Five Time-Space Development Phases

Research into land usage has shown that a five-phase process characterizes the Han Chinese (漢人) development of Taiwan and Taipei over the past three centuries: port, temple, market street, school, community. The development of Taipei’s popular culture has been intimately interlinked with this five-stage process.

The Han Chinese pioneers who came to Taiwan to open up land crossed the Taiwan Strait from coastal areas of south China. Their craft pulled in at larger ports, where they shifted to smaller craft and journeyed upriver to the land they would settle and clear. Most intended to return to their home areas after a time, and thus tended to build their dwellings right at the river ports where they landed, or along the river banks elsewhere. Many returned after earning their first money to encourage both relatives and others from their home turf to return with them and pool their efforts in seeking their fortune. Taiwan saw increasing numbers of clan shrines and temples housing deities from homesick immigrants’ home areas, providing them with spiritual sustenance. As the population density built up, shops opened up by temples, supplying daily necessities. As the Qing dynasty neared its end, the “port, temple, market street” developmental model was fully developed.

In the Japanese era that followed, in order to quickly gain control over the habits and customs of the island’s people, the Japanese government built schools on vacant plots of land by Han Chinese areas of settlement, and set up post offices, police stations, district offices (街庄役場), and other facilities, using them for public education and control.

Scholars returning from studies in Europe, North America, and elsewhere introduced “community” concepts after Taiwan Retrocession (臺灣光復). Clusters of residential homes were constructed on large plots of land beside traditional settlements and near schools. Taipei’s venerable Nanjichang Public Housing (南機場國宅) community is a well-known example from this phase.

The Old City’s Grace and Elegance

The Pioneering spirit of Taipei citizens has been demonstrated at various stages in the area’s history: in Japanese-era Bangka, which appeared in the imperial-era expression “First Tainan, second Lugang, third Bangka” (一府、二鹿、三艋舺), in the rise of Datong District later, and, much earlier, the flourishing canoe-traffic trading site of the flatlands-dwelling Ketagalan tribe at Bangka (艋舺; a Taiwanese rendering of the Ketagalan word for “canoe”). Today, sandwiched in between the city’s chic new commercial districts, the older, more traditional areas on the west side remain well known and much loved for their “three local treasures” (地方三寶) – heritage temples, old-shop commercial streets, and local snacks.

Bangka is Wanhua’s (and the city’s) oldest area, and still has numerous clusters of traditional businesses. Prime examples are the many food stalls around Manka Lungshan Temple and Bangka Qingshui Temple (艋舺清水巖), Xichang Street’s (西昌街) spirit-money sellers and wedding-gift shops, sellers of Chinese medicinal herbs on Xichang Street and in Herb Alley (青草巷), Huaxi Street Tourist Night Market (華西街觀光夜市), night markets on Guangzhou Street (廣州街) and Wuzhou Street (梧州街), sellers of items used in worship (spirit money, embroidery, pasted-paper sculptures, etc.) on Section 1 of Xiyuan Road (西園路一段) “Bird Street” (鳥街) on Heping West Road (和平西路), specialist hardware and vendor-cart sellers on Huanhe South Road (環河南路), furniture sellers on Changsha Street (長沙街), used goods sellers on Kangding Road (康定路), old folk-supplies shops on Guiyang Street (貴陽街) and Xichang Street, and the Xinfu (新富), Zhixing (直興), and Dongsanshuijie (東三水街) markets. All are precious repositories of the customs of earlier generations.

The thriving commercial sector of Dadaocheng, to Bangka’s north, apart from traditional tea-trading firms, features sellers of traditional regional goods, Chinese medicines, wholesale fabrics, pastries and snacks, and much else. It is a key old-city economic and trade center, and has long been known for its strong cultural atmosphere. The original architecture and high-street ambiance of what were called local “Islanders’ Streets” (本島人市街) during the Japanese era remain intact, serving as a precious window into the lives of Taipei’s people in days of old.

In a 1935 plan announced for the development of Taiwan’s cities, it was declared that Taipei’s old walled city area could accommodate 600,000 people in the future. The island’s first department store, Kikumoto Department Store (菊元百貨店), was built soon afterward within the area’s Sakae District (榮町), at the corner of today’s Boai Road (博愛路) and Hengyang Road (衡陽路). The surrounding traditional commercial area still thrives to this day, notably on Yuanling Street (沅陵街) where women’s attire and shoes are sold, Boai Road, where photographic equipment and silk clothing shops are found, Taoyuan Street (桃源街) where beef noodles are a specialty, Hengyang Road with its jewelry, Guanqian Road (館前路) and its securities, banking, and finance outfits, “Book Street” (書店街) along Chongqing South Road (重慶南路), Hankou Street (漢口街) and its camcorder equipment, Kaifeng Street (開封街) and its audio equipment shops, and many long established eateries on Wuchang Street (武昌街) and in Chengzhong Market (城中市場).

Taipei’s Transformation Into a Modern Fashion Capital

The west side is where Taipei was launched down the road of prosperity, but in the 1970s sections 3 and 4 of Zhongxiao East Road (忠孝東路) were opened, driving the development of the city’s east side. Many new business areas begin to spring up, one after the other, and the east district emerged as the new commercial center. The more recent development of the Xinyi Planning District and opening of metro lines have added even greater impetus to the area’s rapid growth. The Xinyi Planning District, unofficially and more lyrically called “Taipei’s Manhattan”, is home to the skyscraping Taipei 101 tower, opened in 2004 and a magnet for tourists, and to sleek upscale Japanese-affiliated department stores, movie theaters, and restaurants, and to 5-star hotels. All the world’s great brand-name goods are on display, the best in food and drink is explored with passion, the public transportation is ultra-convenient, and the streets are well planned, creating an air of prosperity and progress.

From west to east, from rice paddies to soaring highrises, systematic government planning and injection of resources has gradually made Taipei an international city of progress and comprehensive infrastructure. These efforts have brought the city international attention, praised as one of the world’s “20 Most Beautiful Cities,” one of the “World’s Most Underrated Cities,” and among the “Asia/Pacific Top 10 Destination Cities” – something impossible to imagine 130 years ago.

Over the past number of years, Taipei has played host to numerous large-scale international events, including the Deaflympics, Taipei International Flora Exposition (臺北國際花卉博覽會), and IDA Congress Taipei (臺北世界設計大會暨大展). In 2011 it won the right to host Universiade Taipei 2017 (2017臺北世界大學運動會), and in 2013 successfully bid for World Design Capital 2016 (2016世界設計之都)l designation and hosting rights for Velo-city Global 2016. With its steady lineup of international events and activities, the spotlight is now focusing on Taipei, and putting it on the international stage. With the continuing development of its first-rate hard and soft infrastructure, an ever brighter future is assured.

Taipei’s amazing transformations make the joyous welcome local folk are giving to the 130th anniversary of their city’s founding well deserved indeed!