Datong District doesn’t get talked about the way modern Ximending or Xinyi do. But after a day of wandering Dadaocheng’s tea warehouses and market streets, I’d put it ahead of both for any first-time visitor who wants to see where Taipei’s money actually came from.
One of Taipei’s oldest neighborhoods, Datong funded much of the city’s first wave of modernization. Tea merchants here were shipping oolong to New York by the 1870s. That fortune paid for the shophouses, temples, and markets that still stand on Dihua Street today.
Here’s how I’d spend a full day exploring Datong District, starting at the wharf where that tea trade began and ending with dinner at one of Taipei’s best night markets.
What I’d see & do in Datong District in a day
Start the morning at Dadaocheng Wharf
To start my day in Datong, I’d begin at Dadaocheng Wharf, the dock on the Tamsui River that built this neighborhood’s fortune in the first place.
When Tamsui Harbor opened to foreign trade in 1860, Dadaocheng Wharf became the center of Taiwan’s tea export business. By the 1870s, more than 200 merchants worked out of the district, packing crates of oolong and pouchong onto ships bound for the US and Europe.
One person was (mainly) behind that boom: Li Chun-sheng, a Taiwanese merchant who partnered with an English trader named John Dodd in 1869 to ship the first cargo of Taiwanese tea to New York by sail. That single shipment kicked off decades of trade that funded most of what we’ll see later in the day, including the shophouses along Dihua Street.
None of the original Dadaocheng Wharf infrastructure survives today. What’s left is a quiet riverside promenade.
And this is exactly why I’d start my morning in Datong District here. It’s the one stop on our walking route with nothing to do except stand still for a few minutes before the rest of the neighborhood wakes up.
Grab breakfast at Dadaocheng Cisheng Temple
From the wharf, I’d continue my Datong itinerary by walking about ten minutes to Dadaocheng Cisheng Temple. I’ll admit, though, that the temple itself isn’t really the draw here.
More than 40 food stalls set up in the forecourt of Dadaocheng Cisheng Temple every morning, clustered under two big banyan trees. This is where I’d plan to fuel up for my morning.
Locals treat Dadaocheng Cisheng Temple as a neighborhood breakfast spot rather than a tourist stop. Most stalls close up by early afternoon. A few shut as early as 3:30 pm. This stop only works if the day starts on time.
Sishen soup and braised meat rice are both classic orders at Dadaocheng Cisheng Temple. I’d want to try the boiled squid stall too, since it’s one of the specialties the courtyard’s known for.
Wander the shophouses of Dihua Street
From Cisheng Temple, it’s a short walk to Dihua Street. To me, this is the heart of Datong District and one of the best-preserved historic streets in Taipei.
Rows of Qing-era and Baroque-style shophouses line the street. Many still operate as the dried goods, herbal medicine, and fabric shops they’ve been for generations.
I found Dihua Street more workaday than more tourist-heavy parts of Taipei, like Ximending or Xinxi District. It still felt like a functioning wholesale market street, rather a recreation of one.
I’d try to time my visit to Dihua Street for a weekday morning, when the shops are open and doing business, rather than on a quiet Sunday.
PRO TIP: If you’re anywhere near Taipei in the weeks before Lunar New Year, Dihua Street turns into the city’s biggest dried goods and gift shopping destination. It’s a completely different, much more crowded street during that stretch, worth seeing once, but it won’t be the more relaxed morning wander I’m describing here.
Ask for luck in love at Xiahai City God Temple
Tucked into the middle of Dihua Street is Xiahai City God Temple. It’s one of the smallest temples I visited in Taipei, but, in my experience, one of the most crowded relative to its size.
Xiahai City God Temple itself dates to 1859, but its city god statue is older still. Tong-an immigrants carried it over from Xiacheng, near Xiamen, in 1821. They moved it here from Wanhua in 1853 after a violent clash between rival immigrant groups drove them out of their original neighborhood.
What surprised me most about Xiahai City God Temple was how packed it was every time I walked by. The temple crams more than 600 deities into just 152 square meters. It’s got the highest statue density of any temple in Taiwan.
Locals come to Xiahai City God Temple specifically to pray to Yue Lao, the matchmaker god. It gives the temple a completely different energy from the city’s larger, general-purpose temples.
I’ll admit I assumed the Yue Lao statue was as old as the temple itself. It’s actually a 1971 addition, added over a century after the temple was built.
