Department of Cultural Affairs

The shaping of an old-style street is not merely a coincidence, but the result of history’s gradual accumulation. Streets like Taipei’s Nanchang Street, known for its furniture, or the once-prosperous old book stalls of Guling Street, all reflect Taiwan’s past and present.

In the afternoon, Guling Street is relatively quiet, and most people’s impressions of it are shaped by the film A Brighter Summer Day (牯嶺街少年殺人事件). However, if we go back to the era of Japanese rule, this was the residential area of the Governor-General’s Office and was named “Sakumachō” (佐久間町).

The notion that readership is dwindling is a pessimistic misconception. Readers have not disappeared; they merely exist in a different form. Songling Old Bookstore (松林書局), a three-generation family business, is not only a cultural heritage site but also a page in the history of Guling Street. It documents over 70 years of cultural evolution and historical change in Taiwan.