What It Is

A 1934 tea-processing factory and merchant house — the largest in the Dadaocheng district at the time of construction — preserved intact as a heritage museum. 新芳春茶行 (Sin Hong Choon; lit. "New Fragrant Spring Tea Company") was the Wang family enterprise that processed Formosa oolong and other export teas through the height of Taiwan's colonial tea trade. It is the only surviving complete example in Taipei of a Japanese-era tea processing facility with original equipment in situ.

The building is arranged in the 三落 (three connected sections) layout standard to Taiwanese merchant houses: front section for commerce and customer-facing trade; middle section for family residence; rear section for production — drying loft (焙茶間), sorting rooms, packing and weighing stations. All three sections are open. A Baroque-influenced facade with yellow render, terrazzo stairs, and red-brick interior walls distinguishes it from the plain wood shophouses that surround it on Minsheng West Road.

Where

Address: No. 309, Minsheng West Road, Datong District, Taipei 103 (民生西路309號)
MRT: Shuanglian (Red Line R12) or Daqiaotou (Orange Line O12) — approximately 12–15 min walk from either. No bus stop immediately adjacent; the walk passes through the Dadaocheng grid.
Phone: 02-7756-3910

Opening Hours and Closing Days

Wed–Sun 10:00–18:00. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Guided tours: 15:00 daily (Wed–Sun); also 11:00 on Sat–Sun. Reservation via online form recommended for tours. Free walk-in available within opening hours. Admission free.

Why It Is Unusual

Taiwan's tea export era (roughly 1860s–1940s) left almost no physical infrastructure in Taipei. Dadaocheng's teahouses and trading floors were demolished or repurposed; factory equipment was scrapped. 新芳春茶行 survived because the Wang family retained ownership across generations, allowing a four-year restoration (2014–2018) by Taipei City Dept of Cultural Affairs rather than redevelopment. It is designated a Taipei City municipal heritage site.

The result is not a recreation: the焙茶間 drying loft, the tiered bamboo drying frames (焙籠), sorting tables, and the original ground-floor trading counter are the original objects in their original positions. Interpretive panels (Chinese and English) explain each stage of the colonial tea-processing chain from leaf delivery through sorting, firing, blending, and crating for export to the US and UK markets.

The factory's scale contextualises the colonial tea economy: at peak production in the 1930s, a single factory of this size could process and ship several hundred kilograms of finished tea per day, with Dadaocheng collectively handling the majority of Taiwan's tea exports. The Wang family's founding patriarch 王受諸 established the business in 1934; the house was a combined manufacturing and residential structure until the post-war collapse of the export market ended production.

Price

Free admission. No purchase required. The Dept of Cultural Affairs operates occasional events and workshops on-site (check Facebook @sinhongchoon for dates); fees apply to those separately.

Visitor Notes

  • Located at the northern end of Minsheng West Road, away from the tourist-heavy southern blocks of Dihua Street — the walk from Daqiaotou MRT passes through the working-district section of Dadaocheng rather than the heritage renovation strip.
  • Nov 2–6 trip window: closed Mon 2 Nov; open Tue–Fri 3–6 Nov.
  • Combines naturally with the nearby 大橋頭老人公園 and Dihua Street on the same half-day.
Verified open: Aug 2026. Sources: official Taipei City travel.taipei listing (attraction ID 2430); Taipei Dept of Cultural Affairs heritage page (anniversary event 2024); active Facebook @sinhongchoon.