Taipei City: Three Times in One City, Longshan Temple (1738) Gazing at Taipei 101 (2004)

30-Second Overview: The Taipei basin holds three coexisting timelines. Wanhua has the Monga Longshan Temple built in 1738, jointly funded by people from Jinjiang, Nan'an, and Hui'an in Quanzhou, which will be 288 years old by 2026. Datongcheng became a global hub for Northern Taiwan tea exports after Takao opened in the 1860s, and Liu Ming-chuan established the first provincial capital of Taiwan here in 1885. Just one block away is Taipei 101, completed on December 31, 2004, whose original site was the Japanese Matsuyama Warehouse and the post-war 44th Ordnance Factory. In 1875, Shen Baozhen established Taipei Prefecture; in 1920, the Japanese consolidated the three city wards of Monga, Datongcheng, and City within to form Taipei City; the first shot of the 228 Incident was fired at Tianma Teahouse in 1947; the ROC government relocated to Taipei in 1949; it was upgraded to Taiwan's first municipality in 1967 (12 years earlier than Kaohsiung and 43 years earlier than other cities); the Wild Lily Movement occurred in 1990, and the Sunflower occupation of the Legislative Yuan lasted 24 days in 2014. Twelve districts live in different centuries. This article aims to show: what others see as Taipei is 101 and the National Palace Museum; but the Taipei that locals live in is this single city spanning 266 years between Wanhua, Datongcheng, and Xinyi.

Activity at Ring South Market at Four in the Morning

If you ask a local from Taipei, "When is Taipei most charming?", they won't tell you about the New Year's Eve fireworks of 101 (that’s for tourists). They might talk about Ring South Market at four in the morning, or the light filtering out from the old houses on Dihua Street around five in the morning.

Ring South Market is in Wanhua District. Trucks start arriving from three in the morning, and vegetable farmers, butchers, and seafood wholesalers are shouting prices before dawn. The fish auction at Kanziteng, half an hour away, just finished; the baskets of fish brought over from Keelung Port are now on display in Wanhua. A few hours later, Japanese restaurants in Taipei East District, breakfast shops in Zhongxiao Fuxing, snack stalls in Yongkang Street, and restaurants in Xinyi District will all use these ingredients delivered today.

One kilometer north of Wanhua along the Tamsui River is Dihua Street in Datongcheng. When Li Chunsheng was doing tea business on this street in the 1860s, it was the busiest foreign trade port in Northern Taiwan. The Jinki Tea House built by Chen Tianlai on Guide Street in the 1920s still stands in its original location. Today, Dihua Street sells dry goods, Chinese medicine, and cloth during the day, but at night, it is as quiet as a century ago.

Past North Gate onto Chongqing North Road is the area of Taipei Prefecture established by Shen Baozhen in 1875. The Beimen Cheng'en Gate still stands in its original location, completed in 1884 and now 142 years old. This area is currently Zhongzheng District, housing five major judicial/governmental institutions: the Presidential Office, Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan, and Control Yuan ¹.

Five kilometers east from North Gate is Xinyi District, where Taipei 101 stands. At 508 meters ², it was the world's tallest building on December 31, 2004. The land beneath it was the Japanese Army Matsuyama Warehouse during the Japanese colonial period and later became the "44th Ordnance Factory" producing weapons after 1947. It wasn't planned as a financial and commercial district until 1980.

This is modern evidence of Taipei as a capital city. From Longshan Temple in Wanhua to 101 in Xinyi, the straight-line distance is five kilometers, with a time difference of 266 years. Three million people move within this five-kilometer radius every day, and most do not look up to see which centuries they are passing through.

The Kaitadegan, Chen Lai-chang, and that Temple from 1738

Four hundred years ago, the Taipei basin was not called Taipei, and the inhabitants were not called Han people.

The place name "Beitou" comes from the Kaitadegan language "Patauw," meaning "witch," and it is said to have been named because a witch once lived there ³. "Manka" is also a Kaitadegan term, meaning "dugout canoe" or "a place of trade by dugout canoe." Beneath the Han name "Datongcheng" lies the former site of the Kaitadegan clan "Tappari." The Kaitadegan Avenue in front of the Taipei City Presidential Office was only renamed from "Jieshou Road" on March 21, 1996, by then-mayor Chen Shui-bian ⁴.

