Taoyuan Tourism

If Heping Old Street was a mainstream song that is still widely received, then Xinan Old Street would be the independent music of Dakekan which is distinctively artistic and enchanting in its own way that gets stuck in the minds of whoever had the chance to listen to it.
Xinan Old Street is also known as Zhongshan Old Street. It is only 500 meters away from the store-packed Heping Old Street. Since the end of Ching dynasty and the Japanese colonial rule, Xinan Old Street was developed as a special district of politics, economy, culture and education where important government institutions as well as schools, post offices located. It resembled Boai Special District in Taipei. Residents of the district were wealthy and powerful faces like merchant Chien A-niuo, scholar Lu Ying-yang and Katou Nisaku. Interestingly, two sides of the old street represent such social disparity where wealthy mansions were on the side of singular house numbers while working class resided on the other side of plural house numbers along with warehouses.
Architectures in Xinan Old Street seem even more luxurious with its special style of east-meets-west baroque fusion. One of the most attention-drawing buildings is Jiancheng Trading House, home to merchant Chien. English spelling of its Taiwanese pronunciation KENSEI SHOCO stands vividly at the storefront. Its brass dome roof, symmetric frontispiece, western-style double pillar design, massive triple times width storefront, all demonstrated the well-being and prosperity of the Chiens.Yongchun and Sianji next to Jiancheng Trading House were mansions of the prominent Lus. Auspicious symbols like peacocks, qilin, estudinata, artistic instruments and paintings as well as flora carving designs are all part of the decor. It is said that while the houses were under construction, large canvases were used to cover up the designs in order to prevent plagiarism. Prominent immigrants that came to call Daxi home left couplets like Wuyi Old Clan and Long Tung Shi Ti (literal translation: where dragons inhabit).
As wealth decayed and descendants moved away, the once lavish mansions in Xinan Old Street today stand reminiscing the blooming memories of the past.
Make a turn to Zhongshan Road on your next trip to Daxi. You’ll be fascinated by the stories the old mansions tell of the once prosperous Daxi.