Taipei Travel

Gui’de Street symbolizes tea-enabled wealth and boom in Dadaocheng, which was among Taiwan’s most prosperous regions in the early days. As one of the many businessmen who earned enviable amounts of fortune in the country’s tea business, Chen Tian-lai founded Jinji Tea Co. and reinvested his profits in the entertainment industry, such as theaters. The current Chen Tian-lai Residence at No. 73, Gui’de Street used to house the former Jinji Tea Co. This three-story Baroque structure was completed in 1920 with the first floor dedicated to tea trading, the second floor serving as a guesthouse for tea-traders, and the third floor as private residence. The main structure of this imposing European-style house, flanked by guard towers on both sides, as well as classic colonnade and arched hallway, is adorned with baroque details as festoons and balconies. This historic residence used to be a renowned tea party spot in Dadaocheng, where tea-traders met regularly at the guesthouse to enjoy the view at the Tamsui Wharf in the distance. Behind the Residence, a private garden adjacent to Gang-zi Ditch (the present-day Xining North Road) bears testimony to the heyday of Dadaocheng in the first half of the 20th century.