Han people gradually arrived after 1709. In the 48th year of Kangxi (Qing Dynasty), five merchants—Chen Tianzhang, Lai Yonghe, Chen Xianbo, Chen Fengchun, and Dai Tianshu from Quanzhou—formed the "Chen Lai-chang Clan" ⁵, applying to Song Yongqing, the Zhulu Prefect, for land rights in the "Dajiala" area, beginning large-scale cultivation of the Taipei basin ⁵. "Dajiala" generally refers to the areas of Wanhua, Datong, Matsuyama, and Datongcheng today.

In 1738 (the third year of Qianlong, Qing Dynasty), a temple appeared in Monga.

"Built by people from Jinjiang, Nan'an, and Hui'an in Quanzhou in the third year of Qianlong (1738 AD), and inviting the Guanyin Bodhisattva from Anhai, Jinjiang County, Fujian Province to settle in Taiwan" ⁶. This passage on the Monga Longshan Temple official website is the earliest written evidence of Taipei as a Han Chinese city. From the moment the temple was built, Longshan Temple was not just a center of worship; "it was where all matters, such as deliberations and lawsuits, sought divine judgment" ⁶, making it the core of the collective life of the Monga community. During the Sino-French War in 1884 (the tenth year of Guangxu), residents of Monga organized a militia with Longshan Temple as their command post to resist the French, and later received the plaque "Cihui Yuanyin" from the Guangxu Emperor. It was designated a National Historic Site by the Ministry of Culture in 2018 ⁶.

Monga Longshan Temple, 2017. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA via Wikimedia.

📝 Curator's Note: Common tourist narratives describe Longshan Temple as "Taipei's oldest temple" and stop there. But the focus of the year 1738 is not "old," but that it predates any official Taipei. The Qing court only established Taipei Prefecture in 1875, the Japanese only established Taipei City in 1920, and the ROC government arrived in Taipei in 1949. Longshan Temple precedes all official versions of this city. Today, when you stand in the temple courtyard, under your feet is "Dajiala," cultivated by the Chen Lai-chang Clan in 1709; it is the faith jointly funded by the three counties in 1738; it was the militia command post during the French military attacks in 1884; and it is the old streetscape that tourists photograph in 2026. A temple has suppressed five centuries of time.

Establishing Prefecture in 1875, Construction in 1882, Completion in 1884

In the first year of Guangxu (1875), the special commissioner Shen Baozhen petitioned the Qing court to establish Taipei Prefecture. The reason was the牡丹社 Incident in 1874: Japan dispatched troops to Pudanshe in Pingtung under the pretext of protecting civilians, and Shen Baozhen was appointed as a special commissioner to handle the matter in Taiwan. After the incident subsided, he reported to the Qing court about the strategic importance of Taiwan and suggested that "Taipei should be established as a prefecture with three counties." The Qing court approved, and Taipei Prefecture was officially established, governing Tamsui County, Hsinchu County, and Yilan County (later adding Keelung Prefecture) ⁷.

However, having a name for the prefecture did not mean having a walled city. Planning began in 1875, but construction only started in 1882.

"Construction officially commenced on January 24, Guangxu Year 8 (March 13, 1882)" ⁸. The Wikipedia article "Taipei City" meticulously records the start date. Construction lasted over two years. "The Taipei Walled City was completed in 1884, with five gates—Dongmen, Ximen, Nanmen, Xiaonanmen, and Beimen" ⁹, "the perimeter of the city wall was 1506 zhang," and "the height of the wall was one zhang and five chi; the width (horse road at the top) was one zhang and two chi; North-South: approx. 1.3km; East-West: approx. 1km; Area: approx. 1.4 $\text{K}\text{m}^2$" ⁸. This 1.4 square kilometer city took over 50 years to be demolished. Starting in 1900, the Japanese gradually dismantled the walls to build the Three Lines Road (today's Zhongshan South Road, Zhonghua Road, and Yeguai West Road), leaving only four of the five gates. The Beimen Cheng'en Gate still stands in its original location today.

North Gate of Taipei Walled City Cheng'en Gate, 2017. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA via Wikimedia.

Before the walled city was built, Datongcheng had already become a bustling street in Northern Taiwan. When Tamsui opened in 1860 (the tenth year of Xianfeng), the scope of Tamsui Port was agreed to extend to Datongcheng in 1863 ¹⁰. Ulang tea became the main export product. In the 1860s, British merchant John Dodd came to Taiwan for inspection and hired the Xiamen resident Li Chunsheng as an agent to import tea seedlings from Anxi, Fujian, using Datongcheng as a base to export Taiwanese Ulang tea to America ¹⁰. In 1869, the first batch of 120,000 jin of Taiwanese Ulang tea was exported directly from Tamsui to New York under the name "Formosa Tea." Li Chunsheng was later called the "Father of Taiwanese Tea." In 1891, Chen Tianlai opened the Jinki Tea House on Guide Street in Datongcheng to export Baozhong tea to Southeast Asia and China. The Western-style Baroque mansion built by the Chen family from 1920–1923 still stands at its original location on Guide Street today.

