30-second overview: Sanxia Old Street (Minquan Street in Sankeng) was once the most important distribution hub for cloth dyeing and tea in northern Taiwan. Its distinctive S-shaped layout was originally designed to accommodate the turning radius of narrow-gauge railway carts. This street is more than a tourist attraction; it is a crucible in Taiwan's cultural heritage preservation history. It experienced the first nationwide collective protest over the "delisting of a historic site," and in 2007, its restoration methodology, which adhered to "original architecture and original materials," earned recognition from the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) Prix d'Excellence. Although a regrettable incident occurred in 2016 when the stone-paved road was unexpectedly excavated, through multi-party coordination, the street has become a benchmark case for Taiwan's "aesthetic-style reconstruction" technopolitics.
The beauty of Sanxia Old Street lies in its brick arcades, so orderly they resemble a stage set. In 1916, under the Japanese colonial government's "urban renewal" initiative, the previously chaotic commercial street was uniformly reconstructed in a Baroque style. This renovation was driven not only by aesthetics but also by modern public health considerations. At the time, dye houses, tea merchants, and traditional Chinese medicine shops carved their respective shop names onto their gable walls, marking the golden age of Sanxia's produce trade. 1
📝 Curator's Note: The S-curve of Sanxia Old Street is actually a commercial code left over from the Qing dynasty, designed to allow cargo-carrying narrow-gauge carts to turn smoothly.
The "Third-Class Historic Site" That Was Delisted: A Struggle Over Private Property and Public Justice
Few remember that Sanxia Old Street was once Taiwan's first street designated as a "historic site of the urban type," yet it was also the first street to have its designation revoked due to strong resident protests. In 1991, the Council of Cultural Affairs listed Minquan Street as a third-class historic site. What was originally intended as cultural preservation sparked resident panic: historic site status meant renovations and expansions were prohibited. In an atmosphere of soaring real estate prices at the time, residents viewed the designation as a "curse." 2
"When I was young, the entire arcade street was a playground. Our family was the first, and remains the only, pharmacy on the street," recalled Chen Rui-sui, owner of Yuanchun Pharmacy. 3 For years, local supporters and opponents of the designation engaged in a fierce struggle. 3 Ultimately, in 1993, the government revoked the historic site status. The old street was nearly demolished and expanded into a 15-meter-wide road. This crisis led to the subsequent "restoration project" led by Hsu Yu-chien Architects: the government provided funding for repairs, but property rights remained private, attempting to find a third path between "preservation" and "daily life." 4
Li Mei-shu's Final Wish and the Dignity of 60 Cast-Iron Bricks
If the Sanxia Ancestral Temple is an "Eastern Art Hall," then the old street is the extension of that hall. The national treasure-level artist Li Mei-shu strongly advocated for the street's preservation during his lifetime, believing that the old street and the Ancestral Temple formed the inseparable cultural wings of Sanxia. 5 In the restoration project launched in 2004, the restoration team obtained image authorization free of charge from the Li Mei-shu Memorial Hall to produce 60 cultural cast-iron relief panels and drainage covers.
These iron bricks are scattered across the plaza at the old street's entrance and along the road itself, depicting the Sanxia Arch Bridge, the Blue Ground Yellow Tiger Flag battle, and tea packaging patterns. 6 They are more than just drainage covers; they are historical evidence that "someone was actually on site." However, on April 6, 2016, the Sanxia District Office's Public Works Division, relying on a single construction notice, deployed excavators to swiftly remove these cast-iron bricks and the stone-paved road, replacing them with a flat but mediocre asphalt surface. 7
The War Between Asphalt and Stone: Safety or Culture?
The district office's justification for the demolition was specific: rainy days made the roads slippery, and elderly residents frequently fell. 8 Yet this action sparked outrage across Taiwan's cultural and historical circles. Li Ching-wen, executive director of the Li Mei-shu Memorial Hall, expressed grief, stating it was the most ironic gift during the "centennial celebration of the old street." The memorial hall subsequently announced its withdrawal from all official celebration events. 9
This "asphalt road war" ultimately ended with an apology from the New Taipei City government. By the end of 2016, the city government invested approximately NT$5 million. With the participation of multiple experts and cultural/historical organizations, the stone-paved road was relaid to balance anti-slip properties and aesthetics, and the cast-iron bricks were repositioned. 10 It revealed a stark reality: even though Sanxia Old Street's restoration project had been recognized with the FIABCI Prix d'Excellence in 2007 11, in the eyes of grassroots bureaucrats, cultural details were still less practical to maintain than asphalt.
