What It Is

A fourth-generation incense manufacturer founded in 1897, operating from a Japanese colonial-era brick shophouse on Guiyang Street — identified in local histories as Taipei's first commercial street. The shop produces its own incense sticks on the premises using a formula continuous from the Qing Dynasty. This distinguishes it from essentially every other incense or religious supply shop in Wanhua, which sources factory-made product from mainland Chinese or Taiwanese industrial manufacturers. Lao Ming Yu buys raw materials and makes its own sticks by hand.

The production technique is the 甩香 (shake method): bamboo sticks are repeatedly dipped and shaken through a dry herbal powder mix, building up an even coating in layers. The process requires calibration by feel; the density and burn consistency cannot be set mechanically. The formula contains 20+ types of Chinese medicinal herbs and zero synthetic fragrance agents, fixatives, or dyes — producing a dry, complex, slightly medicinal scent with no equivalent among commercial incense.

The shop sits directly on the route of the annual Qingshan King Festival procession, Taipei's largest religious street parade, between Qingshan Temple (青山宮) and Qingshui Temple (清水巖). It is embedded in the worship infrastructure of the district, not adjacent to it.

Location

District: Wanhua (萬華區)
Address: No. 155, Sec. 2, Guiyang Street (台北市萬華區貴陽街二段155號)
Nearest MRT: Longshan Temple Station (龍山寺站, Blue Line BL10), Exit 1 — walk west along Guangzhou Street, turn onto Guiyang Street; approximately 10–12 minutes. Guiyang Street Section 2 is the parallel commercial artery one block back from the MRT tourist strip, not the immediate temple approach.
Phone: (02) 2381-5569

Opening Hours

08:30–21:30 daily. Multiple sources indicate no regular weekly rest day; the shop has reportedly operated without regular closure since founding. Confirm by phone before a special trip.

Price Range

Admission: free. Core products:

  • Black Aloeswood Incense (烏沈香) — NTD 420 per box of 25 sticks (16 cm each; 20–30 min burn time). Formula: aloeswood powder + 20+ herb blend + neem bark powder.
  • Old Mountain Sandalwood Incense (老山檀香) — NTD 420 per box, same format.
  • Handmade gold-leaf joss paper (手工金紙) — gold and silver foil applied sheet by sheet, not machine-stamped; price varies by size and grade.
  • Paper lotus flowers (紙蓮花) — traditional handmade ritual offering objects; modest price.

Overall range: NTD 50–2,000+. The two incense boxes at NTD 420 each are the primary souvenir purchase.

Specific Items Worth Buying

Aloeswood or Sandalwood incense box (NTD 420 each) — the only Taiwan-produced, formula-continuous-from-1897 herbal incense commercially available for purchase. Compact, lightweight, unambiguous provenance. The scent differs perceptibly from any factory-made equivalent. Both varieties are also sold as co-branded product through the Xinfu Market Cultural Center (新富町文化市場) — confirmed "continuously on sale" (持續販售中) as of August 2026.
Handmade joss paper (手工金紙) — foil applied by hand, not machine-stamped. Visually indistinguishable from mass-produced joss paper to most non-specialists, but the production distinction is the point. Lightweight, can be carried flat.

Why It Is Unusual

In the blocks immediately surrounding Longshan Temple, dozens of shops sell incense and ritual supplies. All source factory product. Lao Ming Yu is the only one in the area — and one of a handful in all of Taipei — that manufactures its own sticks from raw materials. The formula's medicinal herb component makes the resulting scent categorically different from any commercial substitute.

The shop does not appear in Lonely Planet Taiwan, Atlas Obscura's Taipei entries, Time Out Taipei, or Rough Guide Taiwan. It appears only in Taiwan-specific Chinese-language media and two English-language Taiwan specialist publications (Taiwan Scene and CommonWealth English edition).

Verified currently open and trading: Aug 2026 (Taiwan Scene "Hidden Gems in Wanhua" Aug 2025; CommonWealth English "Old Wanhua Wanderings" Nov 2024; Xinfu Market Cultural Center active co-branded product listing Aug 2026).