Tamsui (New Taipei): a stroll between history, street art and the seaside

After seeing the essentials of the capital, we started visiting the outskirts of Taipei, which was the former Taipei County, which became New Taipei (or Nouveau Taipei in good French).

Located at the mouth of the Tamsui River, it is in the northern part of New Taipei that we went, more precisely in the district of Tamsui, a former flourishing trading port.

Tamsui today retains a unique atmosphere, where colonial remains, small streets dotted with street art and cafes and restaurants mingle to enjoy the quays with views of the mountain and the Bali district, located on the other bank.

Among the must-sees were the Tamsui customs docks, Fort San Domingo, a witness to the colonial era, and Oxford College, a symbol of the region's educational heritage.

Embark on a discovery tour through the quays, art and history of this iconic New Taipei neighborhood.

A short history of the Tamsui and New Taipei district

Originally, this area was known to Taiwanese aborigines as "Hoba", which became Hobe in modern Taiwanese, meaning "river mouth".

A perfect term for this region which borders the sea to the north and runs alongside the Tamsui River, and which explains why we find the small fishing port of Hobe there, or even Fort Hobe.

The river, whose name simply means "sweet water," gives its name to the Tamsui district. Thanks to its strategic location, Tamsui quickly became an important fishing and trading port. Its development began around 1629 with the arrival of Spanish settlers at the mouth. They were driven out by the Dutch, who established the buildings that make up the current Fort San Domingo.

The Dutch did not dominate northern Taiwan for long, as control of the region was regained by mainland China under the Qing dynasty in the late 17th century.

By the mid-19th century, Tamsui had become Taiwan's largest port, home to a large foreign population and a British consulate at Fort San Domingo. At that time, Tamsui was a separate township, part of what was called Taipei County. Incidentally, Tamsui Bay was the scene of a Franco-Chinese conflict in 1884.

View of the Battle of Tamsui in 1884.

With the rapid development of the capital city in the second half of the 20th century, the county attracted more and more people, until its population exceeded that of Taipei City. In 2010, it was decided that the county should be upgraded to city status. Since the capital city was already named Taipei, the county could not be called "Taipei City".

The new entity was initially named "Xinbei Shi", which translates to "New Northern City". However, following a municipal election and public disapproval of the term "Xinbei", the new mayor obtained a new English name from the Ministry of the Interior: "New Taipei City", which became official at the very end of 2010.

In French, the name is normally modeled on the English: "New Taipei", but I prefer to use the international name "New Taipei" for my articles.

Tamsui Docks

We got there by direct metro. With the change of metro, it still took us an hour to reach Tamsui from our hotel.

Tamsui Subway Station.

Main wharf when we arrived in Tamsui. We thought there were few people, but more people arrived later.

We quickly find ourselves on a large square bordering the sea. A small port shelters boats used for fishing. On the other side of the bay, we have a view of Mount Yinghaling and along the street, a large crowd enjoys the many restaurants, cafes and colorful shops.

We can tell it's a long weekend, because it's lively, the storefronts line up and give the appearance of a small seaside town, minus the beach. It's not yet noon but the end is already tugging at us. After a meal in one of the local restaurants, we decide to explore the back of town, known for its murals and small streets.

Love Lane Tamsui: alleys and street art

You should know that Tamsui was more on the list of places to see for Jitima. In addition to the seaside shopping aspect, there was this attraction for a set of alleys perched on the heights of Tamsui, dotted with murals (these famous street art).

One of them is also nicknamed Love Lane, which can be translated as the "path of love". After, since it includes historical places in the area, it suited me too. For the moment, walking old streets does not bother me if it is photogenic.

We first follow the main quay until turning inland, passing the local temple, the Tamsui Fuyou Temple. It is an old Chinese temple from the end of the 18th century, dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu. Unfortunately, the latter was under renovation, with the entire facade hidden behind a protective fence.

The facade of Tamsui Fuyou Temple under renovation.

