將萬安) tripping him up out of the gate. In spite of Chu being the most consequential and successful KMT chairman since the early 2010s — arguably saving the party from financial ruin and restoring its electoral viability —
It is one of the more remarkable facts of Taiwan history that it was never occupied or claimed by any of the numerous kingdoms of southern China — Han or otherwise — that lay just across the water from it. None of their brilliant ministers ever discovered that Taiwan was a “core interest” of the state whose annexation was “inevitable.” As Paul Kua notes in an excellent monograph laying out how the Portuguese gave Taiwan the name “Formosa,” the first Europeans to express an interest in occupying Taiwan were the Spanish. Tonio Andrade in his seminal work, How Taiwan Became Chinese,