Department of Cultural Affairs

Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (third from right in the first row) holds lighted incense sticks
at the Qingshui Temple in the city’s Wanhua District. DOCA Photo
 

By Yali Chen
 
Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je went on a walkabout in the city’s Wanhua District on December 4 after participating in the annual religious event – the “Qingshan King Rituals.”
 
In recent years, the city government has promoted a project of wall-less museums and chosen five areas to build them. With rich cultural and historical sites plus local industries, Wanhua, formerly known as Bangka or Monga, is one of the earliest developed areas in the city.
 

The Fu Da Tong Tea Shop on Guiyang Street in the Wanhua District has been passed down
in the Tsai family for five generations. DOCA Photo
 

Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (second from left) visits the Lao Ming Yu Incense Shop on Guiyang Street in the Wanhua area. DOCA Photo

 

Thanks to its local food, traditional skills, religious beliefs, and industrial development, Wanhua has become one of the fascinating wall-less museums, Ko said, inviting the citizens to visit historical sites, temples, century-old shops, and food attractions in the historic area.
 
The route of the Wanhua wall-less museum ranges from the Bopiliao Historical Block to Longshan Creative Hub. The mayor first watched a special exhibition of the 2020 West-Taipei Life Festival (城西生活節) at the Bopiliao Historical Block.
 
Then, he held lighted incense sticks at the Qingshui Temple and Longshan Temple. The nearby Longshan Temple Underground Shopping Bazaar and Longshan Creative Hub are two must-see tourist attractions. A number of fortune tellers open their shops at the underground shopping mall.
 

The 2020 West-Taipei Life Festival takes place at the Bopiliao Historical Block
in the Wanhua District. DOCA Photo


Mayor Ko Wen-je watches the “Bangka Crossover 2020” exhibition at the Longshan Creative Hub. DOCA Photo
 

Ko also watched two exhibitions – “Bangka Crossover 2020” (2020艋舺拼場) and “Belief of Creation at the Longshan Creative Hub” (創作的信仰－龍山文創基地限時展). The former invited 10 groups of local traditional and newly created brands to show viewers how they protect traditional culture and seek innovation. The ten brands come from five sectors in the Wanhua area, including printing, hairdressing, metalwork, embroidery, and herbs. The latter features Taiwanese traditional religious beliefs and folk stories with the techniques of fluorescent comics.
 
Ko visited the Dong Xin Printing House (東鑫印刷廠) on Xing-ning Street. Hong Dong-han (洪東漢) founded his company at the age of 30. His printing house has protected traditional cultural assets for future generations. The mayor gained a better understanding of the rise and fall of the letterpress printing industry in Taiwan while the founder was introducing him to the operation of the letterpress printing machines.