So we go on our way and arrive on the side of the temple to take one of the stairs going up to Love Lane (whose official name is Chongjian Street). There are immediately fewer people, not to say that it is deserted.

We quickly come across the first works (no longer fresh) on the walls at the top of the steps, while the other staircase, on the other side of the temple, displays a fresco representing the facade of the temple if it were not under construction.

The climb to “Love Lane”.

We arrive near Love Lane.

The staircase on the other side of the temple, with some wall paintings.

It is only a few meters into the small street that we see a small sign indicating "Red Castle", whose date included in the name 1899, indicates its origin. To get there, we go through a narrow passage along the back of the houses.

From where we are, we can see a garden with a Japanese-style wooden house, we won't go there, but it is a vestige of the Japanese colonial era, and more precisely here the dormitories of the former Japanese police officers based in Tamsui.

Less than 50m further on, you arrive in the gardens of Red Castle 1899, a large two-storey brick Victorian house. Originally built by a wealthy merchant, the mansion has since been transformed into a chic restaurant overlooking the bay.

We would have liked to stop for a drink or something but there were a lot of people and it was quite expensive so we ended up going our own way to come back to Love Lane and continue along it.

The Red Castle in Tamsui.

Time to pass a few old-fashioned storefronts, other paintings and we arrived at the other end. In itself, Love Lane is not crazy but it allows you to get away from the crowd and have a different view of what is considered the "old tamsui".

Cutting through the small Sanmin Street, we came to a crossroads where in the middle stands a bronze bust of George Leslie Mackay, a pastor and the first foreign missionary to be commissioned by the Presbyterian Church of Canada in 1871.

He was an important figure among foreigners who lived in Taiwan in the second half of the 19th century. The location of this statue makes sense since the church in question is very close to here.

Before going there, we tried a small local café, true to our habits, at the small square with the bust of Mackay.

Shortly after, we came across a sort of alley facing the Tamsui Presbyterian Church, recognizable by its red walls. We can guess that a building was removed to allow this passage and highlight the church, otherwise not very visible from the main street.

The whole area around the church is quite photogenic and complements the walk through the streets of Tamsui quite well. We come across a few curious people like us but it is not the hustle and bustle that it becomes along the quays as we move forward in the afternoon.

Right next to the church is Hobe Mackay Hospital (called Huwei Mackay Hospital on Google Maps), the first Western hospital established in northern Taiwan and named in commemoration of Mackay.

It turns out to be very small so it looks more like a dispensary than a hospital and apart from the exterior facade, we couldn't see anything since the museum inside is only open on weekends.

Jitima poses in front of Mackay Hospital.

View of the hospital and the church from the alley passing in front of these two buildings.

Small port of Hobe

Once this visit to the old quarters was over, we returned along the quays, finding the atmosphere more lively. In front of the Starbucks, we see on the edge of the quay a sculpture on the ground, representing a boat with at its side, George Leslie Mackay, again, represented on his knees and his hands in prayer.

Right next to it, there is a stretch of beach, testifying to what the shore was like, once upon a time. It is difficult to imagine what it was like before, so much has man spread out on the sea at this location. But it turns out that this stretch of beach is preserved, because it is said to be the very place where the famous pastor landed in 1871.

Behind the beach, it looks like a small park, protected by trees, where quite a few people enjoy their shade. Continuing our walk, still along the quay, we cross an area bordered by beautiful trees.

Here again, people are sitting to enjoy the view, under the shade of the trees with multiple roots. If you look closely, you can see sculptures under this tree-lined path, like this little girl and her cat.

A few more meters and we arrive at the small fishing port of Hobe. There are not even 10 boats when we pass by, but the place still gives off a certain photogenic je-ne-sais-quoi, it is not for nothing that we come across several cafes in the area.

And from there, we still enjoy this view of the district opposite, Bali, with its mountain in the background. At the bend of a perpendicular street, we see the remains of a facade of a customs building, and we arrive precisely, after a small bridge, on the docks of the Tamsui customs.

