A View of Dihua Street in Taipei

This is a view of the intersection of Dihua Street and Minsheng West Road around 1963. Bicycles and handcarts were the primary modes of transportation.
When Dihua Street is mentioned, most people will think of shopping for the Chinese New Year. Indeed, since Qing times this was the main place in all of Taiwan for buying sundry goods. Every year when Chinese New Year approached, crowds of people would swarm here to buy goods for the holiday. It is still the same today.
Since this was the first main street in Twatutia with buildings being erected along it during the Qing dynasty and colonial era, the houses and storefronts here exhibit a variety of architectural styles, including Minnan, foreign, and Neo-Baroque. In the 1970s, the streets in Twatutia were widened and redone. Dihua Street was the only one that retained the original look. It is currently the most well-preserved old street in Taipei and is rife with historical significance.