Jin De Chun Old Tea House Introduction
Jin De Chun Tea Shop was founded in the seventh year of the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty (1868) and has now been passed down to the fifth generation. The tea shop remains in its original location to this day. The fourth-generation owner, Mr. Lin Ying-Long, attended Liren Elementary School, and he reminisces about his childhood spent playing around Wu Miao, Mazu Temple, and near Guandi Port. At that time, other businesses in the same alley included scissors makers and lice comb manufacturers, and there were shops selling lights used on theater stages at the corner, which made a very bright and impressive store experience. The alley was also known for fortune-telling and lottery draws, thus it was named Lottery Alley. A notable feature of the shop is a row of large tea jars that have been used for over a century, originally brought to Taiwan by merchants from Tangshan during the Qing Dynasty. During the Japanese colonial period, American bombings destroyed many buildings in the area, and many of these large jars were damaged as well, leaving less than ten remaining in the store today.
