Da'an District, Taipei

Da'an
大安區
District
Da'an District

Ren'ai Dunhua Circle
Country Taiwan
Region Western Taipei
Divisions
List
  • 53 villages
  • 1027 neighborhoods
Area
 • Total 11.3614 km2 (4.3867 sq mi)
Area rank Ranked 7th of 12
Population
 • Total 312,909 (January 2,016)[1]
 • Rank Ranked 1st of 12
Postal code 106
Da'an District, Taipei
Traditional Chinese 大安區
Da'anzhuang (old name)
Traditional Chinese 大安莊

Da'an District or Daan District is an important educational, commercial, residential and cultural district of Taipei City, Republic of China (Taiwan). The name of the district means "great safety" or "great peace".

History

The district is named after Daiwan village (Chinese: 大灣; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tāi-ôan) that was once located near the intersection of present-day Xinyi Road and Fuxing S. Road. The name was changed in the 1800s (during the Qing era) to the more auspicious but similar-sounding "Da'an" (大安; pinyin: Dàān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tāi-an; literally: "great peace").[2]

In 1875, the setup of Taipeh Prefecture put the village together with 下內埔 and La̍k-tiuⁿ-lê (六張犁), all of which are within today's Da'an District. During Japanese rule, Da'an village was merged with Nishikichō (錦町), Fukuzumichō (福住町), and Shōwachō (昭和町). In 1945, after World War II, Da'an District was drawn from an area centered on Da'an village and took its name. Further significant changes occurred in the 1990s.

Geography

Da'an is bounded on the east by Guangfu South Road, Keelung Road and Heping East Road; on the south by Neipu, Fuzhou and Toad Hills, and the Xinhai and Zhuangjing Tunnels; in the west by Roosevelt Road, Hangzhou South Road, Xinyi Road and Xinsheng South Road; and in the north by Civic Boulevard. It is bordered by Xinyi District to the east, Wenshan District to the south, Zhongzheng District to the west, Zhongshan District to the northwest, and Songshan District to the northeast.[3]

Government institutions

Education

Da'an is the home of three major national universities: National Taiwan University, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and National Taiwan Normal University. The former two universities have strong engineering programs, and NTU also has a highly regarded medical school located in the Zhongzheng District.

The National Taipei University of Technology, National Taipei University of Education and Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University are also in this district.

Zhongxiao Road, a major commercial street in the district

Shopping

Da'an has numerous shopping areas. On Zhongxiao East Road, Dunhua South Road and neighboring alleys, there are clothing shops, restaurants serving world cuisines, and major department stores including three branches of the Pacific Sogo Department Store, Breeze Center, the Ming Yao Department Store, and the immense 24-hour Eslite Bookstore.[4] The East Metro Market runs underneath Zhongxiao Road between metro stations. Specialty markets include the Jianguo Holiday Flower Market, the Jianguo Holiday Jade Market,[5] and the Guanghua Computer and Electronics Market.

Da'an's most famous night markets are the Tonghua Night Market, in the east of the district, and the Shida Night Market in the west, near NTNU. Because of its proximity to NTNU and NTU, the Shida Night Market area is known as a student hangout and is filled with foreign restaurants and student-oriented bars. Yongkang Street, another popular restaurant area and home to the original Din Tai Fung restaurant, lies to the north of NTNU. Located near NTU is also the Wistaria Tea House, a quiet historic teahouse serving tea in the Gongfu style.

Da'an Forest Park is a large public park in the area

Residential

Da'an also offers some of Taipei's most expensive residential real estate, clustered around the tree-lined Dunhua South Road, Anhe Road and Ren'ai Road areas (known as the East District). As of 2009, Guangfu Road had the highest residential land value.[6] In this area there are upscale fashion boutiques, elite retail shops including Shiatzy Chen, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, and many of Taipei's renowned "lounge bars". Di Bao, situated on Ren'ai Road, is one of the symbols of luxurious apartment in Taiwan. Many famous, rich and elite people live there, including TV show host, Dee Hsu, and famous yet notorious presidents of Ting Hsin International Group.

Other places of interest

Other notable places include the Da'an Forest Park, which was built on land formerly occupied by military officers and their families, and the Taipei Municipal Library. The park occupies an area of 26 hectare and includes an amphitheater, concrete roller- and inline-skating rink, ponds, pavilions, paths, and two underground parking lots.[7] The park also has a popular playground for children. The Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center, Workshop of Advanced Academy of Agronomy and Forestry, Taipei Hakka Culture Hall, Wang Yun-wu Memorial Hall, Fanglan Mansion and Taipei Grand Mosque are also located in Da'an District. Museums in Da'an District are Museum of Archives, Museum of National Taipei University of Education and Museum of Zoology.

Zhongxiao Fuxing Station platform

Transportation

Da'an is better served by the Taipei Metro than any other district of Taipei with the exception of Zhongzheng. The Wenshan Line, Nangang Line, Xindian Line, Xinzhuang Line, Xinyi Line, and Zhonghe Line all have stations in the district. fourteen stations of which are located in the city: Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, Zhongxiao Dunhua, Zhongxiao Fuxing, Zhongxiao Xinsheng, Daan Park, Daan, Xinyi Anhe, Technology Building, Liuzhangli, Linguang, Dongmen, Guting, Taipower Building and Gongguan. The district also contains one of Taipei's major interchanges at Zhongxiao Fuxing. The Songshan Line also has half of its stations located within the district.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Da'an District, Taipei.

References

  1. ↑ "About Daan District". Taipei City Government. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  2. ↑ http://english.taipei.gov.tw/daan/index.jsp?categid=834&recordid=436
  3. ↑ http://english.taipei.gov.tw/daan/index.jsp?categid=704
  4. ↑ "Zhongxiao Bazaar and MRT". Taipei City Government. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  5. ↑ "Holiday Jade and Flower Markets". Taipei City Government. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  6. ↑ "Shin Kong Tower to have land value of NT$3.39 mil. per ping: land dept.". The China Post. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  7. ↑ "Da'an Forest Park". Taipei City Government. Retrieved 2010-07-11.

Coordinates: 25°1′35″N 121°32′4″E / 25.02639°N 121.53444°E / 25.02639; 121.53444

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