Taipei Travel

While visiting Longshan Temple, make sure to save time to browse the herb shops on Xichang Street. 'Herb Lane,' as it is commonly known, greets visitors with an intoxicating blend of herbal fragrances from the shops. Over 10 herb stores are packed into Lane 224 selling just about anything herbal under the sun. As the story goes, disease was common to this area in early years, but the lack of Chinese medicine doctors forced the people instead to seek out herbal remedies, including soups with herbal infusions. Because of this, the area also was known then as 'salvation street.'

Today, the shops continue to focus on healthy products, including over one hundred types of herbs, many of them from southern Taiwan. The stores also sell herbal teas to help beat the summer heat. Along Lane 209 by Guangzhou Street and Herb Lane, the city government has established an educational herbal garden planted with aloe, Japanese Knotweed, saxifrage, lavender and other herbs.