Taipei’s street names are rarely older than 50 years, but their story goes back another century.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/12/20
By: Lo

If you find yourself lost and wandering in Taipei, you may find that there is a secret navigational aide built into the city streets themselves – if you can make a mental map of China, you can (sort of) find your way home.

It wasn’t always this way. During the Japanese era, Taipei’s streets weren’t even given a formal name, but the city was divided into neighborhoods known as ding (町). A few ding remain today, the most famous of which is Ximending. After Japan was defeated in World War II and the Nationalists took over Taiwan, the government looked to “eliminate all traces of Japanese rule,” including place names.

On Nov. 17, 1945, the nationalist government promulgated a “measure for the correction of street names in counties and cities in Taiwan province.” There were four criteria when renaming the streets: To “promote the ethnic Chinese spirit” in names such as Zhonghua Road, Xinyi road, or Heping road; to “spread the three principles of the people” in Sanmin Road, Minzu Road, Minsheng Road; to “commemorate nationalist heroes” in Zhongshan Road and Zhongzheng Road; or to “fit geography, customs or existing special meanings.”
[FULL  STORY]