Yingge Ceramic Old Street: From Chimneys to MRT, the Transformation and Rebirth of Two Centuries of Ceramic Art

30-Second Overview: Yingge Ceramic Old Street, a seemingly rustic red-brick street, has a tourism history of only about thirty years, yet it carries the essence of Taiwan's ceramic industry spanning over two centuries. From Wu An's kiln establishment in the Qing Dynasty, through modernization during the Japanese colonial period, to the post-war export boom, and facing industrial relocation and environmental challenges in the 1990s. The establishment of the Ceramic Museum in 2000 and the renovation of the old street into a pedestrian zone opened a new chapter in cultural tourism. With the opening of the New Taipei Museum of Art in 2025 and the opening of the MRT San-Xing Line in 2026, Yingge is ushering in new development opportunities. A new generation of ceramic artists is actively exploring a sustainable path of co-prosperity between industry and tourism through activities like "Open Factory Days."

Yingge Ceramic Old Street, a street filled with vintage red bricks and stone pavements, has actually been in its "old street" form for less than thirty years. Before the 1990s, this was not a bustling shopping street for tourists, but an industrial zone shrouded in black smoke with trucks shuttling back and forth. At that time, every chimney in Yingge represented the prosperity of a family, and every piece of porcelain that came out of the kiln was directly containerized and shipped to all corners of the world. However, the transformation path of this "Taiwan's Jingdezhen" is far more complex and profound than what meets the eye.

Two Centuries of Kiln Fire: From Wu An to the Export Miracle

The history of Yingge ceramics can be traced back to the 9th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1804), when Wu An (also said to be Wu Anzhi), a native of Quanzhou, Fujian, crossed the sea to Taiwan. He discovered that the clay in the Jianshan area (around present-day Jianshanpu Road) was abundant, established a kiln to produce ceramics, and thus opened the ceramic chapter of Yingge¹. Early production focused on daily-use coarse pottery, such as water vats and ceramic jars. During the Japanese colonial period, the Japanese government plannedly promoted the development of the ceramic industry in Taiwan and established the "Jianshan Ceramic Association" in Yingge, introducing modern production technologies and breaking the traditional family-run business model².

After World War II, trade between Taiwan and China was interrupted, and Yingge ceramics shifted to supplying the massive domestic demand. In the 1960s, the introduction of natural gas significantly improved product quality. Riding the wave of the booming construction industry, the small town became wealthy and entered the golden age of exports³. In the 1980s and 1990s, the number of factories in Yingge reached as high as 1,300, with chimneys standing everywhere, earning the reputation of "Taiwan's Jingdezhen"⁴. At that time, Yingge people joked that "printing tiles was like printing money." To pursue production capacity, businesses continuously invested in the latest tunnel kilns and gas kilns. However, this high-density industrial landscape also covered Yingge's sky with a layer of black ash all day, becoming a shared memory for the older generation of Yingge people: "waking up with black nostrils every day"⁵.

2000 Transformation: From Industrial Hub to Cultural Tourism

In the late 1990s, the wave of globalization, competition from low-priced Chinese products, rising production costs, and increasingly strict environmental regulations caused a huge impact on Yingge's ceramic industry. Many kiln factories chose to close or relocate because they could not afford the millions of dollars in smoke filtration equipment, and Yingge began to face the crisis of industrial hollowing out⁶.

To save the declining trend, Yingge launched a large-scale tourism transformation. 2000 was a pivotal year: the New Taipei City Yingge Ceramic Museum officially opened, and Jianshanpu Road was transformed into a pedestrian-only zone, becoming the "Ceramic Old Street" known to the public today⁷. This transformation redefined ceramics from "industrial products" to "cultural materials." The old street introduced red-brick architecture, stone paving, and chimneys that marked the time, creating a nostalgic atmosphere. However, rapid commercialization also brought the side effect of "night market-ization." Merchants from outside flooded in, and some cheap imported porcelain replaced local works, causing the old street to fall into a dilemma of blurred characteristics. Some media reports even noted a decrease in holiday crowds, raising concerns about the "decline of the old street"⁸.

