Datong District or Tatung is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Taipei City , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Countr ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It is located between the

Taipei Metro Taipei Metro (also known as Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and branded as Metro Taipei) is a rapid transit system operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation serving the capital Taipei and New Taipei City in Taiwan. It was the first rapi ...

Red Line and eastern shore of the

Tamsui River The Tamsui River (alternatively Danshui River, ) is the third longest river in Taiwan after Zhuoshui River and Gaoping River, with a total length of , flowing through Hsinchu County, Taoyuan, Taipei and New Taipei City. It is located in the ...

, and between

Civic Boulevard Civic Boulevard () is a major highway located in Taipei, Taiwan. It was completed in 1997 as part of a multi-modal reconstruction project to improve transportation networks in congested central Taipei. It consists of a four- to six-lane elevat ...

and the

Sun Yat-sen Freeway National Freeway 1 (), also known as Sun Yat-sen Freeway (), is a turnpike in Taiwan, the first restricted controlled-access highway built in Taiwan. It begins in Keelung at the intersection of Xiao 2nd Road and Zhong 4th Road and ends in Kao ...

. The southern part of this district is known as

Twatutia Dadaocheng is an area in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. It was also known as Twatutia (a transliteration of the Taiwanese Hokkien ''Tuā-tiū-tiânn''), Daitōtei during Japanese rule, and Tataocheng (Mandarin) during the Kuomintang era. ...

, one of the first settlements in what is now Taipei and once the commercial center. Taipei's commercial center has since shifted southeast to

Zhongzheng Chungcheng () is a common name for places, roads, schools or organizations in Chinese language, Chinese-speaking areas, predominantly in Taiwan. The majority of these places and things were named after Chiang Chung-cheng, the preferred given name ...

, Da'an and Xinyi, and Datong is far less important economically. Some of the last vestiges of Twatutia's commercial importance is preserved on

Dihua Street Dihua Street () is a street located in Dadaocheng, Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan, winding from the south of the district to the north near Dalongdong. The street, then known as ''Centre Street'' (中街), was constructed during the 1850s, w ...

. The

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

of Daronpon is in the northern part of the district.

History

During the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, the district was named ''Daronpon'' (), ''Paronpon'', and other variants, but was renamed ''Toaliongtong'' () in 1844. Following the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

, a port was opened in Twatutia for international trade. Foreign trade resulted in the economic development of the district. In 1946, the district's name was changed to ''Tatung'' (), which means "

Great Unity The Great Unity () is a Chinese vision of the world explicitly based on the past period of "three dynasties" as understood by the Confucian tradition. In this ideal historical model, everyone and everything was at peace and this model must be ...

", the

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

notion of

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

which is in the lyrics of the

National Anthem of the Republic of China The "National Anthem of the Republic of China", also known by its incipit "Three Principles of the People", is the national anthem of the Republic of China, commonly called Taiwan, as well as the party anthem of the Kuomintang. It was adop ...

. In 1990, the district merged with neighboring Jiancheng and Yanping Districts to create today's enlarged Datong District. The spelling became "Datong" due to switching to the

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

Chinese romanization Romanization of Chinese is the use of the Latin alphabet to transliterate Chinese. Chinese uses a logographic script and its characters do not represent phonemes directly. There have been many systems using Roman characters to represent Chine ...

system.

Administrative divisions

The district consists of Bao'an, Dayou, Guangneng, Guoqing, Guoshun, Jiangong, Jianming, Jiantai, Jingxing, Laoshi, Linjiang, Longhe, Minquan, Nanfang, Penglai, Shuanglian, Siwen, Xingming, Yangya, Yanping, Yongle, Yuquan, Zhaoyang, Zhisheng and Zhongqing urban villages.

Government institutions

Ministry of Labor A ministry of labour ('' UK''), or labor ('' US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, and s ...

Tourism

is most notable for its Qing period and Japanese period architecture. It is also famous for street market during the

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...

holidays. The market sells dried fruits, nuts, dried meats, dried seafood, snacks, and health drinks. Other attractions in Datong include: *

Tianma Tea House The Tianma Tea House is a former tea house in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is the site where an enforcement officer from the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau of the Taiwan Provincial Government accidentally shot a civilian on 27 ...

* Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Hall * Chen Tian-lai Residence * Ama Museum *

Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Park The Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Park () is a memorial park in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. The park commemorates Chiang Wei-shui. History The park was originally named as Jinxi Park. It was then renamed and rededicated by the Taipei City Gove ...

Chen Dexing Ancestral Hall The Chen Dexing Ancestral Hall () is an ancestral shrine in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. History The hall was originally built in 1892 during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor. The hall was confiscated by the Japanese government to make the ...

Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei The Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (MoCA Taipei; ) is a museum of contemporary art, located in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. History The museum building was built during the Japanese rule in 1921 for what became . After the handover of ...

* Customs Museum *

Taipei Confucius Temple The Taipei Confucius Temple () is a Confucian temple in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. History Qing Dynasty The Taipei Confucius Temple was built in 1879 during the Qing era, after Taipeh Prefecture was established in 1875. The original si ...

