Doors to Diplomacy Participants

Fu Hsing Middle School (2004 CyberFair Project ID 3096)
Taiwan, Taipei
Official Status: Final Project: Ready for Judging
Teacher:
Category: 2. Community Groups and Special Populations

We estimate 9 student(s) from 13 to 15 will work on this entry.

Description of Our Community: Two hundred years ago, Mengka (Wanhua), the earliest district of Taipei, had a very poor living environment. The immigrants from Mainland China suffered greatly from epidemics. Lacking doctors and medicines, the early settlers often sought blessings from gods in the temple. When believers went to Longshan Temple to seek cures, the temple’s ritual specialists would provide the petitioners herbal medicine prescription slips; therefore, the herbal medicine business in the vicinity started to flourish. Stores started to open and the herbal medicine business became an important market for the area. This is how Qing Cao Lane next to Longshan Temple came to be. After World War II, the street grew into what has become today’s “Qing, Cao Lane,” located at Lane 224, Xi Chang Street. At one time “Qing Cao Lane” was also known as the “Life-Saving Street!” Qing Cao Lane is quite narrow and less than fifty meters long, but you can find almost every medicine from the Taipei region here. It has become the treasure house of familiarity with Taiwanese herbal medicine. Even though Western pharmacies and medical clinics are everywhere nowadays, people still flock to Qing Cao Lane to buy medicines. They know that Chinese herbal medicines are superior to Western medicines in their tonic, preventive capabilities and in treating chronic illnesses. The Taipei Municipal Bureau of Culture began to renovate Qing Cao Lane in 2001 by installing awnings and artistic lighting. The renovation really brightens up this famous hundred-year-old street with a reputation dating back to XXXX. Because of its rich traditional Chinese culture, Qing Cao Lane has a great international tourism potential. Since the renovation, those old glory days of Qing Cao Lane are re-appearing for people to experience. People can visit an elegant city corner and also learn about the collective wisdom of the ancestors. Because this historic community has undergone restoration, it has been reborn.

Project Description: There’s a famous rhyme in Taiwanese referring to the three major early cities of Taiwan: Tainana as the first, Lugang as the second, and Mengka as the third. It is believed that everyone is quite familiar with the rhyme. The “Mengka” in the rhyme is referred to as the Wanhua District in today’s Taipei. Wanhua district has many famous historical sites like Longshan Temple, Hua Xi Street and Bopi Liao Old Street to name a few. Very few people know that Wanhua has another famous site called Qing Cao Lane. Qing Cao Lane, located at Lane 224 Xi Chang Street, is an old street with over one hundred years of cultural enterprise history. It preserves the geographic characteristics from the middle of the Qing Dynasty. Qing Cao Lane connects to Bopi Liao through a small street at the front and runs right next to the popular and The Story of Qing Cao Lane - Page 2 -

flourishing Long Shan Temple. The old street is short and less than 50 meters long, but it has over ten herbal medicine shops selling all kinds of fresh and traditional medicines. Not only is Qing Cao Lane the headquarters of Taipei’s herbal medicine shops, but it is also the most important herbal medicine commercial center in northern Taiwan.

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