In October 1885 (the eleventh year of Guangxu), the Qing court decreed that Taiwan should be established as a province and appointed Liu Ming-chuan as the first Governor of Taiwan ¹¹. Liu Ming-chuan promoted modernization projects in Taiwan so densely that it was unlike an official from the 19th-century Qing dynasty: in 1885, Xuexiu Hall (Taiwan's first modern school) was established in Datongcheng; the first post office in Taiwan opened in 1888; the railway connecting Datongcheng to Keelung operated in 1889 (the first railway in Taiwan); the Datongcheng Station (Taipei's first station) opened in 1891, and the first telegraph line in Taiwan was established, along with the purchase of Taiwan's first steam-powered road roller to pave roads ¹¹.

Liu Ming-chuan chose his provincial capital near Datongcheng, not inside the Taipei Walled City completed in 1884. This decision led to Datongcheng doing business, the city operating within the walls, and Monga nurturing old gods. This pattern of three coexisting wards was later continued by the Japanese.

✦ "In prosperous Datongcheng, many new attempts and activities first appeared here before spreading throughout the island." (Story Studio, Where is Taipei? The Origin of Tianlong Kingdom ¹²)

Entering Without Urban Warfare: The Day the Japanese Took Over Taipei

Four years after Liu Ming-chuan left Taiwan, this city became Japanese.

On April 17, 1895, the Qing court signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, ceding Taiwan. On May 25, the local gentry declared the establishment of the "Taiwan Democratic State," with Tang Jingsong as president, centered in the Taipei Walled City. However, this republic only existed for 13 days.

"On June 4, 1895, Tang Jingsong fled Taipei under the pretext of inspecting the front lines, leaving by a German ship to Xiamen" ¹³. After Tang Jingsong's departure, there was no leader in the city; soldiers looted, government offices were burned, and the entire city descended into chaos. "On June 7, 1895, it entered the city smoothly without firing a shot" ¹³. The Japanese army peacefully entered the Taipei Walled City on this day because foreign residents and wealthy merchants inside proactively sent representatives to Keelung to invite the Japanese military to maintain order. Some still remember this detail as "June 6th," but the Wikipedia history of Taipei City states June 7th. Taiwan transitioned from Qing rule to Japanese rule without a street battle.

The first major thing the Japanese did after taking over was redevelop Taipei into a modern city. Starting in 1900, they gradually dismantled the Qing-era walls to build the Three Lines Road. The Taipei Station, completed in 1908, replaced the Datongcheng Station. Sewage lines were laid starting in 1909, telephone lines started in 1911, and a city-wide water supply system was completed in 1915. The most symbolic structure is the Taiwan Governor's Office: construction began on June 1, 1912, and it was completed in March 1919, with a total cost of 2.81 million Japanese yen. The architecture followed the Japanese Tatsuno style: red brick walls with white banded decorations, and the central tower reached about 60 meters high. "It was Japan's tallest red-brick building; besides being earthquake-resistant and suitable for the tropical climate, the tower also housed Taiwan's first elevator" ¹⁴. This building stands on the central axis of the original Taipei Walled City and later became the Presidential Office of the ROC government, never changing its location in 107 years.

On October 1, 1920, Governor-General Tan Kenjirō initiated the "Major Adjustment of Taiwan's Administrative Divisions."

"In 1920, the major adjustment and name changes of Taiwan's administrative divisions completely changed the grassroots administration of Taiwan since the Ming and Qing dynasties. Taipei City was also established at this time (as a municipal city equivalent to a county), and only three cities—Taipei, Taichung, and Tainan—existed in Taiwan then" ¹². The Prefecture of Taipei was also established concurrently. Taipei City was composed of the three wards: Walled City, Datongcheng, and Monga, with "the Walled City primarily housing mainlanders (Japanese), while Datongcheng and Monga mainly housed islanders (Taiwanese Han Chinese)" ¹².

