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In the 19th century Taipei built up around its ports. The most important of these was along the river in Dadaocheng, where Pier 5 is today. The streets around this port were home to Taipei’s first aristocrats and after 1858 the first enclave of foreign residents and embassies. Very little from this time remains. In fact only 9 of the buildings on this drawing still exist, and only 5 of them are particularly notable.

I had been familiar with the Chen Mansion for some time as it dominates Guide Street. In later years I also noticed the Koo Mansion and the old home of the Taiwan Culture Association. I wondered what the area had looked like in its heyday. It must have been quite impressive! However I could find surprisingly little archival material. I began to collect what I could find and attempted to create a drawing from that. A chance encounter with the Great-Grandson of Lee Chun-sheng, one of the most notable figures who lived in the area, gave me enough material to complete the drawing. Lee owned the group of mansions on the left side of the map and his great-grandson had plenty of reference material of those and others in the area. It was very rewarding completing this drawing and meeting a with someone with actual links to the area’s past.