Where old meets new

A hang out for hipsters

The historic shopping district along Nanjing West Road has been supported by office workers and consumers, who frequent the shops in the alleys along the nearby Zhongshan North Road.

Not far away from Dadaocheng and Dihua Street, where commerce in Taipei first started, is the area’s first department store that opened in 1977, and also the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store that established a presence in 1992.

The area’s most recent department store is Eslite Spectrum, which opened there in 2018 with a bookstore, cafes and other shops. In the alleys in the area, small clothing shops and restaurants still thrive.

Many famous coffee and dessert shops in Taipei opened their first outlet in the area, where lines of customers can often be seen waiting to get inside. Chifeng Street near the west end of Zhongshan Station has seen extraordinary transformation in recent years.

First known as Taipei's "iron street" because of the scrap metal, auto mechanic and auto parts shops there, it has now become a venue for small craft shops and new restaurants. The mix of old and new businesses has created a special setting in Taipei.

In the underground mall between Zhongshan and Shuanglian metro stations, there are many shops and a section closer to Zhongshan that was once occupied exclusively by booksellers.

After years of losses, the 300-meter bookseller section was taken over in 2017 by Eslite, which now has a bookstore on one side and various stores that sell arts, crafts, food and vinyl records on the other side. The park above ground was also reconstructed in 2017.