Taipei Travel

Class 3 Historic Site
Type: Residence
Built in the 2nd Year of Emperor Guangxu (1876 AD)

Yifangju Estate was built by the early settlers of the Chen family. The Chen family’s ancestors came from Anxi County, Quanzhoufu of Fujian Province. During the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, the early Chen members traveled to Taiwan as pioneers. It wasn’t until the early Guangxu era that they invested a huge sum of money to construct the Yifangju Estate. This traditional sanheyuan (a three-section compound) was typical of the ancient residences of the Taipei basin area. The main hall was constructed in a U-shape design; the walls of the main hall and ancillary halls (to the left and right of the main hall) were built with bricks, and few windows and doors were present. In addition, a firearms cabinet was built on the second floor of the ancillary halls to guard the residence against robbers. Furthermore, most of the window frames were made with rocks produced in Taipei. The door plate of the residence indicated that it was constructed around the 2nd year of Emperor Guangxu. Due to the rapid modernization of Taipei City, traditional residences like Yifangju Estate continue to dwindle in number. It is important that those that remain are preserved as testimony of Taipei’s development history.