Danshui Old Street

Danshui's most famous street

Danshui used to be one of the biggest ports in northern Taiwan in the 19th century and so it's no wonder, that the town grew along the shores of the sea. The center of the town can still be found there. For one, there is the waterfront promenade, which is a pedestrian friendly street full of shops and hawkers. Parallel to it is the famous Gongming street (公明街) also know as the Danshui's Old Street (淡水老街), that attracts huge numbers of tourists today. Most of them come from Taipei city and hope to try some of the tasty local snacks or just go for a nice stroll. Together with the longer Zhongzheng road (中正路) they are the main part of the central Danshui.

So what can you see in Danshui's old center? Besides shops, shops and shops... well, there are temples, a chapel and many hawkers. They're probably the ones that attract the most tourists. Food is amazing there. The most common dish is ah gei (阿給), which is basically fried tofu stuffed with glass noodles and served in a spicy sauce. Another common snack are iron eggs (鐵蛋), which are fermented and have a distinct black color.

Let us see those famous three streets of the central Danshui:

1 Gongming street or Old street

This one is very crowded, even at the entrance.

The old street.

Various snacks such as grilled squid.

Lots of souvenirs are sold here, too.

2 Zhongzheng road

The Old street ends at the Zhongzheng road, which is similar, just with more traffic.

Here you can also see the Danshui Longshan temple 淡水龍山寺.

The temple inside is magnificent.

Me in front of the main altar.

The Zhongzheng road further up. Scooters are also here everywhere. Read more...

The Dutch-looking Teng Feng Fish ball Museum 登峯魚丸博物館.

Another lovely temple nearby: The Fuyou temple (福佑宫), built in 1796, is very old.

The Fuyou temple inside looks very interesting.

The Zhongzheng road again.

Another food stall. I like how the lady smiles, it looks like she's serving with love.

A town square with a statue of a Canadian Dr. Mackay.

George L. Mackay, Canadian dentist and missionary, is one of the most famous Westerners ever lived in Taiwan. He established a church, dentistry, schools and a hospital, spoke Taiwanese fluently and married a local woman. He was one awesome waiguoren :-) [more]

A new pavement on this part of the Zhongzheng road.

View from another angle.

Danshui Presbyterian church, also called Danshui Mackay Memorial Chapel [more here].

3 Waterfront promenade

This part is also full of shops and very crowded.

This area is famous for very tall ice cream. Check Amber's photo (via @ambellic.com).

The central area of Danshui with the famous Old street is just 5min away from the Danshui MRT station, which is great. You don't need to think about transportation, you just walk a little and you're inside the touristy hustle and bustle. But that's ok. It's fun to watch the people, the atmosphere is very relaxing. Danshui is different than other Taiwanese towns. Enjoy the ambiance.

My DANSHUI Tour - NEXT: Fort San Domingo>>

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Fort San Domingo/Hongmao castle

One of the most famous remains of the Spanish rule in Dasnhui

Fort San Domingo (Spanish Fuerte Santo Domingo, Dutch Fort Anotnio, Chinese Hongmao castle or 紅毛城) is probably the most famous historic site in Danshui. The town was first inhabited by aboriginal Taiwanese, but later came Chinese, Spanish, Dutch, British, even Japanese. Only few Taiwanese towns had such a rich and colorful history as Danshui, that's why it's really interesting to explore all the famous historic sites there. My girlfriend and I started our history tour at this fort, that was already built in 1629 by the Spanish, who came here and colonized this part of Taiwan. But then there was much more to see, than we expected.

These are the countries that reigned over this fort in the recent 400 years.

Let me share with you a timeline of historic events connected with the fort:

1829: Spanish build a wooden fort above Danshui.

1836: Angry locals protest the high taxes, burn the fort down.

1837: Spanish build a new fort made of stones, build a higher wall.

1642: The Dutch expel the Spaniards from Danshui, Spaniards destroy the fort.

1644: The Dutch build a new fort, call it Fort Antonio, locals call it Hongmao castle.

1683: The Qing Dynasty has control over the fort, builds four gates.

1868: The British gain control over the fort, paint the white facade red.

1891: The British build their consular residence next to the fort.

1941: Japanese briefly hold control over the fort, lose it in 1945.

1972: The Republic of China gains control over the fort.

1984: The fort is open to public, listed as a first class national historic site.

2005: The fort was thoroughly renovated.

Let me share some photos with you:

1 Fort San Domingo/Hongmao castle:

The view on the fort from below.

The facade looks like new and the ROC flag looks majestic.

A closeup on the fort, people inside looking out, looks like the girl is on the phone.

The look down from the fort. Everything is clean and neat.

The fort from another angle, this time from the upper area.

2 Former British Consular Residence:

This structure was added in 1891, served as a consulate for the British.

The brick facade is very beautiful.

A closeup on the brick facade. I had the feeling I was somewhere in Western Europe.

We went inside, which is a display of the former British consulate.

A nice fireplace. Looks really cozy to me. You won't find this in Taiwanese homes.

A picture of the British Queen.

And then we walked outside a little more, checked the backyard.

And then going down and off to new historic sites.

This fort is really worth to see. We paid 60NTD which is less than 1,5 Euros. The whole area is small. If you walk around, 30min to 1h will be enough to see most of it.

My DANSHUI Tour - NEXT: Aletheia University>>

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Lovers' Bridge, Danshui

Our romantic day in Danshui on the lovely Lovers' Bridge

This is part 3 of my Danshui series. Read part one (1) and two (2) first.

We went to one of the most prominent spots in Danshui a.k.a. Tamsui: The Lover's Bridge. We decided to take a boat and it was fun. The sun was very hot, but as soon as we arrived near the bridge, it became windy and cloudy, so we didn't make any nice sunset photos, which are famously taken at this part of Danshui. However, we had a great day and made some unforgettable memories here. Enjoy.

We took a boat and the ride was ok, very smooth.

We were taken to the Danshui Fisherman's Wharf.

And there it was: The famous Lovers' Bridge of Danshui.

A nice walkway to enjoy the view on both sides. It was quite windy here.

The bridge is quite small and reserved for pedestrians.

But it's very famous, featured on many Taiwan's greeting cards.

There are always many tourists around here taking photos.

The view from the bridge, below are many restaurants and cafés.

There are many artists near the bridge, who draw people. My girlfriend decided to get one drawing of ourselves. It cost around 200NTD (5€) and this is the result :-) All I was thinking is: Who's this girl beside me :-P He got me pretty well, but she's totally different in real, hehe.

After a long day, we decided to go to the night market and try some yummy food. Sadly, there's more shops with clothes than hawkers, but you'll still find some yummy foods :-)

My DANSHUI Tour - NEXT: Danshui Night Market>>

[DANSHUI][My TAIWAN page][All photos by MKL, 2010][Wiki][Danshui map]

Guo Shu Yao a.k.a. Yao Yao in Danshui

Photos of Yao Yao eating ice cream

I wrote about Yao Yao before (read here) and that post is one of my most googled posts, lol. So here's something about Yao Yao, famous Taiwanese singer and TV host, that you may not have seen before. At a famous part of Danshui (Tamsui), where they sell that very tall ice cream, there are two photos of her and I snapped that with my cam. I hope, if you're her fan, that you enjoy these pics :-)

Seems as the guy's ice cream is much bigger, Yao Yao likes the smaller one. The left guy's expression: Priceless :-P

Yao Yao kawaii, ne? What's up with these question marks?

Sexy Yao Yao munching smooching big juicy ice cone. Don't think anything sex related, ok? :-)

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