A Nostalgic Journey down Sweet Potato Street

“Monga” is the old name for Wanhua District in Taipei. The name Monga comes from an aboriginal word for “canoe,” recalling images of a time when the banks of the Danshui River were filled with canoes carrying goods for trade in the market. The prosperity of Taipei started in Monga, the earliest settlement of the metropolis. In the eyes of Taipei’s modern residents, it is still the area of the city with the richest traditional flavor.

The main street in Monga is Guiyang Street, the first street in Taipei. The Han Chinese used to trade sweet potatoes with the local indigenous people in this neighborhood, and so the street was nicknamed “Sweet Potato Street.”

Standing among the traditional pastry shops, fabric shops, and stores selling incense, candles or spirit money, it is not hard at all to sense the traces of Monga in its heyday. Nowadays the most bustling thoroughfares of the district are Xichang Street and Guangzhou Street, centered on venerable Longshan Temple.

In 1986, Wanhua was the setting for director Hou Hsiao-hsien’s film “Dust in the Wind.” Indeed, time has passed, and the flourishing days of Old Monga have blown away, their place taken with new modes of life. But the glories of Wanhua are still waiting for you to behold.