The Red House in Ximending is an octagonal red-brick building that began as a public market in 1908. Its conversion into a cultural and creative hub illustrates how a historic commercial structure can find new uses without losing its recognizable form.
Guide preview
The Red House’s octagonal entrance is an architectural clue to its unusual beginning. Built in 1908 and designed by Kondo Juro, it was Taiwan’s first public market, with a central octagonal structure and a cross-shaped extension. The plan was innovative for its time, and the red brick made the building stand out in the district.
Continue exploring
Discover the full story
Keep reading with a travel pass and explore every full guide and tour.
UpgradeQuick facts
- The Red House was built in 1908.
- Architect Kondo Juro designed its octagonal and cruciform layout.
- It began as Taiwan’s first public market and now serves as a cultural and creative centre.
More places in Taipei
228 Peace Memorial Park
Beneath the shade of mature trees, Taipei’s central park holds a public landscape of remembrance. Its name links everyday recreation with the February 28 Incident, while the memorial marker and nearby museum give visitors ways to meet a difficult chapter of Taiwan’s history.
Bao'an Temple
Dalongdong Bao’an Temple is a neighborhood sanctuary dedicated to Baosheng Dadi, the deity associated with medicine. Its elaborate decoration is matched by a careful restoration that combined traditional craft with modern conservation methods.
Beitou Hot Spring Museum
A former public bathhouse in Beitou now interprets the city’s hot-spring culture. Its brick-and-wood walls, black-tile roof, and Tudor-inspired appearance stand as a reminder that heritage survives through community choices as much as through architecture.
Beitou Plum Garden
A low timber house in Beitou carries the feel of a private retreat, but its rooms also preserve a record of the district’s twentieth-century history. The garden, Japanese-style construction, and air-raid shelter show how one residence adapted to changing times.
Beitou Thermal Valley
Steam rises from a sulfurous pool in this volcanic valley, where hot spring water reveals heat still moving beneath Beitou. The site also connects local geology to an unusual mineral found here and at a single Japanese counterpart.
Bopiliao Historic Block
Bopiliao Historic Block preserves a street pattern and building fronts that escaped some later redevelopment. Its brick walls and covered arcades make the district’s layered history visible, while its present use turns preservation into an active part of neighborhood life.