Dihua Street and Dadaocheng in Taipei - Taiwanese Secrets Travel Guide

Old Taipei – Still alive Today!

If you are into photography, history, or are wanting to buy traditional gifts, Dihua Street must be on your list of places to visit in Taipei.

classic Chinese musician — A woman plays a traditional Chinese musical instrument among one of the restored buildings

The Dadaocheng neighborhood and Dihua Street is where you can peak into Taipei’s colorful past. This part of Datong District 大同區 is rich in history like no other parts of Taipei. Here, you can see ancient buildings, shops that sell traditional products such as Chinese medicine and pottery, as well as quaint tea houses and restaurants.

taiwanese man and woman — Dadaocheng is a popular destination for Taipei locals – young and old

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Facts about Dihua Street and Dadaocheng

Dadaocheng 大稻埕 is also called Twatutia, which is a transliteration of the Taiwanese Hokkien Tōa-tiū-tiâ .
Dadaocheng was an important trading port in the 19th century – especially for tea. The wharf area is still there today, by the Tamsui River, and it’s one of the most popular places in Taipei to watch the sunset.
Dihua Street 迪化街 has a few buildings that are more than 100 years old.
Dihua Jie (jie means street in Chinese) was constructed in the 1850s.
It is Taipei’s most historically diverse street in terms of architecture due to Mainland Chinese, European, and Japanese influences.

taipei tourist attraction dadaocheng — Dadaocheng is still a major historical tourist attraction and shopping area

dihua street buildings — On Dihua Street, there is a mixture of old southern Chinese architecture, Western-style trading companies, and Baroque facades. On this picture, the *“ten consecutive buildings”* 迪化街十連棟, at the northern end of Dadaocheng.

dihua jie restaurant — Today, the area has undergone massive revitalization with old buildings given new life and modern shops bringing in new energy – without breaking the old vibe of the hood.

traditional chinese goods — Traditional goods are still sold on street-level premises. You can find everything from Chinese medicine, herbs, spices, incense, dried fruit, temple goods

Ruby and I spent an entire afternoon in the Dadaocheng neighborhood in the fall of 2020, and most of the pictures in this article are from that day. We started our day in the northern part, at 迪化街十連棟 which translates as “ten consecutive buildings” and walked all the way to Beimen, Taipei City Wall North Gate.

dadaocheng taipei — Local shopkeepers keep the original atmosphere of old Taipei well alive

In the early 20th century, European settlers were living here

How much time should you plan to visit Dihua Street?

We walked around for about 4 hours and we only saw the main sights along the road. You could very easily spend 2-3 days exploring the entire area of Dadaocheng, as there are so many little art shops, stores, temples, parks, cafes, street food. It’s a good idea I think to start in the north and make you way south. This way, you will arrive near Taipei Main Station, from where you can catch an MRT train to your next destination.

chinese temple money — A man folds and stacks joss paper, also known as ghost money

What are the main attractions in Dadaocheng?

In my opinion, Dihua Street and the back alleys are the main attractions in themselves. Even if you were to not walk into any store, you would feel like you’ve crossed a massive open air museum. Still, there are so many specific attractions and sights. Here are the main ones:

Taipei Xiahai City God Temple
Yongle Fabric Market
Dadaocheng Wharf
Ten Consecutive Buildings
Dadaocheng Cisheng Temple
Taipei City Wall – North Gate
Dadaocheng Theater (above Yongle Market)

taipei xiahai city god temple — Taipei Xiahai City God Temple

Popular things / gifts to buy in Dadaocheng

Chinese medicine
tea
traditional Chinese cake
Chinese lanterns
pottery
paintings
Buddhist items

old chinese farming tools — A store specializes in ancient farming tools, knives, and bamboo accessories.

Taiwanese tea is sold everywhere in this neighborhood.

Places to eat on Dihua Street

While here, make sure to try Tong An Le restaurant! It’s a nice little teahouse which serves set meals with pork balls soup. Pork in broth is the local specialty here, and Tong An Le’s take on it is exceptional. The set meal comes with veggies, rice, fruit, and tea.

dihua street restaurant — Set meal at Tong An Le Restaurant

Ruby had the set meal and as usual I stole half her food. I had black coffee and it was on the light side, but flavorful. We also got some traditional Chinese cakes and they were honestly the best I’ve ever had! I’m not a fan of those cute little things, I’m more of a dirty brownie kinda guy, but they were good!

tong an le restaurant — Tong An Le restaurant interior

Name in Chinese: 同安樂
Address: 242, Section 1, Dihua St, Datong District
Phone: 02 2557 6939

How to get to Dadaocheng and Dihua Street?

If you wish to walk Dihua Street from north to south, which I recommend, then you can take the MRT and get off at Daqiaotou Station 大橋頭站. From there, it’s a quick 200m on foot to the “entrance” and the first sight you’ll see on your right are the ten consecutive buildings, which are some of the most photogenic in the area.