Tamsui Customs Wharf

Originally known as Huwei Port, this cargo wharf, built using rocks from nearby Guanyin Mountain, began operations during the Qing Dynasty from 1862.

It allowed Tamsui to become a major commercial port and was the main customs wharf until the arrival of the Japanese, who closed the site in 1895, preferring to relocate it further south, to Daodacheng (near Dihua Street).

Small bridge leading to the customs quay.

This is the only pier built during the Qing Dynasty that is still used as a naval base today. However, it is freely accessible and you can walk along the two main brick buildings, former warehouses and rare witnesses of this glorious past.

Another two-story house is a little further back, next to the road. You can go inside, although you won't find much inside. Its particularity is that its walls are made of stone for the lower part, while the upper part is assembled with the famous red bricks.

Ultimately, the place is especially popular for admiring the sunsets in the evening.

Fort San Domingo

In good French, we should call it Fort Saint-Domingue, and in its original version, it would rather be Santo Domingo. But whatever its name, it is there that we walked in the wake of the customs docks.

That's good, it's not far since the enclosure of this small 17th century fortress is just on the other side of the road, separating the jetty from where we were.

Entrance to the fort.

If we look a little more closely at the story, the first version dates back to 1628, with a fort built in wood by the Spanish, which they named "Santo Domingo". When the latter lost a battle and had to give way to the Dutch in 1642, they destroyed their construction.

The Dutch added their version two years later in 1644 and called it Fort Antonio. As an anecdote, at that time, the immigrant population of the Han ethnic group, who settled in Tamsui, nicknamed the Dutch the "red hairs", because most of them were redheads. The fort was then nicknamed "Red Hair Fort" (Ang mo).

The fort is visible on the left in this photo dating from the Japanese colonial era.

When the Qing dynasty regained control of the island, it renovated the fort in 1724 and added its surrounding wall, defining its current perimeter.

From 1868 the fort was used by the British government as a consulate, and a new two-storey building was constructed nearby as the consul's residence.

When Taiwan came under Kuomintang control to become the Republic of China, the fort continued to remain an unofficial British consulate until 1972 (with the UK officially severing ties with Taiwan in 1950).

After being managed for several years by Australia and then the United States, the site was definitively returned to the Taiwanese government in 1980, and was then classified as a first-class historic monument.

Concretely, this is the only paid visit of the day that we will do. Once we enter the perimeter of the fort, at the height of the road, we pay the entrance ticket, we pass a souvenir shop and we climb the few steps leading to the fort itself.

We are then faced with this square structure, whose bright red walls were added by the British, who also flattened its roof and added a balcony in the corner facing the entrance to the bay where the Tamsui River begins.

This building remains to this day one of the oldest on the entire island of Taiwan.

The area outside adjoining the fort includes small houses, one of which served as a kitchen.

Inside the fort, you can see old cells on the lower floor, the building having served as a small prison for a time. Upstairs, you can see a room fitted out as an office and a window with a beautiful view of the river from where you can see the Guandu arch bridge.

View of the arch bridge.

Another opening allows you to admire the consul's house, a large building built in the English style, in a Victorian style, with red bricks. This is precisely where we went to continue the visit. We then pass an alignment of old cannons dating from the Qing dynasty and which were used to defend the fort.

We arrive at the exterior corridor, lined with arches overlooking the lawn separating the house which has become a museum from the fort.

The ambassador's house and the cannons.

We visit the different rooms that make up this comfortable residence in turn. The living room, the kitchen, the bedrooms, everything is designed to immerse ourselves in the Belle Époque. Everything is also embellished with a few photos and costumes to better understand what made the consulate's heyday.

The fort having been built on a hillock to dominate the bay, there is a beautiful view of the garden and Guanyin mountain in the background from the forecourt of the main entrance to the house.

The site is still quite small and we walked around it in about 30 minutes.

Oxford College

For the next visit, we just had to go back to the entrance of the fort and go up the street on the left. We arrive in front of a gate marking the entrance to what today makes up Aletheia University.

