Taipei City Government

Taipei's Dihua Street is known for its dense concentration of old-style shophouses selling regional goods, Chinese medicines, and fabrics. It was the first market street to emerge in the Dadaocheng neighborhood. A shophouse is very long and narrow. Goods arriving would be brought in through the back, and sold at the shop in the front. The buildings are lined up in rows in tight formation, their narrow facades quite uniform. Today 77 of the original buildings remain, priceless historical relics all, and comprehensive renovations have just recently been completed at the shophouse located at No. 127, Sec. 1, Dihua Street , which is now open to the public.

This site has been christened the URS127 Design Gallery, the first shophouse in the city opened up for public visit. The project took seven years and cost NT$20 million, returning all interior furnishings and the exterior façade to their original appearance. Among other traditional architectural features, you can inspect the exposed timber beams of the roof, traditional well-like courtyard in the middle of the building, which was used to separate the business area from the residential quarters of the owner-family. As part of the renovation project, access from Dihua St. through to Minle St. in behind has also been provided, and the opening made available to local residents for use as a public space for displays, exhibits, and other activities.