This is the moment of birth for Taipei City in 2026, looking back 106 years. The temple from Monga in 1738, the tea from Datongcheng in 1860, and the walls of the Walled City in 1884—three wards that operated independently were put into a single administrative container called "Taipei City" on this day. The Japanese did not just change the name when they unified the three wards; they also integrated the population, taxes, police, schools, garbage collection, water supply, and electricity of all three districts into one municipal office. Changes also occurred in Beitou: in 1896, Osaka resident Hirata Gen'go first opened the "Tengu An" hot spring hotel in Beitou, introducing Beitou hot springs to commercial use ¹⁵. During its heyday, there were up to 25 hot spring hotels, and Emperor Hirohito stayed here during his visit to Taiwan in 1923.

The Tobacco Pack of 1947: Lin Jiang-mai, Fu Xue-tong, Tianma Teahouse

When Japanese rule ended, Taipei was changed one more time politically.

On October 25, 1945, the ROC government accepted Japan's surrender at the Taipei Convention Hall (now Zhongshan Hall). A year and four months later, on the evening of February 27, 1947, a pack of private cigarettes ignited the deepest wound in post-war Taiwan. The location was Tianma Teahouse, "No. 189 Nanjing West Road, Taipei City, opposite the Taipei Legal Master Temple" ¹⁶, a café in Datongcheng District.

"On February 27, 1947, six investigators from the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau's Taipei Branch apprehended Lin Jiang-mai, a 40-year-old widow with children, selling private cigarettes in front of Tianma Teahouse. During this process, she illegally embezzled state-taxed public cigarettes and personal property, and struck the female seller’s head with a gun stock, causing her to bleed from the head and fall unconscious, provoking indignation among onlookers who recklessly fired guns, resulting in one death and one injury" ¹⁶. This was the first shot of the 228 Incident. Investigator Fu Xue-tong mistakenly killed a passerby, Chen Wenxi.

The next day, February 28, 1947, residents of Datongcheng formed a procession to protest, marching from Tianma Teahouse to the square in front of the then Taiwan Provincial Executive Yuan (now the Executive Yuan). "They were shot by machine guns by guards, causing multiple casualties." Subsequently, residents occupied the nearby Xinyi Park (now 228 Peace Park) and seized the Taiwan Broadcasting Station inside the park (the location of the 228 Memorial Hall today), broadcasting news of the incident across the island. The broadcast was key to the event spiraling out of control. News from Taipei rapidly spread across Taiwan via radio, leading to protests in Keelung, Pingtung, and elsewhere. Suppression began in early March, with General Peng Mengzhi of Kaohsiung Fortress ordering massacres ¹⁷. According to various studies, the death toll is estimated between 18,000 and 28,000.

"The Taipei 228 Memorial Museum is located in 228 Park, Taipei City, and officially opened on February 28, 1997, symbolizing the 50th anniversary of the 228 Incident" ¹⁸. The building's predecessor was the Taiwan Broadcasting Association Taipei Studio, completed on November 8, 1930, during Japanese rule, which was the physical location where the broadcast occurred on February 28, 1947. It was designated a municipal historic site by the Taipei City Government Cultural Bureau on May 14, 2020.

Taipei 228 Memorial Museum, 2019. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA via Wikimedia.

📝 Curator's Note: Common narratives of the 228 Incident focus on "how many people died," "who gave the order," and "the responsibility of the central government." But the way the physical location of the first shot—No. 189 Nanjing West Road, Datongcheng—is embedded in Taipei's streets is deeper than any monument. Next to Tianma Teahouse today is a small stele listing the names Lin Jiang-mai, Fu Xue-tong, and Chen Wenxi. Most passersby do not stop to look. This small stele and the 228 Memorial Museum represent an internal contradiction that Taipei has carried since 1947: this city was both the starting point of the incident and the place where the ROC government later buried this event in history. For 38 years after 1949, Taiwanese people could not speak these three words in public. The understanding of the 228 Incident by three generations of Taipei residents has been pieced together one layer at a time: from silence to whispers, and finally to the Memorial Museum.

The 1.2 Million People of 1949, Municipal Status in 1967

Two years after the 228 Incident, Taipei underwent a transformation in its urban structure.

On December 7, 1949, the Presidential Order announced the government's relocation to Taipei. Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Taipei by plane from Chengdu on December 10, 1949, arriving "at eight thirty PM" ¹⁹. From this day until 2026, Taipei was the capital of the Republic of China.