📝 Curator's Note: When safety becomes an excuse for mediocrity, we lose more than just paving stones; we lose reverence for historical detail.
Walking the Ground: From "Historic Site Curse" to "Cultural Pride"
Today, walking through Sanxia Old Street, beyond the must-try golden croissants and indigo dyeing experiences, please try looking down at those stone slabs that have been relaid. Although the 2016 incident left a scar, the old street still retains its "sandwich-style" architectural structure: a century-old Baroque brick exterior, with a modern structure reinforced for safety inside. 10
The story of the old street continues. It is no longer merely a site for commercial transactions, but an evolving community experiment. From the Qing-era Sankeng trade, the Japanese colonial urban renewal, post-Martial Law historic site protests, to modern cultural asset defense battles, these two hundred meters of brick road, with their unique resilience, record the long process of how Taiwanese people transformed from resisting preservation to taking pride in their own cultural assets.
Further Reading:
- Indigo Dyeing — The craft itself that made Sanxia's dye houses flourish: a complete revitalization history from a Qing-era export staple to the first indigo cloth dyed in seventy years in 1999
- Traditional Taiwanese Crafts and Intangible Cultural Assets — The position of Sanxia's indigo revival within Taiwan's craft preservation system
References
- Sanxia Old Street — Wikipedia — Wikipedia entry for Sanxia Old Street, documenting the 1916 urban renewal, Baroque facades, and district historical evolution.↩
- Sankeng Reappears — PTS Our Island — PTS environmental news feature documenting the 1991 third-class historic site designation, resident protests, and the delisting process.↩
- Sanxia's Century-Old Street in Peril: A Record of Signboards, Stone Pavements, and Cast-Iron Covers Being Removed — Environmental Information Center — Complete record of the 2016 stone pavement excavation, including interviews with Chen Rui-sui of Yuanchun Pharmacy.↩
- Technopolitics of Aesthetic-Style Old Street Reconstruction: A Case Study of Sanxia and Shenkeng Old Streets — National Taiwan University Thesis — Academic analysis of the Sanxia restoration project's "government-funded repair, private property rights" model.↩
- The Past and Present of Sanxia (Part 3): Time-Traveling Through Sanxia Old Street — Wei Chuan TV (YouTube) — Local cultural history video documenting Li Mei-shu's advocacy for preserving the old street and its connection to the Ancestral Temple.↩
- An Unfortunate Error: Analysis of the Sanxia Old Street Stone Pavement Excavation Incident — The News Lens — Analysis of the origins of the 60 cultural cast-iron relief panels and the decision-making process behind the 2016 excavation incident.↩
- Sanxia Old Street Plaza Stone Pavement Cast-Iron Covers Removed, Sparking Controversy — PTS Evening News — Television news footage record of the April 2016 demolition event.↩
- Repairing Sanxia Old Street Stone Pavement: Can Safety and Character Coexist? — National Language Daily — Documents the district office's claim that rainy-day slipperiness justified removing the stone pavement, along with subsequent controversies.↩
- Li Mei-shu Memorial Hall Withdraws from Sanxia Old Street Centennial Celebration Event Statement — Facebook Event Page — The original statement page where the memorial hall publicly announced its withdrawal from official celebration events.↩
- Sanxia Old Street Restoration Project: Balancing Safety and Aesthetics — Liberty Times Net — Reports on the late 2016 relaying of anti-slip stone pavements, repositioning of cast-iron bricks, and the sandwich-style restoration methodology.↩
- Sanxia Old Street Restoration Project Wins International Award — Omnixu Blog — Compilation of reports documenting the restoration project's recognition by the FIABCI Prix d'Excellence.↩