cover image for Taipei through the layers of time

Taipei through the layers of time


5 min read Jan 26, 2025

Taipei wears its history lightly but indelibly. Qing Dynasty streetscapes blend with Japanese colonial architecture, all punctuated by modern landmarks like Taipei 101. It’s a city that unfolds its story layer by layer, offering a blend of heritage and innovation.

I first visited Taipei as a child, but have few memories aside from one night when I struggled to stay awake as my parents tried to feed me at a Buddhist restaurant. Since then, I have visited three times as an adult, once in 2017, once as the pandemic was starting and another time in our recent extended family trip to Asia.

As I looked through my photos from the last trip, I noticed a pattern — we frequently visited historic buildings that had been restored or transformed for modern uses. These places — spanning from the Qing Dynasty through more recent Japanese colonial rule — gave us a chance to experience a bit of what Taipei has felt like over the centuries.

Bopiliao Historical Block

Established in the late 18th century, Bopiliao street started as a major hub for the coal trade and other commercial activity. It kept evolving over the decades. However, by the late 19th century and the beginning of Japanese colonial rule, It became a quiet back alley as the newly opened Guangzhou Street redirected commerce elsewhere.

Though other old neighborhoods were razed and replaced en masse, Bopiliao was somehow spared. In 2009 it was designed a historic site. Today, the block of buildings represent a variety of architectural styles from over the centuries and contains exhibitions, shops, and cafes.

We walked through on a crisp winter evening, the narrow streets lit softly by paper lanterns. We felt transported to another time.

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Huashan 1914 Creative Park

Huanshan 1914 Creative Park started life in 1914 as the Taihoku Winery, producing sake and ginseng wine. The winery operated until the late 1980s, when concerns about urban pollution prompted its closure. Then, artists began using the space, encouraging the government to halt demolition plans and transformed the area into a cultural and creative park. Today, it to art galleries, theater shows, boutiques and small restaurants.

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Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

Songshan Cultural and Creative Park started life in 1937 as the Matsuyama Tobacco Plant. It ceased operations in 1998 and was designated a historic site in 2001. Today, Songshan is a creative sanctuary, home to the Taiwan Design Museum, tranquil gardens, and spaces that host everything from avant-garde exhibitions to weekend art fairs. It sits next door to Taipei New Horizon designed by Toyo Ito, which includes a mall, food court, eslite book store and eslite hotel. On the other side is the newly-completed Taipei Dome.

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U-mkt

Much smaller in scale than the other places mentioned, U-mkt was established in 1935 as Xinfu Market. The Japanese colonial-era market slowly declined over the decades and by the 1990s was struggling for survival. In 2006, it was declared a historic site and restoration began.

JUT Foundation for Arts and Architecture took control of the space to revitalize it for use in the present day. JUT tapped Germany and Taiwan-based Behet Bondzio Lin Architekten to transform the space far more drastically than is seen in the other three sites. After opening in 2017, it received a Good Design Gold Award in 2019. It houses exhibitions, the JUT shop, a restaurant, and a cafe, in addition to private spaces like offices.

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Historical preservation

Taipei demonstrates that honoring history doesn’t mean preserving it in unchanged. Its approach offers a thoughtful approach to cities worldwide: celebrate the past while nurturing spaces where creativity and community can thrive.

Camera setup

Thanks to Q for reading drafts of this.

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