* Bao-an Temple * Xia Hai City God Temple * Cisheng Temple Also in the district are

Qsquare Qsquare () is a shopping mall in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. History The shopping mall was opened on 11 December 2009. On 19 April 2021, a fire broke out at the shopping mall and 202 visitors were evacuated. Transportation The shopping m ...

shopping mall, Yongle Market (also on Dihua Street), Ningxia Night Market, Yansan Night Market and Dalong Night Market.

Transportation

Metro

Datong is served by the following stations of the

: *

Shuanglian metro station Shuanglian (, formerly transliterate as Shuanglien Station until 2003) is a metro station in Taipei, Taiwan served by Taipei Metro. It is a station of the and a planned transfer station with the . Station overview The station is located unde ...

Yuanshan metro station Yuanshan () is a metro station in Taipei, Taiwan served by Taipei Metro. It is a station on the . There was a station of the same name on the now-defunct Tamsui railway line. Station overview The two-level, elevated station structure with on ...

Beimen metro station The Taipei Metro Beimen station is a station on the Songshan–Xindian line located in Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan. Station overview This four-level, underground station has two side platforms. It is located beneath Tacheng St. beneath ...

* Daqiaotou metro station *

Zhongshan metro station Zhongshan (, formerly transliterated as Chungshan Station until 2003) is a metro station in Taipei, Taiwan served by Taipei Metro. It is a transfer station between the Tamsui–Xinyi and s. It is located in the middle of the underground Zhongs ...

Minquan West Road metro station Minquan West Road (, formerly transliterated as Minchuan West Road Station until 2003) is a metro station in Taipei, Taiwan served by Taipei Metro. It is a transfer station between and . Station overview The station is a three-level, undergro ...

Road

By road, the district is served by National Highway No. 1, Provincial Highway No. 1, and Provincial Highway No. 2. It is also the location of the

Yuanshan Bus Station The Yuanshan Bus Station () is a key bus terminal in Taipei, located at the boundary between the districts of Datong and Zhongshan, adjacent to the Yuanshan metro station. It opened on 9 October 2010, as part of the transportation plan for the ...

and

Taipei Bus Station The Taipei Bus Station () is a multi-use complex located next to Taipei Station in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiw ...

, the largest bus terminal in the city.

Ferry

The

Dadaocheng Wharf The Dadaocheng Wharf () is a wharf in Dadaocheng, Datong, Taipei, Taiwan. History Located near the No. 5 Water Gate on the banks of the Tamsui River, Dadaocheng Wharf thrived in earlier years as an entrepot for trade along the river. Tea, cotto ...

is located within the district.

Notable natives

Chiang Chia Chiang Chia (, born 29 September 1942 in Datong, Taipei) is former manager of Chinese Taipei national football team. He currently teaches in National Taipei College of Business. Chiang, majoring physical education, graduated from Taiwan Provi ...

, manager of

Chinese Taipei national football team The Chinese Taipei national football team () represents Taiwan (The Republic of China) in international football and is controlled by the Chinese Taipei Football Association. Despite never qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, Chinese Taipei, t ...

(1981–1985) *

Chiang Peng-chien Chiang Peng-chien (; 25 April 1940 – 15 December 2000) was a Taiwanese politician who was a co-founder and the first chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party. Chiang was elected a member of the Legislative Yuan in 1983 and became a me ...

, chairperson of

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

(1986–1987) *

Frank Hsieh Frank Hsieh Chang-ting (; born May 18, 1946) is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney who served as Ambassador of Taiwan to Japan from 2016 to 2024. A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party, he has served on the Taipei City ...

Premier of the Republic of China The premier of the Republic of China, officially the premier of the Executive Yuan ( zh, 行政院院長), is the head of government of Taiwan and leader of the Executive Yuan. The premier is nominally the principal advisor to the President ...

(2005–2006) *

Huang Tien-fu Huang Tien-fu (; born 1938) is a Taiwanese politician. Education Huang studied political science at National Taiwan University. Political career and activism Huang ran for a seat on the Legislative Yuan in 1980, a year after his elder brother ...

, member of

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

(1981–1984, 1996–1999) *

Kuo Chin-fa Kuo Chin-fa (; 1 March 1944 – 8 October 2016) was a Taiwanese singer. Born in 1944, Kuo entered a singing completion at the age of 15, and two years later, began working on his first album with . His best-known work, a rerecording of the song ...

, former singer *

Tsai Eng-meng Tsai Eng-meng (; born 1957) is a Taiwanese businessman. He is best known for his leadership of the Want Want food company and his family's later acquisition of various news media companies in Taiwan. He is also chairman of the snack food compa ...

, businessperson *

Yeh Ching-chuan Yeh Ching-chuan (; born 29 June 1950) is a Taiwanese physician and epidemiologist. Education Yeh attended medical school at National Taiwan University, where he earned a Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.) in 1975 and a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) ...

, Minister of the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

(2008–2009)

References

External links

* * {{coord, 25, 03, 35, N, 121, 30, 51, E, region:TW_type:city_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Districts of Taipei