If you want to feel the real heartbeat of Taipei, one that is far removed from the skyscrapers and shopping malls of East Taipei, then Datong (大同區) and Wanhua (萬華區) in West Taipei are the places to go.

Understand

Old Taipei is next to the Danshui River and is one of the oldest inhabited areas in Taipei. It was the commercial hub of the city, but since the 1990s the economic center has shifted southeast to Zhongzheng, Daan and Xinyi districts. While much of the original architecture has been lost, the area still maintains a traditional feel. In particular, places like Longshan Temple hold a special place in the hearts of the Taiwanese, and many still visit the area to consult with fortune tellers about who they should marry or what to name their children. Dihua Street has undergone massive renovation and now blends traditional architecture and shops selling Chinese medical herbs and dry goods with cool handicraft shops, modern cafes and distinctive tea houses. Further south, Ximending has been totally transformed, and is now a major youth hub for shopping and eating.

Get in

By metro

The area can be accessed on the green MRT line via 1 Beimen (北門); the green and red lines via 2 Zhongshan (中山); and the green and blue lines via 3 Ximen (西門).

See

Wanhua

• 1 Longshan Temple (龍山寺), 211 Guangzhou Road (near junction with Guilin Road) (Longshan Temple Station on the Ban-Nan Line). Daily 06:00-22:00. This temple is where countless generations of Taipei citizens have come to pray and seek guidance at times of trouble. As the temple is dedicated to Guanyin (the Buddhist representation of compassion) it is officially defined as Buddhist, but there is a great amount of folk religion mixed into the fabric of the beliefs at this temple. Free.  
• 2 Red House (紅樓劇場) (Outside the southwest exit of MRT Ximen station). Near the Ximending shopping area, the Red House was Taiwan's first modern market as well as a theater. Now, the renovated structure is home to an exhibition hall and a market selling innovative handicrafts. (updated Dec 2017)
• 3 North Gate (北門), Sec 1, Zhongxiao West Road (Across from the main post office.). Of the five ancient city gates, four are still standing. But of the four, only one is a true historical relic from the Qing Dynasty: the salmon-colored north gate, whose formal name in Cheng'en Gate (承恩門). It was built in a traditional South Fujian architectural style. Its external walls were built with granolithic and brown mosaic tiles from Beitou Kiln.  
• 4 Bopiliao Old Street (剝皮寮歷史街區), Lane 173, Kangding Road, ☏ +886 2 2302 3199. 09:00-21:00 (closed Monday). One of the few, and probably best preserved, examples of Qing dynasty architecture in Taipei. The street features historic red brick buildings which have been well restored and are used for a variety of cultural purposes. (updated May 2020)

Dadaocheng

In the South of Datong District, Dadaocheng (大稻埕) is a historic heart of Taipei. Dadaocheng can be literally translated as large open space for drying rice in the sun. This is one of the oldest communities in Taipei. To get to this old area, you can take the Danshui Line (Red Line) MRT to Shuanglian Station. From Exit 2, walk west down Minsheng West Road (about 15 minutes).

• 5 Dadaocheng Presbyterian Church (台灣基督長老教會大稻埕教會). The architectural design of this church represents a fusion between traditional Chinese and late 19th-century Western style architecture. It maintains a unique position in the modern architecture of Taiwan, being one of only three extant Presbyterian churches in Taipei built during the Japanese occupation period. Historically, men would enter and exit through the left door, and women would enter and exit through the right door. (updated Dec 2022)
• 6 Dihua Street (迪化街) (Exit 4, Zhongshan Station; turn right and walk straight along Nangjing West Road. Dihua Street is a 20 minute walk from the MRT). This street along the Danshui River in Dadaocheng, rows of old shophouses from late 1880s hold Taiwan's oldest wholesale dried goods market. On Dihua Street Section 1, Xiahai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟) was built in 1859 to worship City God (城隍爺), who watched over the citizens in the district and decided a person's fate after death. Today this temple remains the area's religious and social center, and one of Taipei's most important places of worship. Every Chinese New Year, Dihua Street is the most popular place in Taipei where local residents buy snacks and sweets for Chinese New Year festivities. In addition, renovation work to the street has created a fascinating environment that combines traditional shops selling tea and Chinese medicine with creative handicraft shops, modern cafes, and distinctive tea houses. (updated Dec 2017)
• 7 Gui-de Street (貴德街), West of Dihua Street and Xining North Road (Shuanglian Stn on the Danshui Line.). Previously called Western Houses Street, this lane once fronted the Danshui River. In the 1880s, the world famous Formosa Oolong Tea came from a nearby wharf. At the time, many wealthy merchants invested in building along the lane in order to attract international trading firms. One was Chen Tian-lai (AD 1872-1939), a Taiwanese tea merchant, who was fabulously rich for his time. His home was one of the model Taiwanese residences on this land and his neo-Baroque home is still standing. (No.73 Gui-De Street) 
• 8 Museum of Contemporary Art (台北當代藝術館), 39 Changan West Rd (Zhongshan station on Danshui line), ☏ +886 2 2552-3721. Tu-Su 10:00-18:00 (tickets sold until 17:30). MOCA Taipei is Taiwan's first art space dedicated to contemporary work. The red brick building was erected by the Japanese in 1921 and formerly served as Taipei City Hall as well as an elemantary school. NT$100. (updated Apr 2023)