Because it’s so compact, I’d budget less time for Xiahai City God Temple than at a major temple. Ten to fifteen minutes is enough to take it in. I’d stay longer though if you want to watch how locals go through the prayer ritual for Yue Lao
Browse the fabric at Yongle Market
Before heading further, I’d duck into Yongle Market, a multi-story market that’s been a Dihua Street institution for decades.
The upper two floors of Yongle Market hold Taiwan’s largest fabric market, with tailor shops on the third floor for sewing custom clothing. The ground floor is a produce market rather than a fabric market.
Yongle Market is less a must-see Taipei tourist attraction and more of a working market for tailors and designers, which is exactly why I liked it. It lets you see a side of Datong District that hasn’t been adapted for tourists.
You don’t need to buy anything to make Yongle Market worth a walk-through. If you do sew (or know someone who does), the fabric selection here is hard to match elsewhere in Taipei, and could make a great souvenir!
Learn Taiwan’s cultural history at the Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum
From Yongle Market, I’d take the MRT or a short cab ride to the Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum on Ningxia Road, near Daqiaotou Station. It’s far enough from the Dihua Street cluster that walking the whole way stretches the day more than it needs to, so I wouldn’t try to do this leg on foot.
I’d head to the Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum just to see its building. Built in 1933, it was former police headquarters for Taihoku Prefecture under Japanese rule.
In January 1923, that same police force arrested activists Jiang Wei-shui and Tsai Pei-huo here after they petitioned for a Taiwanese parliament. The building that once held Taiwan’s cultural movement leaders under arrest is now the one telling their story.
Admission to the Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum is free. I’d budget 30 to 45 minutes here since the museum isn’t large.
It’s closed on Mondays, so I’d build that into the schedule if this is the day you’re planning your Datong walk around.
Pay respects at Taipei Confucius Temple and Bao’an Temple
From the museum, I’d walk about 15 minutes to Taipei Confucius Temple and Dalongdong Bao’an Temple. These two temples sit directly across Dalong Street from each other.
Both temples trace back to the same Tong-an immigrant community from Fujian that built much of Dadaocheng. (This is the same group behind Xiahai City God Temple’s move here decades earlier.)
Taipei Confucius Temple is the calmer of the two temples. It has more classical architecture, no incense burning (a rule specific to Confucian temples), and noticeably fewer visitors (save the school groups) than Wanhua’s temples when I stopped by.
Bao’an Temple next door is livelier and more actively used for worship. UNESCO recognized its restoration with an Asia-Pacific heritage award.
If your visit lines up with the temple’s annual cultural festival honoring the god of medicine, the courtyard fills with traditional performances.
Both temples are generally open in the afternoon, though I’d confirm current hours before visiting, as these can shift seasonally or around festivals.
End the day at Ningxia Night Market
To close out the day, I’d head to Ningxia Night Market, a smaller, more local-feeling night market than some others in the city.
Ningxia Night Market earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand nod for its street food. In my experience, it felt easier to navigate than the more sprawling markets elsewhere in the city, like Raohe Street Night in Songshan District or Shilin Night Market in Shilin District.
I’d slip into Ningxia Night Market hungry and share a few dishes rather than committing to one stall and dish. Braised pork rice, oyster omelet, and milkfish soup are all classic dishes I’d try to work through here, especially if you’ve got a travel buddy (or two) to share with.
PRO TIP: Ningxia Road tends to wind down earlier than some Taipei night markets. I wouldn’t leave it as a last stop after 11 pm, expecting every stall to still be open. Arriving in the early evening gives the best spread of options.
OPTIONAL: Browse the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei
If your day in Datong has more time than the main route above needs, I’d carve out an hour for the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Taiwan’s first museum dedicated entirely to contemporary art.
Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (MOCA) sits near the border between Datong and Zhongshan District on Chang’an West Road, close to Taipei Main Station. It’s a bit outside the walking radius of everything else on this list, so it’s a bit hard to comfortably squeeze in if you’re crunched for time.
The MOCA building itself has an interesting history. It opened in 1921 as a Japanese-era elementary school, then served as the Taipei City Government’s offices from 1945 until the museum took it over in 2001.
The exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei rotate through photography, video, and installation work.
I’d add the museum to my Datong District itinerary for the building and the courtyard, with its quiet pond and a deliberately strange sculpture, as much as for whatever’s showing.
How to get to Datong District
Datong District is easiest to reach by MRT. Beimen and Daqiaotou Stations are both within the district. Shuanglian and Zhongshan Stations on the Red Line put you within a 10-minute walk of Ningxia Night Market.
If you’re coming from Wanhua District to the south, or continuing on to Zhongzheng District afterward, the Red and Green Lines connect all of these neighborhoods without a transfer.
