Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, has evolved through many stages
since its founding in the eighteenth century. Rice fields have
yielded to skyscrapers, and a modern, commercial city of
millions has grown out of once quiet settlements.
After climbing 508 metres up the Taipei 101 tower, the highest
structure in the world, it can be seen easily from anywhere in
the city, one can look down on the genuine Taipei amidst all the
modern buildings: temples, markets, the National Palace Museum
and in between them, the many old streets and lanes where
everyday life in Taipei actually happens.
First steps
There was a swamp at the site of Taipei about 300 years ago,
right where one of Asia's most modern cities now stands. Only
the Pingpu, the original people of Formosa, who lived in the
higher lying regions around the Taipei Basin, were able to reach
this area by canoe.
Han Chinese from China came later to fish and trade, but they
stayed on the banks of the Tarsui River and did not venture into
the area of modern Taipei. In 1709, a Chinese farmer named Chen
Lai Chang from Chuanchou laid the foundations of a farm house in
Takala, which is now central Taipei. From that point onwards,
the number of settlers continually grew. The original settlement
was known as Manka.
From Manka to Tataocheng
The administration of Manka and the surrounding area was mainly
handled by immigrants from various parts of mainland China.
Because of differing views regarding the future of the
administrative structure, tensions between the residents soon
escalated. The violent confrontations that resulted came to an
end in 1823.
One of the groups that was defeated fled from Manka, on the
bank of the Tamsui River, to Tataocheng. There they began to
make the land farmable land laid the foundations for a
flourishing community. Tataocheng surpassed Manka in the
nineteenth century, and became the centre of Taipei Prefecture
in 1875.
Fast modernisation
When the Japanese colonised Taipei in 1895, they built their
main district in Taipei, and the city continued to develop
steadily thereafter, even after the departure of the occupiers
in 1945 and after the break with mainland China. Within a
hundred years, the once rural district had developed into the
administrative, economic and cultural centre of Taiwan.
Manka, Tataocheng and Chengnei have all lost their original
appearance, but a number of historically important sites have
been preserved, including the Lin Family Villa and Garden, once
the home of a very powerful clan in the nineteenth century, as
well as the Peace Park and the 1919 Presidential Palace.
Modern city with established traditions
Today, all glass office high rises, luxury condominiums and
modern shopping districts are situated along wide, tree lined
boulevards. Elegant restaurants, stylish nightclubs and
appearances by international stars are all part of people's
lives. Yet the traditional culture and way of life carries on
below the contemporary surface.
Everywhere you go, you stumble on timeless scenes: believers
praying to their gods in ancient temples, long religious
processions winding their way through the streets to the
accompaniment of firecrackers, and little shops offering herbal
medicines that have been relied upon for millennia. Clearly,
this is one of the oldest cultures in the world.
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