Mini Cultural Trips in Taipei

When people think of Dadaocheng, they often picture traditional snacks, the bustling Dihua Street, or the Xia-Hai City God Temple. But the area’s development is also closely tied to a lesser-remembered industry: tea. Plants grown on the low hills in southern Taipei once flowed down to Dadaocheng to be processed, packaged, and exported—becoming, at one point, a key driver of Taiwan’s GDP. This was, of course, several centuries ago. To support the booming trade, many tea shops were established in Dadaocheng, among which Shin Hong Choon Tea was one of the most successful.

Compared to other long-established tea companies, Shin Hong Choon Tea entered the trade relatively late. Founder Wang Lianhe came to Taiwan from Anxi, Fujian, with his father in 1913 to begin trading in paochung tea. In 1934, he built this Western-style building. With its three stories, impressive scale, and ornate yet grand façade, it clearly reflected the business’s prosperity and wealth. At its peak, Shin Hong Choon Tea was the largest tea factory in Taipei.

But this was more than just a place of commerce—it was a mixed-use Western-style building that combined residential and business functions. The shopfront was a triple-bay townhouse, and the building extended backward through three sections, making it exceptionally large for its time. The front half of the first floor served as the storefront, while the rear housed a traditional tea roasting and processing room known as the bei long jian—a rare surviving example of such a space today. The second floor was used for offices and to receive guests, and the third floor served as the living quarters for the Wang family.

Although Taiwan’s tea industry has since evolved and shifted, the Shin Hong Choon Tea building has been preserved. A visit offers more than just the fragrance of tea—it provides a glimpse into the vibrant past of Dadaocheng, and into the golden age when Taiwan’s paochung and oolong teas made their mark on the world.

Guishui Traditional Theatre Park, Dadaocheng Theatre, Yongle Market, Dihua Street Commercial District