Not only administrative organs followed the government. Between 1949 and 1950, approximately 1.2 million people from mainland China followed the central government and the ROC military into Taiwan. The population of Taipei City surged from 270,000 before the war (274,157 in the 1935 census) to "over one million after the war, exceeding the capacity planned by the original urban plan" ¹², reaching 1,174,883 by 1966. The five major institutions—the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan, and Control Yuan (plus the Presidential Office)—were all concentrated in Zhongzheng District of Taipei City, forming a highly centralized political structure in Taiwan. Looking back 60 years from this structure, all the consequences of Taipei becoming a "political capital" (the concentration of the five major institutions, dense diplomatic residences, hub for protests, concentration of media headquarters, and top schools like NTU, NCCU, and NCCU being in Taipei) originated from the decision that winter of 1949.

The upgrade came along with it. "In 1967, the provincial-level Taipei City was upgraded to a county-level Taipei City, i.e., a municipality, on par with Taiwan Province" ²⁰. On July 1, 1967, Taipei City became Taiwan's first municipality, 12 years before the second (Kaohsiung in 1979) ²¹, and 43–47 years before other cities (Taichung, Tainan, New Taipei, Taoyuan) ²¹. A year later, the administrative area expanded significantly: "The four townships of Nangang, Jingmei, Muzha in Taipei County, along with the two towns of Beitou and Shilin under Yangmingshan Administration, were incorporated into Taipei City" ²⁰. On July 1, 1968, the administrative area of Taipei City expanded from the original 72 square kilometers to 272 square kilometers. But this expansion had a tail: Story Studio pointed out that "it was not truly administered directly by the Taipei City Government until 1974" ¹², meaning the administrative order preceded the actual handover by six years.

The expanded area of Taipei City remained unchanged until 2026. From Wanhua on the west bank of the Tamsui River, to Neihu on the north bank of the Keelung River, to Beitou and Shilin at the foot of Yangmingshan, and Wenshan in the Muzha mountain area—all were contained within the coordinates of a single "Taipei City." The 1968 expansion forced the previously independent mountain cities, suburbs, old wards, and new districts into one city.

Seven Nights and Six Days in Front of the National Memorial Hall (1990)

22 years after the 1968 expansion, in March 1990, the largest civic movement in this city occurred in front of the National Memorial Hall.

The National Memorial Hall was completed in 1980. The background to the 1990 student movement dates back to October 25, 1971, when the ROC withdrew from the UN; January 1, 1979, when the US severed diplomatic relations with the ROC; September 28, 1986, when the Democratic Progressive Party was established; and July 15, 1987, when martial law was lifted. Over these 19 years, dissatisfaction in Taiwanese society regarding the KMT's "eternal delegates" and "old thieves never die" accumulated year by year.

On March 16, 1990, nine students from National Taiwan University held a sit-in at the National Memorial Hall plaza. Within an hour, it grew to 200 people; that night, it reached 800 people. "From March 16 to March 22, 1990 (7 days and 6 nights)," "nearly 6,000 students from all over Taiwan and various municipalities" gathered at the National Memorial Hall plaza ²².

The four main demands were: "1. Dissolve the KMT, reconstruct a unified national assembly system. 2. Abolish the 'Temporary Provisions Effective During Periods of Martial Law' and rebuild a new constitutional order. 3. Convene a national conference to collectively solve systemic crises. 4. Propose an agenda for political and economic reform in response to public opinion" ²².

This was the largest student protest since the ROC government relocated to Taiwan. The then-President Lee Teng-hui met with 53 student representatives on March 21, promising to convene a national conference. In 1991, the Temporary Provisions were abolished, and the KMT held general elections in 1992. The National Memorial Hall plaza during those seven nights and six days in March 1990 was the physical starting point for Taiwan's constitutional system moving from wartime mobilization back to a normal democratic track.

In March of the same year, Taipei City also underwent a quiet internal reorganization. On March 12, 1990, the administrative divisions of Taipei City were reorganized from the original 16 districts into 12: Zhongzheng District (City Center + Central Gu Ting), Daan District (East Gu Ting + West Matsuyama), Wanhua District (Double Park + West Gu Ting), Datong District (Yanping), Jingmei District (Muzha), and Wenshan District, while also establishing Xinyi District ²³. This 12-district structure has not changed until 2026. Zhongzheng, Datong, Wanhua, Zhongshan, Daan, Xinyi, Matsuyama, Neihu, Nangang, Shilin, Beitou, and Wenshan. Twelve districts, each carrying a different age.