2026 New Era: MRT, Museum, and Open Factory Days

Between 2025 and 2026, Yingge successively welcomed two major constructions, injecting new momentum into its transformation path:

San-Xing Line Opening: Transportation Innovation Drives Foot Traffic

The New Taipei Metro San-Xing Line officially opened on June 30, 2026, offering a two-month free trial ride. This metro line connects Tucheng, Sanxia, and Yingge. Taking the Bannan Line from downtown Taipei to Dingpu Station and transferring, visitors can reach Yingge Ceramic Old Street in as little as 20 minutes. The LB09 Ceramic Old Street Station is only a 2-minute walk from the old street, while the LB08 Yingge Station allows transfers to the Taiwan Railways Administration, significantly improving Yingge's accessibility and tourism convenience⁹. Local businesses generally believe that the MRT will bring stable foot traffic, helping to extend visitors' stay, drive sales in dining, souvenirs, and ceramic experiences, and shift the tourism model from short stops to in-depth experiences¹⁰.

New Taipei Museum of Art Opening: A New Art Landmark

In April 2025, the New Taipei Museum of Art (NTCAM) officially opened, located in the San-Xing New Land where the Yingge Stream and the Dahan River converge. Designed by renowned architect Yao Ren-hsi, this building, conceptualized as a "Modern Art Museum in a Reed Cluster," has become a new art landmark in the Greater Taipei area. The museum combines exhibitions, light shows, and children's art spaces, and forms the "San-Xing Art Corridor" together with the Yingge Ceramic Museum and the Ceramic Old Street, jointly promoting regional cultural development¹¹. Although there were discussions about it being a "white elephant" (underutilized building) in the early days of its opening, its potential is gradually being released with the opening of the MRT¹².

Open Factory Days: The Gentle Revolution of Successors

Facing the mediocrity crisis of commercialization and the challenges of an aging industry and difficulty in finding successors, Yingge's new generation of successors is beginning to awaken. In 2019, the Taiwan Design Institute initiated the "T22 Design Revitalization of Local Industries Plan," matching designers with traditional kiln factories to inject new ideas into products¹³. In 2023, the younger generation of local ceramic families, including "Xinwang Ji Ci," "Taihua Kiln," and "Anda Kiln," jointly formed the "Taociwa Da Dai Cooperation Association" and promoted the "Yingge Open Factory Day" event. This event imitates Japan's "Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival," breaking the past tradition of "peers forbidden to enter" in the ceramic industry. It actively invites visitors into the factories to witness the pottery-making process, and even hosts "Yingge Table Banquets" paired with Yingge-fired tableware, allowing the public to deeply experience the culture of the production site¹⁴.

📝 Curator's Note: The value of Yingge Old Street lies not in those仿古 (antique-style) red-brick walls, but in the kilns still operating behind the red-brick walls. When we no longer treat ceramics merely as commodities but as a living history, this small town truly finds its warmth.

Experiencing Yingge: Attractions, Food, and Activities

Today, Yingge has transformed from a simple ceramic production site into a diverse tourism area combining art, cultural and creative industries, food, and family fun. Visitors can experience Yingge in depth through the following ways:

Core Streets and Landmarks

Yingge Ceramic Old Street centers on Jianshanpu Road, extending to Chongqing Street, Ceramic Street, and Yuying Street. Strolling through it, besides the dazzling array of ceramic shops, you can discover many historical landmarks:

• Four-Corner Kiln Old Chimney: As a symbol of the past prosperity of the ceramic industry, some old chimneys have been preserved, becoming unique scenery of the old street, such as Renhe Kiln's "The Last Large Chimney of the Ceramic Old Street"¹⁵.

• Qiangzai Kiln Shopping Street: Transformed from an old electromagnetic ceramic factory, it gathers art crafts, cafes, and ceramic art classrooms. There is also a time-marking chimney outside the hall, marking the time regularly¹⁶.

• Hsu Hsin-Wang Ceramic Memorial Museum: Founded by a local pottery-making family, it fully preserves early production tools and kiln-burning equipment, and offers DIY courses such as hand-pinching pottery, hand-thrown clay, and painting¹⁷.

