Ximending is a neighborhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District of

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

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 ...

. The Ximending Pedestrian Area was the first

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

constructed in Taipei and remains the largest in Taiwan.

History

Name

The area is named after the administrative division , which existed during the Japanese rule, referring to an area outside the west gate of the city. The area of Seimon-chō included modern-day Chengdu Road (), Xining South Road (), Kunming Street (), and Kangding Road (). Today, the Ximending Pedestrian Area not only includes Seimon-chō but also Wakatake-chō () and Shinki-chō (). The historical spelling of this area was Hsimenting, which is based on the

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...

romanization of

Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ( zh, s=现代标准汉语, t=現代標準漢語, p=Xiàndài biāozhǔn hànyǔ, l=modern standard Han speech) is a modern standard form of Mandarin Chinese that was first codified during the republican era (1912–1949). ...

. The use of the character is unusual in a Chinese context: it denotes a chō (a part of a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

) in the Japanese municipality system.

Theater street

Ximending became a well-known theater street in Taipei in the 1930s and grew even more prosperous after the defeat of Japan, becoming vastly more popular in the following decade At one point, Wuchang St Section 1 had over ten theaters. However, in the 1990s, as Taipei City developed toward the Eastern District and away from Ximending, it began to lose business. In 1999, the city government and local stores established Ximending as a pedestrian area, prohibiting the entrance of vehicles on weekends and national holidays, a move that attracted young consumers and brought back business. Today, Ximending has over twenty theaters and six thousand vendors, and is a popular area for small concerts, album launches, and street performances. It is also home to the Red Envelope Clubs set up in the 1960s. The area around the Red House Theater is considered a center of Taipei's LGBT culture, and Ximending has often featured prominently in Taiwan Pride marches/parades.

Historic sites

Because of its history, Ximending is home to several historical sites. Ximending

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

Temple () is one of the important and prominent historical temple. Originally opened as a market, the Red House Theater is another prominent building. The namesake West Gate and the Walls of Taipei were torn down in 1905. Chunghwa Market used to extend to this area, but was demolished in 1992.

Shops

Ximending attracts an average of over 3 million shoppers per month. Individual vendors gather in the streets as well as in the large business buildings, such as Wannien Department Store and Shizilin Square, during the day, and Wanguo Department Store and Eslite 116 later at night.

Transportation

Ximending's central location within Taipei renders it easily accessible, covering the area northwest of

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 ...

's Ximen Station. Because many bus lines gather on Zhonghua Road, Ximending is also an important area for bus transfers. Ximending is also accessible via exit 6 of the

Ximen Station ( Bannan Line and Songshan-Xindian Line).

Crime

Ximending has a higher crime rate compared to the rest of the city with reports of violent brawls and

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

. In response, the area is also subject to more policing.

References

External links

* {{coord, 25.042643, 121.507539, format=dms, display=title Culture in Taipei Entertainment districts in Taiwan Neighbourhoods in Taipei Pedestrian malls in Taiwan Shopping districts and streets in Taiwan Shopping in Taipei