Ximending

Ximending (西門町), the northwestern part of Wanhua district in Taipei, is now the development center of fashion and subculture in Taiwan. Its history can be dated back to Japanese Colonial Era. Since then, Ximending has been set up as an entertainment and business area. Though the Taipei’s business and recreation area has been gradually shifted to eastern district of Taipei in 1990s, Ximending with its profound history and unique atmosphere still attracts millions of visitors every month.
So what a visitor can do in Ximending? First of all, plenty of fancy shops here will definitely not let you down. No matter the fashion clothes on the streets or some creative commodities in the Ximending Red House, both of them will trap you for a while. A variety of traditional food stalls which have run for tens of years are good places for a rest and satisfying your appetite. Moreover, section 2 of Wuchang Street (武昌街二段), also known as Ximending Cinema Street, is usually full of people especially when some movies start their campaign. Even if you are not a movie person, the special scenery of a whole street of cinemas and some graffiti on the wall is still worth your visit. Besides, one thing that is especially worth mentioning is that Ximending is also an ideal place to “see” people and objects. In Ximending, buskers may not look as special as they should be. Groups of students, people with bizarre dress, a sport car with a long-eyelash headlight….etc. Even if you do nothing but just stay in Ximending seeing people and things, it is still very funny.