Ceramic Museum and Art Hall

The New Taipei City Yingge Ceramic Museum is Taiwan's first professional museum themed around ceramics. Its fair-faced concrete main building combines large glass curtain walls, creating a spacious sense of space. Permanent exhibitions such as "Looking Back at Where We Came From" and "Qiangzai Town" introduce Taiwan's ceramic culture and the development process of the Yingge industry in an accessible way. The museum also regularly hosts international special exhibitions, such as the 2026 "Taiwan International Biennale of Contemporary Ceramic Art," attracting ceramic enthusiasts from around the world¹⁸. The outdoor park features a wading pool and sandbox, suitable for family fun.

The New Taipei Museum of Art offers a feast of contemporary art. Its unique reed-shaped building is itself a work of art. The museum has spacious exhibition spaces and a children's art base. The outdoor park integrates landscape art, making it a good place to feel the charm of modern art¹¹.

Ceramic Art Experiences and Special Foods

Coming to Yingge, don't miss the fun of experiencing pottery making with your own hands. Many shops on the old street offer DIY courses such as hand-thrown clay and ceramic painting, with on-site registration available without prior reservation. Additionally, Yingge gathers many special foods:

• Apo Sushi: A 24-hour old shop with a fragrance that has spread for over 50 years, famous for affordable Taiwanese-style sushi and oden¹⁹.

• Yongbo Garbage Noodles: The broth is made from pork bones, with rich toppings, making it a late-night delicacy for night owls¹⁹.

• Grandma's Tofu Pudding: A vintage dessert in the middle section of the old street, attracting visitors with its dense tofu pudding and caramelized sugar syrup¹⁹.

• Houdao Restaurant: Recreates the retro style of a 1950s-60s general store, with signature pork rib rice and chicken leg rice in generous portions¹⁹.

Annual Events and International Exchange

Yingge hosts multiple cultural activities every year, showcasing its vitality:

• Yingge Carnival: Held every autumn, the 2025 theme was "Small Town Treasure Hunt · Old Street Warehouse Opening," linking old street shops with ceramic art activities, attracting large crowds²⁰.

• Yingge Open Factory Day: Hosted by the "Taociwa Da Dai Cooperation Association," it invites the public into kiln factories to experience the culture of the production site. Through innovative models like the "Local Food × Tableware Matching Project," it connects local industries with dining¹⁴.

• International Exchange: Yingge is also actively exchanging with international ceramic art hubs, such as dialoguing with Japan's Kasama Koenmatsuri, promoting Taiwan's ceramic art to the international stage²¹.

Challenges and Prospects: Finding Balance Between Tradition and Innovation

Although Yingge has achieved significant results in tourism transformation, it still faces multiple challenges. Concerns about the "night market-ization" of crowds and the loss of local characteristics persist. How to balance commercialization with maintaining local cultural connotations is a topic Yingge must face. Additionally, the aging of the ceramic industry, pressure on successors, and environmental issues left by old industries all test Yingge's determination to move towards sustainable development²².

However, with the opening of the MRT San-Xing Line, the opening of the New Taipei Museum of Art, and the active involvement of the new generation of ceramic artists like the "Taociwa Da Dai Cooperation Association," Yingge is showing strong vitality. They not only inherit traditional skills but also try to transform Yingge into a "living museum" through cross-boundary cooperation and innovative models like open factories, allowing this ceramic art capital with a two-century history to find its own future path between tradition and innovation.

Transportation and Practical Information

• MRT: Take the New Taipei Metro San-Xing Line to LB09 Ceramic Old Street Station (2-minute walk) or LB08 Yingge Station (transfer to Taiwan Railways).

• Train: Take the Taiwan Railways to Yingge Station. After exiting, you can transfer to the MRT or walk about 15-20 minutes to the old street.

• Driving: Exit the National Highway No. 3 at the Yingge Interchange. There are multiple paid parking lots around the old street.

• Best Time to Visit: Weekdays have fewer crowds, suitable for in-depth experiences; holidays are bustling, allowing you to feel the market atmosphere. It is recommended to avoid the noon period, when crowds are larger.

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