Taipei - Taiwan - page 109

eurs eager to breathe new life into the neighbourhood with cafes, restaurants, art studios
and antique shops.
Díhuà Jiē was constructed in the 1850s after merchants on the losing side of an ethnic
feud (all too common in Taiwan's history over different groups' ancestor origins) in the
Wanhua area fled to Dadaocheng (now Datong). The merchants prospered here (and
some might say got their revenge) as the Wanhua port, further downstream, eventually
silted up.
After Taiwan's ports were opened following the Second Opium War (1856-60),
Western tea merchants flooded into the area and built handsome mansions and trading
stores. Later, during the Japanese era, baroque and modernist architectural and decorative
touches were added to many shops, making Dihua Taipei's most historically diverse
street. The first house/shop on the street is at 156 Dihua St, Sec 1. Notice its low profile
and narrow arcades. Further up the street, near Minquan W Rd, are typical shops from
the late 19th century with arched windows and wide arcades. Closer to Yongle Market
are the Western-style merchant houses and shops renovated during Japanese times.
On the 8th and 9th floors of Yongle Market is Dadaocheng Theatre ( Click here ) , a
popular venue for traditional performances.
Xiahai (Hsiahai) City God Temple TAOIST TEMPLE
MAP GOOGLE MAP
(Xiáhǎi Chénghuáng Miào; www.tpecitygod.org ; 61 Dihua St, Sec 1; Zhongshan) This lively and
well-loved temple on Dihua St was built in 1856 to house the City God statue that the
losers in the Wanhua feud took as they fled upstream. Little-changed since those days,
the temple is a terrific spot to witness folk worship rituals as well as admire some gor-
geous pieces of traditional arts and crafts.
The temple management deserves kudos for the clear English signs about the temple
introducing the City God, the City God's Wife and the Matchmaker (said to have brought
together 6000 couples), as well as some of the temple's outstanding decorative pieces.
Two of the most interesting are clay sculptures in the main hall just before the altar that
demonstrate the Chinese talent for using homonyms in art. The sculpture on the left, for
example, shows a man on an elephant holding a pike and chime. Since the Chinese for
pike is ji and chime is qing together these form the homonym jiqing meaning 'auspi-
cious' (note that different characters would represent the different meanings, but the
sounds are the same).
The other sculpture shows a man riding a lion while holding a flag and ball. Flag is qi
and ball is qiu which sound like qiqiu , or to 'pray for'.