The Muzha Line in 1996, Xinyi 101 in 2004, Sunflower Occupation of the Legislative Yuan for 24 Days in 2014

After the 1990s, Taipei's urban infrastructure underwent large-scale implementation.

On March 28, 1996, "the first MRT line, Muzha Line, started its first train at Zhongshan Junior High School Station at 6:00 AM on March 28, 1996. It runs from Animal Park Station in the south to Zhongshan Junior High School Station in the north, with a total length of 10.9 kilometers and a travel time of 22 minutes" ²⁴. The Muzha Line used the VAL-256 medium capacity train model from French company Matra, but it was delayed by five years until its opening due to two fires in 1993 (before Xinhai Station and between Liuchangli and Lincang Stations). It was later renamed Wenhu Line after controversy over the homophone "Zha-hu" (fraud/scam), costing 1.1 million NTD. By 2026, the total length of Taipei's MRT system exceeds 150 kilometers with daily ridership exceeding 2 million passengers.

The story of Xinyi Planning District is longer. 1980 was a key year for this area. "1980 was an important year for the launch of the Xinyi Planning District" ²⁵. To be more precise, the concept of this district dates back to urban design research at Tamsui College in 1977. In 1980, when Lee Teng-hui was Mayor of Taipei, he commissioned the Japanese architect Guo Maolin to conduct a "Urban Design Study of Xinyi Planning District, Taipei City," establishing a modern sub-central city plan with "super wide streetscapes, separation of pedestrian and vehicle traffic lines, and plaza axes," making it the first area in Taiwan to implement urban design control and review. Detailed plans were published in 1981, and the "Second Phase Land Readjustment of Matsuyama District" was carried out from 1981 to 1986. The predecessor of this land was agricultural land from the Qing era's "Xingya Village," partially divided as Japanese Army Matsuyama Warehouse during the colonial period, and then becoming the 44th Ordnance Factory (Fourth Forty-Four Ordnance Factory) producing weapons after 1947 until it was gradually vacated in the 1980s. From agricultural land to a military camp during the colonial period, to a post-war ordnance factory, to the 1980 planning project, and finally to Taipei 101 in 2004, this piece of land has changed its political attributes five times.

"Taipei 101 is a supertall skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei City. The tower stands at 508 meters high, with 101 floors above ground and 5 below ground. It was completed on December 31, 2004" ². On the day of its completion, it surpassed the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur to become the world's tallest building, holding the record until January 4, 2010, when it was surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. President Chen Shui-bian, Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, and Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng jointly cut the ribbon.

Taipei 101, 2014. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA via Wikimedia.

But 101 is not the end of this area's story. On March 17, 2014, KMT legislator Chang Ching-chuan declared the review of the "Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement" complete in a mere 30 seconds and submitted it for approval. The evening of March 18, with approximately 300 protesters from civic groups and students storming the Legislative Yuan chamber, they successfully occupied the hall ²⁶. This occupation lasted 24 days. On March 24, students attempted to occupy the Executive Yuan, where police forcibly cleared them ("March 24th crackdown"). On March 30, the "Anti-FTA and Pro-Democracy" rally held on Kaitadegan Avenue was estimated by organizers to have 500,000 participants. On April 6, Speaker Wang Jin-pyng entered the chamber to announce that no cross-strait service trade agreement review would be convened before passing the "Cross-Strait Agreement Supervision Act." Students withdrew from the hall on April 10.

The Sunflower movement was entirely within Taipei City: the Legislative Yuan (Jinan Road, Zhongzheng District), the Executive Yuan (Zhongxiao East Road, Zhongzheng District), and the square in front of the Presidential Office (Kaitadegan Avenue, Zhongzheng District). From the Wild Lily Movement at the National Memorial Hall in 1990 to the Sunflower occupation of the Legislative Yuan in 2014, a span of 24 years. This city housed Taiwan's two largest student movements post-war, both occurring in Zhongzheng District.

📝 Curator's Note: Common narratives of the student movements focus on "what the students won" and "what the government yielded." But the deepest connection between these two movements is space. The National Memorial Hall and the Legislative Yuan are 1.5 kilometers apart, a 20-minute walk. Kaitadegan Avenue is only a 5-minute walk from one end to the other. This 1.5 square kilometer area of Zhongzheng District is the most dense physical coordinate in post-war Taiwanese democratic transformation. The 1990 KMT departure, the 2014 anti-FTA movement, and the 2008 Le Sheng Nursing Home, and the 2013 anti-media monopoly. The physical sites of each movement overlap in this small district. Taipei residents do not need to consult history books to walk these locations. But this also brought a counter-effect: other counties view Taipei as "where all movements are concentrated because it is the capital," and they do not consider these events part of their own history. The centralization of democratic movements and the centralization of political power in Taipei share the same structure.

