Ambling Through Dadaocheng

Cultural Discoveries Awaiting You in Taipei’s Famous Historic District

TEXT | RAY HECHT
PHOTOS | CHEN CHENG-KUO, VISION

The Dadaocheng neighborhood, located in Datong District, not far north of Taipei’s main railway station, is an intriguing destination for an afternoon walk. Here you can enjoy educational experiences at heritage sites, shop for unique gifts, and sample a diverse array of foods, including traditional pastry and tea.

Note: This article was published in the 2025 Spring Edition of TAIPEI magazine, a publication by the Taipei City Government.

We start our walk at the southern end of Dihua Street, about 500m north of MRT Beimen Station.

Dihua Street

Dihua Street is Taipei’s oldest street, and it is full of old-world charm with many interesting shops on both sides. Some sell traditional-style fabrics, like the always-busy Yongle Fabric Market, while others specialize in tea and herbs used for traditional medicine. Vendors with small carts offer classic Taiwanese snacks in front of well-preserved old brick buildings. Many of the brick-and-mortar businesses have been in operation for over a century. This is an excellent area to find gift items, such as bamboo and wooden crafts, as well as traditional goods, such as incense, spices, and dried food. There are also numerous young establishments, such as boutique clothing stores and coffee shops, opened in heritage buildings. Down some of the alleyways, you’ll even find bars where live music is played in the evenings.

Dadaocheng Visitor Center

Not far from the southern end of Dihua Street lies the Dadaocheng Visitor Center, a good place to start your exploration of this enclave. The center provides helpful information about the area in Chinese and English. On the second floor, retro costumes are available for rent. Ladies can dress in a cheongsam and act out the roaring 1920s while posing for photos. The center recently added a traditional tea ceremony corner where visitors can take pictures. You can head outside to take advantage of the unique local backdrops. On the same floor are mock-ups of old-time businesses, titled Chunsheng Tea Shop and Kean Chinese Medicine Shop, where you can experience a sense of Taipei during the good old days (1950s). The third floor features a recreation of an old-day common school classroom during the Japanese era as well as the Yongle Lantern Shop, in which colorful paper lanterns are exhibited.

DADAOCHENG VISITOR CENTER
大稻埕遊客中心
Add: 44, Dihua St., Datong Dist.
Tel: (02) 2559-6802
Website: travel.taipei/vintage-clothing/en
Hours: 9:00am-6:00pm (reservation required for dress-up experience)

Taipei Xia-Hai City God Temple

Across from the visitor center, just north of the Yongle Market building, is the Taipei Xia-Hai City God Temple. Although not a particularly large temple, it is known for having one of the highest densities of deity statues of any temple in Taiwan. Built 1856~1859, among the key deities worshipped in the temple are the City God himself, the Wife of the City God, and Yue Lao, or “Old Man Under the Moon,” who is revered as a matchmaking god. Expect to see individuals and couples burning incense and praying in the hope of, respectively, receiving celestial help in finding a partner (help from Yue Lao) and having their partnerships blessed (help from the City God’s wife), and those who return to the temple to thank the deities after their wishes have been fulfilled, often offering gifts such as wedding cakes.

Following, we visit some of the many interesting shops in Dadaocheng.

Yao de Herb

Running parallel to Dihua Street, on the other side of Yongle Market, is Minle Street, which is home to several businesses worth visiting. It’s a little quieter here than on Dihua Street, and thus the perfect location for a place like Yao de Herb. This is a tea room with a unique charm. On wooden racks, you’ll see a vast inventory of all sorts of dried tea leaves and herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. At the counter out front, you can also try a range of reasonably priced herbal teas.

YAO DE HERB
姚德和青草號
Add: 55, Minle St., Datong Dist.
Tel: (02) 2558-9510
FB: facebook.com/YaodeHerb
Hours:
Mon-Sat 8:00am-7:00pm
Sun 8:30am-6:00pm

Earthing Way

Also located on Minle Street, Earthing Way is a select shop with an eclectic supply of fancy products. There are racks and cabinets full of jewelry, tea ware, candles, incense, baskets, antiques, and even vintage clothing apparel. At the time of this writer’s visit, there was a display of paper artwork among the handmade crafts, and the store owner emphasized that 90% of the items in the shop are made by Taiwanese creators. Check the shop’s website for examples of different items to purchase, which can also be ordered online.