Founded by the famous pastor George Leslie Mackay, this school opened its doors in 1882 under the name ofOxford College, in gratitude to the residents of Oxford County in Ontario, Canada. Today it is one of the oldest institutions on the island.

The red brick building of Oxford College.

Originally, the institution focused mainly on courses in theology and biblical studies, but also covered sociology, Chinese literature and history, natural sciences, and fundamental medicine.

Oxford College was then one of the first examples of a Western-style general institution and education in Taiwan.

As you enter the grounds, you will notice in the southwest corner that the university has its own Presbyterian church, which you could see as you arrived in front of the gate.

The charm of the place lies in its garden, with a small adjoining pond that can be crossed by a small stone bridge leading in front of the facade of the main building that then made up Oxford College. It is a red brick structure, which combines a bit of Chinese and English styles.

For this visit, I was the one who wanted to include it. It didn't add much walking since it was next to the fort and the photos gave the impression of a nice little spot. And indeed, the place turns out to be quite photogenic, and the little break under the trees of the park was welcome.

Afterwards, it can be visited quickly since we stayed there for less than a quarter of an hour.

Visit Bali Old Town (or not)

Following our visit to Oxford College, our programme that day was to continue with a ferry ride across the bay and visit the Bali district (obviously nothing to do with the famous Indonesian island).

It was even a done deal since, as planned, we got our tickets on the way back to the platform, halfway between the end of the beach near Starbucks and the esplanade by which we arrived near the metro exit.

Ferry to Bali.

From memory, we paid 45 TWD per person for the round trip (a little over a euro), since we were planning to come back this way in the evening and leave for our hotel by the same metro as when we arrived, more practical than leaving from Bali (since there is no metro, we would have had to take a bus or taxi).

EXCEPT! Before kindly taking our tickets, we saw the ferry arriving right behind us, BUT we didn't look at the queue that went with it!

Oh yes anyway…

However, following the line to get behind at first, we realized that it was never-ending! The queue was over 200 m long since we reached the finish esplanade...

Luckily the tickets weren't too expensive, since we bought them for nothing, because we quickly decided to give up. Even though the ferries are quite frequent, we were afraid that it would take too long to cross.

Other attractions in Tamsui

The area, if you are passionate about art and history, is well worth a full day to explore it. But in our case, because our primary goal was mainly to have an overall overview, we did not push the visit of Tamsui further.

And if we finally skipped Bali Town, we preferred to make a visit missed until then and we headed that afternoon to the historic house of Lin An Tan (I talk about it here).

However, we could have kept ourselves busy by continuing our visits on site. Here is a list of other possibly interesting sites to complete. First of all, there is another fort further west of Fort San Domingo, the Fort Hobe, which dates from the 19th century.

Next, you will find several former residences of personalities, traditional Japanese style houses dating from the time of the Japanese occupation:

• Former residence of Tada Eikichi
• Former residence of Kinoshita Seigai

There are several museums there:

• Tamsui Historical Sites Mini Museum
• Cho Po-Lin Museum

Both are side by side and include redeveloped historic buildings. Nearby there is also an art gallery, and on the other side of the metro (left instead of exiting right to walk along the platforms as we did when we arrived) you have the Tamsui Art and Cultural Park, old British warehouses that have been preserved.

They are used as craft shops and to display art. There is also a small museum at the back showing the history of Shell in the area as they were once warehouses rented by the famous oil company.

The Lover's Bridge. Photo by Jason Wang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Finally, I could mention the fishing port of Tamsui (Fisherman's Wharf), where there is a pedestrian bridge, the “ Lover's Bridge » (Lovers' Bridge, as it was simply inaugurated on Valentine's Day), which crosses the port from the mainland to the jetty overlooking the mouth.

For some reason, this bridge tends to illustrate Tamsui, as if it were THE attraction, with the port and the luxury Fullon hotel next door, recognizable by its half-boat, half-castle appearance.

With this additional information, you have all the cards in hand to optimize your visit to Tamsui if necessary.