New Fang Chun Tea House Introduction
Dadaocheng once served as Taiwan's gateway to the world, where the export trade of tea and camphor sparked a brilliant collision between modern Western civilization and traditional Han culture along the banks of the Dajia River. Whether it was the competition between modern plays and student opera troupes or the dazzling display of coffee salons and tea culture, Dadaocheng thrived in the first half of the twentieth century. Witnessing this era of glory, the "New Fang Chun Tea House" was built in 1934, serving as the starting point for Wang Lian-he, a tea merchant in Dadaocheng, who moved to Taiwan with his family from Anxi, Fujian. This building, which blends Eastern and Western features, is one of the few well-preserved mixed-use foreign-style buildings from the Japanese colonial period in Taipei. It was designated as a city historic site in 2009 and underwent a four-year restoration project from 2011 to 2015. In the same year, the original owner donated this historically valuable building to the Taipei City Government. Since May 2016, when the Taipei City Government's Department of Cultural Affairs officially took over the "New Fang Chun Tea House," it launched several special exhibitions on September 20, 2016, including "Return to the Splendid Glory of Old Dadaocheng Tea Houses," "The Story of the New Fang Chun Old Building," "Purple Dadaocheng Aesthetic Exhibition," and "Revisiting the Tea Fragrance of Dadaocheng," which reintroduced the industrial timeline and cultural context while introducing the public to this historic site and the glory days of Dadaocheng tea merchants. In 2018, the Taipei City Government's Department of Cultural Affairs entrusted the management of the historic site to the Taiwan Cultural and Creative Development Foundation, which revitalized the New Fang Chun Tea House with the three main themes of "Living Tea Story Museum," "Tea Creative Development Platform," and "Friendship through Tea." The tea house recreated the historical marketplace using the concept of integrating exhibition and sales, planning a composite tea and book space for domestic and international tourists and the public that includes "books, creative products, tea drinks, and exhibition activities." The opening theme exhibition, "Fang Chun Tea Path - The Golden Years of Taiwanese Tea," passed on the achievements of Taiwanese tea's export to Europe and the United States, which became a worldwide sensation at expos; it also shared the rich artifacts of New Fang Chun Tea House, narrating the journey of the tea house's deep-rooted market in Southeast Asia, helping visitors to better understand Dadaocheng and admire the historical charm of the New Fang Chun Tea House. (Source: Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs)
