Tamsui Zhongjian Street Introduction
Zhongjian Street is the first commercial street in Tamsui, where many well-known figures from politics, finance, and education have resided. Originally, Zhongjian Street was a historical street stretching about five or six hundred meters, established as a stair community according to the terrain, and was the main street during the Huwei Street era. From the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, it thrived and was the best street for tourists to experience the charm of Tamsui Mountain Town. The bustling Tamsui Old Street, known as Zhongzheng Road, is widely recognized, but the true "old street" of Tamsui is actually Zhongjian Street, located just behind the Fuyou Temple on Zhongzheng Road. Originally known as Jiukan Street, it referred to the nine shops established by Fujian immigrants. As the earliest developed commercial street in Tamsui, it has a history of over 200 years. Just a temple away from the lively Zhongzheng Road, it possesses an elegant and serene temperament. Following the stone-paved road gently upward, century-old residences rise along the slope. As the commercial functions shifted, Zhongjian Street has transformed into a new cultural and creative site, where ancient houses meet vibrant murals, showcasing Tamsui's past stories. In Romance Alley, where physician and writer Wang Chang-Hsiung and painter Lin Yuzhu hand-in-hand took part in a vintage date, along with the "Thousand-Mile Eye" atop Fuyou Temple, visitors can raise their hands to their foreheads to gaze at the picturesque beauty of the Tamsui River and Guanyin Mountain, penning their own "If I Open the Windows of My Heart."
