Dihua street renovation

Ok, just to show that I am not against all renovation proyects, I invite you all to have a look at the ongoing work in Dihua Street. Really nice. Before the crowds invade for New Year celebrations, check out the new cafes, the polished old European style buildings, the cute signs. Most explanations -well, all I saw- are in chinese but well presented, in metal plaques for posterity. The temple has been painted and cleaned and is filled with flowers. Work overall is still ongoing but for the holidays it’ll be a revitalized street.

Glad to hear it. Dihua Jie has long been overdue for some proper attention.

And now there’s an MRT stop right there. :thumbsup:

Which one?

Which one?[/quote]
Daqiaotou? web.trtc.com.tw/img/ALL/Route2200/128.jpg

Which one?[/quote]

Do u mean the “whatisitname” temple stop?

And the Muddy Basin Ramblers will be playing at the opening of some kind of new art space there. This Saturday from 4-5pm. Be there or be elsewhere.

http://www.tientiencircle.org/opening.php

Which one?[/quote]
Daqiaotou? web.trtc.com.tw/img/ALL/Route2200/128.jpg[/quote]
Yes, Daqiaotou. OK, maybe it’s not “right there” but it’s within walking distance.

European? I thought they were Japanese colonial style … :ponder:

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Japanese baroque revival style, the result of Japanese architects studying in Europe in the 1910s-1920s.

I’m curious to see how it’s looking. I was out there a year or so and while it was progressing, progress has been unbelievably slow on that street. It took just over a year for the entire old street in Sanxia to be restored. Work on Dihua Jie began under Ma Ying Jeou.

Still, lovely old area for getting into the CNY spirit.

In addition to the MRT you can get there by bike along the river paths. Just pop back into the city at Dadaocheng.

They’ve been doing it slowly for a long while. i’ve been waiting for them to get it sorted out, it’s going to be quite something when it is. been meaning to go over and take a look with the subway stop

Japanese baroque revival style, the result of Japanese architects studying in Europe in the 1910s-1920s.[/quote]

British Colonial Toys. Made in Taiwan. The Model Colony.

It is part of along term and large project for sure. From what I’ve read the entire strip from the train station west to the river will be a new park once the MRT to the airport is in.

Well, that’s definitely a long term project then.

Any pictures available of he new Dihua area?

I love what they did to the post office. It has a wooden paque with beautiful calligraphy, plus the metal plaque saying it was built in 1914 or something like that. Then teh wooden panels, the cute windows, really a lot of work. Pretty, pretty.

This is all just a gut feeling, but I think what’s taking so long is that the area is a large, going commercial area. I imagine in Sanxia they could have just sat everybody down (in that big temple say just because it’s such an appealing image) said let’s do this, and get it done in a way that wouldn’t have been possible up in Taipei. I think the government has been subsidizing restorations to some extent, so it’s been a process of individuals deciding they want to do it. It did really seem to be picking up steam last time I was there, a lot of places renovating.

That’s all well and good, but what they really should do is tear down that ugly flood wall so the planned park and the existing riverside park can join together. Has the flood wall actually protected city residents from a deluge before?

[quote=“Incubus”]
That’s all well and good, but what they really should do is tear down that ugly flood wall so the planned park and the existing riverside park can join together. Has the flood wall actually protected city residents from a deluge before?[/quote]

Yeah I think we need that!

They may need the wall in some form but there is probably an alternative solution! There’s definitely some type of mobile barrier they could employ along large sections, after all the wall is only useful during typhoons!

I worked pretty much on Dihua Jie a long-time back and it was a much neglected area then with many nice historical buildings, being the centre of old Taipei and Dachengqiao (sp?) district. If linked with the river it has awesome tourist potential. There is a really ugly run-down shopping mall in the middle, that should be torn down, I wonder is it still there?
I have spent sometime in Taipei recently and it has really improved in a lot of areas with renovations, new pavements etc. It is coming along nicely. I could see that whole area being gentrified with restaurants and boutique shops in the future and even a bar or two.