Department of Cultural Affairs

Name: Sin Hong Choon

Opening Date: September 20, 2016

Historic Status: Municipal Historic Site

Phone Number: 02-7756-3910

Address: No. 309, Minsheng West Road, Datong District, Taipei City

Website: https://www.facebook.com/sinhongchoon/

About the Museum

Dadaocheng was once Taiwan’s gateway onto the global stage. The export of tea and camphor made the area along the banks of the Tamsui River a vibrant meeting spot where modern Western civilization and traditional Han Chinese culture intersected and flourished. In the first half of the 20th century, Dadaocheng thrived in the rivalry between modern theatres and traditional local opera and the interplay between coffee salons and tea-tasting culture.

Built in 1934 and standing testament to this golden era, Sin Hong Choon was tea merchant Lien-he Wang’s home and place of business. Wang moved to Taiwan with his family from Anxi, Fujian. The building is a hybrid of Chinese and Western architectural styles from the Japanese colonial period and is one of Taipei’s few remaining mixed-use buildings (residence and commercial) to have been preserved in its entirety. Designated a municipal historic site in 2009, the structure underwent a four-year restoration project between 2011 and 2015. In 2015, the original owners generously donated the historically significant building to the Taipei City Government.

The Department of Cultural Affairs assumed management of Sin Hong Choon in May 2016 and launched several special exhibitions beginning in September, including “Returning to the Glory Days of Old Tea Shops at Dadaocheng,” “The Story of Sin Hong Choon” (新芳春老建築的故事), “The Aesthetics of Purple Dadaocheng” (紫色大稻埕美學展), and “Representative of the Booming Tea Industry in Dadaocheng.” The purpose of these exhibitions was to recreate the historical and cultural atmosphere of the tea trade era and raise public awareness of the building’s heritage and its legacy as a site of tea trade.

On July 1, 2024, the site was officially handed over to the National Taipei University of Education, which has since operated it as a hub for the promotion of tea culture and the nurturing of talent. With the support of a professional museum team, Sin Hong Choon has been revitalized to promote tea culture, breathing new life into this historic building.

Second-Floor Tea Room: Shi Xian Tea

Shi Xian Tea draws on the rich heritage of Taiwanese tea culture, blending the nostalgic charm of the Republican era with the aesthetics of modern tea artistry to create a unique tasting space. Located on the second floor, this immersive tea house invites you to travel through time, where the fragrance of tea acts as an olfactory bridge between the traditional and the contemporary.

Through mindful tea workshops and cultural salons, we guide you to rediscover inner peace at the tea table and embark on a tea journey that is uniquely your own.

Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am–6 pm; closed Monday and Tuesday