Asia

[Visited: March 2024]

It is a clouded day, but we head to Daqiaotou MRT station anyway. A short walk takes us to the northern side of Dihua Street. This is the oldest street of Taipei, and we will walk south to explore. Right from the beginning, we realize there are a lot of reasons to stop. This is not the modern Taipei that we have seen in many areas of the Taiwanese capital: here, we find historic buildings. The oldest ones were constructed in the mid-1800s, and apparently the area saw its first buildings during the Dutch era in the 1600s. Some buildings have red bricks. Even though the street is open for traffic, there are not many cars passing through, allowing us to walk on Dihua Street and have a good look at the buildings. Not one seems the same, so there is a lot to see.
There is one unifying element in the entire length of Dihua Street: the yellow and red lanterns that are hanging over the street. They give a colourful touch to the looks of the street, especially on a greyish day like today. We walk into a large building, and discover a shop selling remarkable Taiwanese art objects. It turns out to be the first of many, many shops selling a wide array of items. Even through it is a Friday, we are surprised to see that the streets are quite empty. A drizzle has started to fall, but we are still walking the street anyway. Fortunately, many buildings have a covered section in front where we could walk. We see more red brick buildings, but also grey ones. Some buildings are rectangular, but there are also quite a few with rounded edges. There is plenty to see both up and down while walking Dihua Street.
Apart from the many shops, there is also a multitude of good restaurants on Dihua Street. We take a table on the first floor, at the window, so we have a good view over the street while we enjoy a unique lunch. Then, it is time to continue our exploration. It is getting darker even though it is midday, and lights are switched on in the lanterns, giving the street a festive look. We see shops with traditional Chinese medicine, with herbs, fabrics, incense, furniture, and many other items. One of the shops we enter is a tea shop where we buy Taiwanese tea and have a chat with the owner. He tells us this is a family business, founded by his grandfather. The old man sitting in a corner turns out to be the father. This probably goes for many of the traditional shops in the area. We also buy two lanterns and clothes, and by the time we are approaching the end of Dihua Street, our bags are full. We see inflated dragons hanging from buildings. We also pass the Xiahai City God Temple, where we see young people pray and burn incense. It is starting to rain seriously now, and we find a quirky place around the corner where we have a drink. From here, we head west to the Tamsui River, and then to Beimen MRT. We have spent some five hours strolling down Dihua Street, and if it wouldn't have started to rain, we would have even stayed longer.

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Dihua Street (Taiwan)

Dihua Street > Taiwan > Asia

[Visited: March 2024]

Around the World in 80 Clicks