Dalongdong

Dalongdong (大龍峒) is at the Datong District's north end, north of Dadaocheng and also one of the oldest communities in Taipei. Bao'an Temple and Confucius Temple are both famous historical sites located in this area.

Confucius Temple

• 9 Ama Museum (阿嬤家-和平與女性人權館), No. 256, Section 1, Dihua St, ☏ +886225537133. 10:00-17:00. The museum is dedicated to the comfort women during the Japanese rule of Taiwan. (updated Jun 2020)
• 10 Bao'an Temple (保安宮), 61 Ha-mi St ('Yuanshan' on the Danshui Line). Construction began on this temple in 1805 and it was completed 25 years later. Baoan is a Taoist temple and one of the leading religious sites in Taipei. The temple's main deity is the emperor Baosheng, the god of medicine. The mural paintings and sculptures that adorn the building are considered some of the most impressive in Taiwan, and the temple won acclaims in the 2003 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards.  
• 11 Confucius Temple (孔廟), 275 Dalong St ('Yuanshan' on the Danshui Line). Tu–Su 08:30–21:00. Just next to Bao'an Temple, the Confucius Temple was built in 1879 when the Qing Court changed Taipei into a prefecture of the Province of Fujian, China. It was established to serve as the largest educational center in northern Taiwan. Every September 28, a large number of people from Taiwan and abroad come here to watch a solemn Confucius birthday ceremony and eight-row dance. (updated Dec 2019)
• 12 Chen Dexing Ancestral Hall (陳德星堂). An ancestral shrine built in 1892 (updated Jun 2020)
• 13 Fa-Chu-Kung Temple (法主公廟), No. 2, Lane 344, Nanjing West Road. 06:30-21:00. A 5-storey temple building built in 1878. (updated Jun 2020)
• 14 Xiahai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟), No. 103, Section 1, Dihua St, ☏ +886 2 2558-0346. 7:00-19:00. Built in 1859, this historic temple might be small, with an area of only about 46 square meters, but it one of the most important religious sites in the Dadaocheng district, and Taipei in general. This Taoist temple is dedicated to 600 gods, including Xiahai, the city god, his wife, the old man under the moon, the Eight Officials, civil and military judges, General Fan Xie (seven masters and eight masters), the Eight Generals, Ma Shiye and Yiyong Gong. (updated Dec 2022)

Do

Stroll around - The area, particularly Dihua Street (day) and Ximending (night), are great to walk around and absorb the atmosphere of the city streets.

Parks and nature

• 1 Machangding Memorial Park (馬場町紀念公園). The park features an artificial mound on the approximate site where a number of people were executed during the period of marshal law. The park is dedicated to those who lost their lives during this period. (updated May 2020)

Buy

Dihua Street

• Yongle Fabric Market (永樂布業商場), No. 103, Dihua St., Section 1. 10:00-18:00. Established in 1928 by the Japanese, this market originally sold food, but over time it evolved into a cloth market. Today, this market contains over 100 different cloth shops selling all kinds of fabrics and cloth wares. 

Ximending

• 1 Red House (紅樓), No. 10, Chengdu Rd., Wanhua Dist., ☏ +886-2-23119380. 11:00-21:30. The Red House is both a teahouse and a venue for small-scale theater productions. The two-story high red brick building is shaped into an octagonal cylinder. The first and second floors of the Red House now are the art exhibition, restaurants, cafes, shops, and theaters. During weekends, the outside of the Red House become somewhat of a bazaar, where several booths are set up for college students, young designers, or young musicians to show their talents and sell their creative products. 
• 2 Ximen Pedestrian area (Ximen Walker) (MRT Blue Line stops right at Ximending; the stop name is Ximen). This famous part of town is the center of Taipei's pop, fashion, and alternative cultures. Sometimes called the "Harajuku of Taipei", as the experience is similar to the Tokyo counterpart. Buy your snacks, T-shirts, see portraits (sketched on the street), shop for vintage clothes and souvenirs. (updated Jan 2019)