12 Districts, The Morning of Three Million People

In April 2026, the population of Taipei City was 2,429,429 people, comprising "the 12 districts: Matsuyama, Xinyi, Daan, Zhongshan, Wanhua, Wenshan, Shilin, Beitou, Zhongzheng, Neihu, Nangang, and Datong" ²⁷. The area is 271.7997 square kilometers. This is more than twice the size of Keelung (132 sq km) and one-eleventh the size of Kaohsiung City (2,951 sq km). But the specialty of this city is not its area, but its density and stratification.

The differences between the 12 districts are so vast that they resemble different cities. Wanhua District has Longshan Temple from 1738, Baoping Old Street, and Youth Park; it ranks among Taipei's oldest in terms of average age. Datong District has Dihua Street, Xiabei City God Temple, and Datong Wharf, representing an extension of the tea era. Zhongzheng District houses the five major institutions, the Presidential Office, and NTU Law School; it is the core of "Political Taipei." Daan District has NTU, NCCU, Yongkang Street, and Dongmen Market; it is the core of "Cultural/Educational Taipei." Xinyi District has 101, the City Hall, ATT, and Sishang Village; it is the core of "Financial Taipei." Neihu District has Neihu Science Park, scenic lakes, and Dahu Park; it is the core of "Technological Taipei." Shilin and Beitou are at the foot of Yangmingshan, Wenshan is in the Muzha mountain area, and Nangang has a software park. Zhongshan District features the commercial hub of Zhongshan North Road. Over 288 years, from 1738 to 2026, this timeline was compressed into a 271 square kilometer basin. Wanhua residents are descendants of the Han immigrants from 1738; Xinyi residents are the urban professionals from 1980. The same administrative coordinates hold three ages.

The population structure is also stratified. Indigenous populations (most Kaitadegan have assimilated into Minnan groups), Hakka people, and former residents from outside Taiwan who migrated after 1949 (settlements concentrated in Dazhong, Beitou, Xinyi, Wenshan) are present, alongside new immigrants. The Southeast Asian cuisine street near Taipei Station on Sundays, the Japanese tourists on Yongkang Street, the overseas guests from Datongcheng, and the European and American expatriates in Xinyi District—the morning of this city operates in six or seven languages simultaneously.

Foreigners usually see Taipei through 101, the National Palace Museum, Din Tai Foor, Ximending, Shilin Night Market, and Yongkang Street. The Taipei that locals live in is another axis: Ring South Market at four in the morning, traffic jams on Dunhua South Road in the evening, the old shops on Dihua Street in Datongcheng that have been selling cloth since the 1860s, street vendors in Wanhua, and tech commuters in Neihu. The 12 districts stack up to form a city, but this city can never be summarized in one narrative.

Between Four A.M., 1738 and 2004

Returning to the opening scene.

At four in the morning, under the lights of Ring South Market, farmers are moving vegetables brought from Yilan, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Yunlin onto their stalls. Longshan Temple in Wanhua has started its first incense offering; the first elderly person is already sitting on the stone steps in front of the temple. Five kilometers further, Xinyi District is still asleep. Ten kilometers further, the office buildings in Neihu Science Park only have security guards on duty. Twenty kilometers further, the MRT station in New Taipei has not opened yet.

From the temple in Wanhua (1738), the tea street in Datongcheng (1885), the city wall in the Walled City (1884), and 101 in Xinyi (2004)—this basin places 288 years side-by-side within 271 square kilometers. Three million people walk, drive, take the MRT, shop, work, eat, and return home between these four moments every day. Most do not look up to see which centuries they are passing through.

The Wild Lily Movement at the National Memorial Hall for seven nights and six days, the Sunflower occupation of the Legislative Yuan for 24 days—the two movements were separated by 24 years but only 1.5 kilometers apart physically. The first shot of the 228 Incident on No. 189 Nanjing West Road in Datongcheng in 1947; the Lin residence incident in Lane 31, Section 3, Xinyi Road in 1980; these two locations are 8 kilometers apart but separated by 33 years. The winter when the ROC government brought 1.2 million people to Taipei in 1949, the summer of the municipal upgrade in 1967, and March 1990 when the administrative divisions were reorganized from 16 to 12—this city housed the most dense political timeline of post-war Taiwan.

