← All old streets 
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Thriving · Datong District, Taipei
Dihua Street
迪化街 · 永樂町通、大稻埕
Taipei's best-preserved old street: Dadaocheng's dried goods, herbs and baroque facades
⏱ Half a day FoodiesHistory buffsArchitecture fansShoppers
Food 3/3
Story 3/3
Buildings 3/3
Vendors 3/3
Crowds 3/3
The story
Built in the 1850s, Dihua Street became the hub for tea, dried goods, Chinese herbs and fabric after Dadaocheng opened to trade. A 1980s plan to widen it was defeated by preservationists, saving rows of Minnan, Western-style and baroque shophouses. Old wholesalers now share the street with cafés and design shops, and before Lunar New Year it hosts Taipei's huge New Year goods market.
Getting there
- Where
- Dihua Street Section 1, Datong District, Taipei
- Getting there
- MRT Beimen or Daqiaotou Station, ~10 min walk
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Best time
- Busiest during the Lunar New Year goods market; weekday mornings are best for browsing old shops
Nearby old streets
- 0.2 km Guide Street (Dadaocheng) Dadaocheng's riverside street of tea merchants' mansions Quiet
- 0.3 km Taiheichō-dōri (Yanping North Road) Taiwanese activists' heartland and the spot where the 228 Incident began Quiet
- 0.9 km Niumoche Street (Dihua St Sec. 2) The old name for northern Dihua Street, once home to rice mills and timber yards Quiet
- 1.0 km Chifeng Street From blacksmiths' row to hip alley: cafés squeezed between auto-parts shops Lively