Night markets

• 3 Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市), Ningxia Road, Datong District. 17:00-01:00. Crowded, narrow, and busy with customers including lots of tourists—Ningxia Night Market is one of the oldest night markets in Taipei, and specializes in Taiwanese snack foods, like stinky tofu and oyster and egg omelets. Most stalls have English signs as well as Chinese. Try the taro balls! 
• 4 Huaxi Street Night Market (Snake Alley Night Market), Huaxi Street, Wanhua District. 16:00-00:00. Serving local snacks, and restaurants that serve traditional Taiwanese dishes and many delicacies including snake blood and meat, turtle blood and meat. Many Taiwanese have a negative view of Snake Alley, which was once a legal red-light district. 
• 5 Yengsan Night Market (延三夜市) (exit Daqiaotou MRT Station, close to Taipei Bridge). Small market serving traditional Taiwanese cuisine and not a tourist hot-spot like many other markets. Get the taste of sticky tofu, fried noodles and mochi ice here. 
• 6 Dalong Street Night Market (大龍街夜市) (close to Taipei Confucius Temple). The proximity to the Confucius Temple makes it a nice stop to pick up a snack or eat at one of the old restaurants. 

Eat

Budget

• 1 Ah Chung Mee Soa (阿宗麵線), 8-1 Emei St. 10:00-22:30. You can't miss this shop in Ximending, since crowds of people surround it all day. Standing or sitting, they slurp down hot bowls of mee soa, which are a comfort on cold days. Not quite for the faint-hearted, thin noodles are mixed with a flavorful soup, created from prolonged braising of the (thoroughly washed) large intestines of the pig. Don't forget to add the condiments provided at the side: the vinegar and minced garlic packs a punch. Other branches can be found in Shilin Night Market and Zhongxiao Fuxing. NT$45-60. (updated Feb 2016)
• Calcutta Indian Curry House (加爾各答印度咖哩屋), 70 Xining South Rd (at E'Mei Street), ☏ +886 2 2389-3878. Basement Level of the Wannian Shopping Complex. (Ximen Ding District) - One of the more popular Indian restaurants, conveniently located in the Ximen Ding district. A bit hard to find, but definitely worth it. 
• Qiaotou Sushi (橋頭壽司), 59 Yanping N Rd, Section 3, ☏ +886 2 2594-1185. 17:00-24:00. A traditional Taiwanese-style sushi establishment. Although the environs are rather average, the location is rather spacious. NT$25 will get you a big bowl of miso soup with tofu, which goes well with a serving of cold sushi. The sashimi sushi is also worth trying for NT$140, also with decent portion sizes. (updated Dec 2022)

Mid-range

• 2 Mei Guan Yuan (美觀園), 36 Emei St, ☏ +886 2 2331-0377. Located in Ximending Pedestrian Area. This restaurant has served authentic Japanese sushi and sashimi since 1946. (There's another restaurant opposite the road from this with exactly the same name - that's the old location of this restaurant and doesn't serve as good sushi.) 

Drink

There are a number of coffee shops and tea houses in Dihua Street.

Tea

• Liu Yu Teahouse (柳隅茶舍), B1-10, Longshan Temple Underpass, No145 Xiyuan Road. Sec. 1, Wanhua (from Longshan Temple, enter underpass; take first right; the tea house is on the left), ☏ +886 2 2308 9743. Su-Th 11:00-21:30, F Sa 11:00-22:00. An unpretentious and cozy tea house. Excellent selection of teas. Owner speaks fluent English. (updated Jan 2019)

Sleep

Budget

• CU Hotel Taipei (西悠飯店臺北店), 198 Minsheng W Rd, ☏ +886 2 2558-5500. Next to the Ningxia Night Market, this hotel is a stone's throw away from the Shuanglian MRT station, and is geared towards both business and leisure travelers. (updated Dec 2022)

Mid-range

• Fortune Hiya Hotel (福君海悅大飯店), No.62 Section 1, Chongqing North Road, ☏ +886 2 2555-1122. Good location and staff. Convenient to transportation, shopping, and dining. 
• Yi Su Hotel (藝宿商旅), 116 Chongqing N Rd, Section 1, ☏ +886 2 2550-6655. Near the Ningxia Night Market. Rooms and bathrooms are rather small, though. (updated Dec 2022)

Splurge

• Palais de Chine Hotel (君品酒店), 3 Chengde Rd, Section 1, ☏ +886 2 2181 9999. 5-star top-notch accommodations, offering a comfortable and aesthetic environment as well as personalized, attentive services. (updated Dec 2022)