Others see Taipei through 101, the National Palace Museum, and Din Tai Foor. The Taipei that locals live in is a line extending parallel across Wanhua, Datongcheng, and Xinyi. When you stand looking towards the Presidential Office from Kaitadegan Avenue, your location was Dongmen Street of the Taipei Walled City in 1884, Jieshou Road in 1946, and Kaitadegan Avenue starting in 1996. The same patch of concrete has changed its name four times—from the Qing Dynasty to Japanese rule, martial law, to democracy.

Next time you visit Taipei, do not just tour Xinyi 101 and Shilin Night Market. Try leaving your hotel at four in the morning to see the elderly worshipping their first incense offering in the temple courtyard of Longshan Temple in Wanhua. Or walk to Dihua Street in Datongcheng around five-thirty in the morning to see the old houses from the 1860s in the dawn light. Or take the Wenhu Line to Animal Park Station, and then walk to the National Memorial Hall in 1990 to see the plaza where students protested in March 1990. Then you will remember one thing: within the 12 districts of Taipei City live people from three ages, who all live simultaneously in a slice of 1738, 1885, or 2004.

This city, from the Kaitadegan clan Patauw, to Dajiala in 1709, to Longshan Temple in 1738, to the establishment of Taipei Prefecture in 1875, to the establishment of Taipei City in 1920, to the 228 Incident in 1947, to the relocation in 1949, to the municipal status in 1967, to the 12 districts in 1990, to Xinyi 101 in 2004, and to the Sunflower Movement in 2014—a basin that has contained a complete microcosm of Taiwan's modernization over three centuries. Wanhua (1738) gazes at Xinyi (2004); the two ends gaze at each other within the same coordinate system.

Further Reading

• Keelung City — 22 Counties and Cities Series pilot: The closest port to Taipei, Taipei's mother port; how the ROC government landed from Keelung Port to Taipei in 1949
• New Taipei City — Satellite city surrounding Taipei City, with over 1 million people commuting from New Taipei to work in Taipei daily
• Taoyuan City — Taoyuan Zhongzheng International Airport opened in 1979; Taiwan's gateway for international air transport shifted from Keelung to Taoyuan, and Taipei lost its seaport function
• Kaohsiung City — The second municipality upgraded in 1979 (12 years after Taipei); the Lin residence incident occurred at No. 31 Lane, Section 3, Xinyi Road, Taipei City in 1980
• Taichung City — Upgraded to a municipality in 2010 (43 years after Taipei); two models of specialization between the central and northern cities
• Tainan City — The first capital during the Qing period starting in 1683; established as a city concurrently with Taipei and Taichung in 1920
• 228 Incident — The first shot at Tianma Teahouse on Nanjing West Road, Taipei City, on February 27, 1947, the deepest political wound of post-war Taiwan
• Wild Lily Movement — Seven nights and six days in front of the National Memorial Hall from March 16 to March 22, 1990; the four main demands of 6,000 students
• Sunflower Movement — The 24-day occupation of the Legislative Yuan by Taipei on March 18, 2014

Image Sources

This article uses 5 images licensed under CC from Wikimedia Commons:

• Hero (frontmatter): Taipei skyline cityscape at dusk — A view of the Taipei skyline at dusk from Xinyi District, with the 101 building as the visual center. Photo: peellden, CC BY-SA 3.0.
• Scene §1738 Longshan Temple: Longshan Temple 2017 — Monga Longshan Temple, 2017. Built in 1738 by people from the three counties of Quanzhou and designated a National Historic Site in 2018. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA.
• Scene §1884 North Gate: North Gate, Taipei 2017 — The Beimen Cheng'en Gate of the Taipei Walled City, completed in 1884, and is the best-preserved among the five gates. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA.
• Scene §1947 228 Incident: Taipei 228 Memorial Museum 2019 — Taipei 228 Memorial Museum, 2019. The building's predecessor was the Taiwan Broadcasting Association Taipei Studio, completed in 1930 during Japanese rule, and officially opened on February 28, 1997. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA.
• Scene §2004 Xinyi 101: Taipei 101 2014 — Taipei 101 Building, 2014. The original site was the Japanese Matsuyama Warehouse, the 44th Ordnance Factory post-war, and the Xinyi Planning District in 1980. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA.

License terms: CC BY-SA 3.0 and CC BY-SA 4.0.

References