Taipei Tourism] Dadaocheng Half-Day Walking Tour: Old Street Stroll, Night View of the Pier and Nostalgic Cuisine

Dadaocheng | Introduction

Located along the Danshui River in Datong District, Taipei City, Dadaocheng was a river port settlement that thrived on the tea and cloth trade in the mid-nineteenth century. The red-brick buildings, washed-stone facades, and continuous verandahs bear witness to the budding of commerce in Taipei, and have left behind a unique texture of the old city. Today, Yanping North Road and Dihua Street are filled with the aroma of Chinese herbs and dried goods, as well as the handcrafted flavors of cafes and specialty stores. Strolling along the old streets, turning to the pier in the evening to watch the sunset and night view of the Danshui River, and having a bowl of hot Taiwanese snacks are the best ways to experience the slow rhythm of old Taipei.

If you have enough time, you can take a side trip to Longshan Temple in Monga to experience another flavor of Taipei's old town. As Taipei has rainy summers and humid winters, it is recommended to visit from October to March every year, as the blue sky and dry winds of the river make for the most comfortable walks.

Dadaocheng | Transportation

- MRT: Take the Songshan Xindian Line to Exit 3 of the "Beimen Beimen" station, or take the Danshui Xinyi Line to Exit 1 of the "Shuanglian Shuanglian" station, and then walk for 10 to 15 minutes along Chongqing N. Rd. and Minsheng W. Rd. to enter Dihua Street.

- By bus: Take buses 9, 274, 641, etc. and get off at "Yanping Station" or "Nanjing West Road Exit".

- Bicycle: YouBike has rental stations at Dihua Street and Dadaocheng Wharf, and it's even easier to ride along the riverbank to Shilin or Guandu.

- Taxi/Rental Car: 20-minute drive from Songshan Airport; you can park at the Dadaocheng Pier parking lot.

Dadaocheng | Recommended Accommodations

If a foreigner intends to stay in Taipei, and here only half a day, you can stay in the transportation hub of the Taipei Railway Station or Zhongshan Station and the area, the MRT a direct line and a wide range of choices; want to get closer to the atmosphere of the old city, you can consider staying in the Dihua Street around the hundred years of Western-style houses or cultural and youth hostels, the early morning window is the Knight House corridor, a walk back to the room at night in just three or five minutes. For the budget-conscious, there are also a number of youth hostels at the intersections of Xining North Road and Chongqing North Road, which are no more than a 20-minute walk from the pier.

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The first time I came to this place was when I was growing up in Taipei, but the number of times I came to this place where old Taipei originated was very few, probably only a few times before I came to Dihua Street to buy a few things. The reason I came here was because I found a half-day tour of Dadaocheng on the Internet one day, so I came here to be a half a tourist.

Because I wanted to see the night view of the pier, I came to Cosmos in the evening. In fact, I have often passed by the Yanping North Road area before, but I have never taken a closer look at it from the perspective of sightseeing. This area actually has the standard old Taipei knight-errant streetscape, the Dihua Street shopping district, the Yongle Market, these old places may have slightly withered in the past (really just a little bit, right?) and the old streets are not favored by the young people, but they have the human touch of the old Taipei.

It was dusk before I set foot on Yanping North Road: I first ate and drank my fill at a Japanese restaurant with no signboards underneath a veranda, full of old Taiwanese flavors, from oyster omelette, grilled cuttlefish, to fried eel with noodles, the salty and tangy flavors of which instantly take you back to your childhood. The store is located on the lower level of the building and has no decorations. Adults in the family say that this is the traditional flavor to eat. Dadaocheng is full of memories of the previous generation, so it's good to listen to the elders.

After tasting the dishes, it was clear that they were all very good. The first course was oyster omelette, followed by the nostalgic grilled swordfish, and fried eel with noodles, which is one of the best tests of a chef's skills in Taipei.

Divisional Street

After a good meal, we walked into Dihua Street and took a box of mochi with us.Divisional StreetThe red brick and baroque façade on both sides of the street is the home of the New Year's Eve Street, the North and South Souvenir Street, and the Fabric Company. If you catch the Dihua Street New Year's Market before the Lunar New Year's Eve, you'll find everything from tableware to cultural artifacts.

Xiahai Shing Wong Temple

As the night grows darker, the red lanterns at the entrance of Xiahai City God Temple are lit up, an old movie starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Lin Chih-Ying is playing in the small square (look at how young Takeshi Kaneshiro and Lin Chih-Ying are on the screen), and the residents gather around to watch it, giving it a vintage feel. Xiahai City God Temple is also a declared monument. The temple is only 46 pings in size, but it has been the center of faith in Dadaocheng for a long time, containing more than 600 statues of gods and goddesses. The temple has been known as the most spiritual temple in Taiwan.

Historical Street View of Yanping North Road

The wide and straight Yanping North Road is where foreign banks and tea houses gathered in the past, and it is a place where the history of Taipei since the Japanese rule era is remembered. Ren'an Hospital at the intersection of Yanping North Road and Liangzhou Street is the oldest existing hospital building in Taipei, with its Japanese-era stone-washed façade and arched window frames intact; during the day, you can go inside to look at the old-fashioned medical equipment and get a feel for what the clinic looked like a century ago. Nearby is the Yongle Market, a traditional market built in the 1930s, where snacks, dry goods and fabrics are distributed downstairs, and upstairs is Taipei's most centralized fabric wholesaler's paradise.

Dadaocheng Pier

Finally, walk along the street for ten minutes to Dadaocheng Wharf, where an elevated wooden trestle on the riverbank faces the Danshuei River, and you can ride a bicycle all the way to Guandu.

The neon signs of the Container Market on the riverbank rise and fall. In recent years, the Container Market (from Friday to Sunday) has gathered cultural and creative stores, handmade beers and street performances, and the neon signs reflect the river's reflection at night, making it a new favorite of Taipei's night scene. If you don't like the hustle and bustle, find a corner away from the crowds and quietly watch the lights unfold along the Danshuei River, where you can gather taste, sight and feelings.

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