WANHUA in Taipei -- Xinfu Market & Xibenyuan Temple Square (萬華/新富市場/西本願寺廣場)
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Travel in Taiwan 2017/11/12
Xinfu Market (01:00)
On Guangzhou Street’s south side across from Bopiliao is the old Xinfu Market building, fronted by scores of traditional-style market stalls in narrow, covered lanes. The building, opened in 1935, was Taipei’s first modern public market, housing stalls selling fresh fish/meats, fruits/vegetables, tobacco/alcohol items, Chinese cakes/pastries, etc.
Its heyday was in the 1950s, after Taipei’s population had exploded following the migration of the Nationalist government from mainland China in the late 1940s. Increased competition, notably from the dense grid of stalls that grew before it and later the then-novel supermarkets of the 1990s, led to its eventual abandonment. Now thoroughly renovated, it was reopened earlier this year, housing a history display, café, and other facilities.
The distinctive old building has a horseshoe shape and a narrow central courtyard that facilitates ventilation and light entry. The exterior is Art Deco, and the radial and stair patterns that were avant-garde when it opened have been retained.
Xibenyuan Temple Square (03:40)
Though in a busy area, close to MRT Ximen Station and 7~10 minutes away from the Bopiliao/Xinfu sites on foot, this heritage Pure Land Buddhist temple complex feels hidden away, partially blocked from view by high walls. Built up in the years after 1922, Xibenyuan Temple was Taiwan’s largest Japanese-style Buddhist temple during the Japanese period. A fire in 1975 destroyed the Grand Hall and other key structures, only the Rinbansyo (temple abbot’s residence) and Tree Heart Hall (lecture hall) escaping.
Long left abandoned, squatters were evicted from the site and renovation efforts were carried out through the 2000s to restore the former glory of the complex, giving birth to a new city landmark. The stately Bell Tower stands atop a hillock at the square’s entrance. The brick-built Tree Heart Hall, once used for Dharma teaching, is now a space for art exhibits and temple/area history displays.
Tip: Savor premium Taiwan teas in the elegant Eighty-Eightea teahouse in the renovated Rinbansyo, rich in Japanese aesthetics, the large central room’s tatami flooring creating a Kyoto tea-ceremony ambience.
English and Chinese
Bell Tower 鐘樓
Bopiliao Historic Block 剝皮寮歷史街區
Eighty-Eightea 八拾捌茶
Grand Hall 本堂
Longshan Temple 龍山寺
Rinbansyo 輪番所
Tree Heart Hall 樹心會館
Wanhua District 萬華區
Xibenyuan Temple Square 西本願寺廣場
Xinfu Market 新富市場