EARTHING WAY
地衣荒物
Add: 34, Minle St., Datong Dist.
Tel: (02) 2550-2270
Website: earthingway.waca.ec
Hours: Wed-Mon 12:30pm-7:30pm

Monsoon Books

Book lovers will enjoy choosing from among several independent bookstores on Dihua Street, and one that particularly stands out is Monsoon Books. Note that it is a bit hard to find, as it is in the rear of a building behind a shoe store. To get to the bookstore, go up a set of stairs behind the store. There is a small but varied selection of English-language books available, including children’s books and art books, and this is a quiet place where you can take your time browsing before buying. The staff is helpful, and there are many gift options perfect for the literary traveler, such as artistic fabric carrying bags, postcards, and bookmarks.

MONSOON BOOKS
季風帶書店
Add: 2F, 198, Sec. 1, Dihua St., Datong Dist.
Tel: (02) 8732-8546
Website: mzbooks.shop
Hours: 11:00am-6:00pm

To satisfy your culinary cravings, consider visiting the following businesses along Dihua Street.

Tong-An Family

Tong-An Family is a family-owned enterprise that has recently moved to a new location. This traditional-style tea house is quite large, with multiple rooms used for different purposes. In the front end, facing Dihua Street, tea and cake are served. This space has a distinctly traditional, charming atmosphere. Further in the back, there is a full-service restaurant where authentic Taiwanese cuisine is served. On special occasions, live music can be enjoyed. Try the Pouchong tea and the stewed chicken dishes. On the second floor, space is reserved for art exhibits. During this writer’s visit, there was an exhibit showcasing clothes and crafts made from repurposed plastic.

TONG-AN FAMILY
同安樂
Add: 235/237, Sec. 1, Dihua St., Datong Dist.
Tel: (02) 2557-6939
FB: facebook.com/Taipeiness
Hours: 11:00am-9:00pm

Lins Wagashi Confectionary

For those with a sweet tooth, Lins Wagashi Confectionery, with a history of over 70 years, crafts unique tastes that blend the shared history of Japan and Taiwan. Wagashi are traditional Japanese sweets made with bean paste, glutinous rice, and plenty of sugar. They go well with tea, and Lins also serves dorayaki, which is a kind of filled pancake. The flavors vary from strawberry to pineapple and more. The shop, like many other ventures on Dihua Street, has retained its yesteryear look, with old weighing machines and ingredient jars decorating the windowsills. A hot seller during the winter (strawberry season in Taiwan) is the strawberry daifuku, which features a whole single strawberry inside a mochi wrapping filled with sweet adzuki bean paste. A favorite among both tourists and locals, this delightful treat is rather limited due to its painstaking handmade production. Long queues are often seen outside the store as eager customers hope to purchase a box.

The heritage building that is home to Lins Wagashi

LINS WAGASHI CONFECTIONARY
滋養和菓子
Add: 247, Sec. 1, Dihua St., Datong Dist.
Tel: (02) 2553-9553
Website: www.wagashi.com.tw
Hours: 9:00am-6:00pm

Li Ting Xiang

Furthest north on Dihua Street on this quick tour through Dadaocheng, Li Ting Xiang is a pastry shop that was established in 1895. This cozy establishment has a small seating section where customers can order teas and coffees to go with traditional Taiwanese cakes. These include the usual Americanos, as well as oolong teas and various herbal teas. The personal-sized cakes come in many flavors, ranging from nougat-filled to black sesame and toffee. Some are even adorned with edible gold leaf, for a fancier experience. And if one prefers savory to sweet, there’s curry cake too. This is also a nice place to buy gifts, as packaged sets of cakes and tea leaves are available.