Known as Taipei's Harajuku, a pedestrian zone where pop culture meets the cinema street
The closest neighborhoods in the same city.
Ximending is the mecca of youth pop culture, known as "Taipei's Harajuku" or "Taipei's Shibuya". There are concerts and autograph sessions here every day, and street performances are common too. The crowds here are mostly young people and international tourists, with especially large crowds on weekends and at night. The streets they walk make up Taipei's first large-scale pedestrian zone. The Red House sits at the edge of the pedestrian zone, and its octagonal building is easy to spot. Wuchang Street, Section 2 is Movie Street, and there are still theaters operating there today.
MRT Ximen Station is right under Zhonghua Road, so it's easy to head out or transfer, and public transit here ranks 16th out of Taipei's 73 neighborhoods. Daily shopping ranks 4th, so picking up what you need is convenient too. Ximen Elementary School is also in the neighborhood. North past Hankou Street are residential blocks, with Xining Market for grocery shopping, plus Fuxing Elementary School, known for its music program.
Green space is scarce here - greenery ranks second from the bottom among Taipei's 73 neighborhoods. This is a shopping area that young people and tourists frequent, with heavy crowds on weekends and at night, so if you live near the pedestrian zone, give yourself extra time getting around. The neighborhood's western edge stops at Huanhe South Road, not counting the levee and ramps.
This area sat just outside the west gate of old Taipei City, which is where its name comes from. The pedestrian zone was originally marshy lowland north of Mengjia, and was developed into a leisure and commercial district during the Japanese colonial era. The Red House was completed in 1908, designed by Kondo Juro, with an octagonal building joined to a cross-shaped building; it was originally a market, and was listed as a city-designated historic monument in 1997. From the 1920s on, this area became Movie Street, and when Taipei City was established in 1922, the "Ximending" district was officially created. The first venue of the 1935 Taiwan Exposition was also set up here. By the 1950s, Wuchang Street, Section 2 alone had more than a dozen theaters. In the late 1990s, the streets were converted into Taipei's first large-scale pedestrian zone, and with the opening of the MRT, the crowds came back.
Compared with the 73 Taipei neighborhoods in this guide (scores 0–10)
NHI-contracted hospitals, public elementary and junior high schools whose catchment covers this area (estimated from the 2026 school-year village/neighborhood catchment table, treating every neighborhood in a village as equal in size; "Shared catchment" means families there can choose between two or more schools), high schools and universities within 1 km, stations, parks of 1 ha or more, and large shopping malls and department stores.
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How to read it: yellow = poor, blue = good; grey = not enough data
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