Xichang Street: Herb LanePost date：2011-05-18
1089
If you go around the corner from Longshan Temple, you will come across one of Wanhua District’s most famous destinations—Herbal Medicine Lane. When you step into this narrow alley, which is only 45 meters long, remember to take a deep breath, because here there is a huge variety of medicinal herbs piled high, and they emit a heady fragrance. None of the shops here are large, but they all have a long historiy. And it is said that each shop has its own “ancestral secret formula.”
These traditional stores on Herbal Medicine Lane have been an integral part of the Wanhua District’s long development. More than 100 years ago, before Western medicine was available and doctors were scarce, people with any serious or minor ailment would go to Longshan Temple to pray and draw medical divination slips, and then they would go to Herbal Medicine Lane next door to grab a few packets of medicinal herbs to take home. This was the main practice used by people for medical treatment from the 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Consequently, Herbal Medicine Lane was also given the nickname “Jiuming Jie” or “Lifesaving Street.”
By the 1980s, Longshan Temple no longer offered medical services. Even though people couldn’t pick medical divination slips any more, they continued to visit here due to its reputation. Around 2000, when the Taipei City Government renovated the area, Herbal Medicine Lane was transformed into an elegant historical business lane. Many of the men and women who worship at Longshan Temple—or tourists from far away—will come here to buy fresh medicinal herbs or specially made packets of herbal tea to take home.
Paying your respects to Longshan Temple, visiting Herbal Medicine Lane for some fresh, cooling herbal tea, and then, strolling the local streets to get a taste of the old days, makes a very good choice!
These traditional stores on Herbal Medicine Lane have been an integral part of the Wanhua District’s long development. More than 100 years ago, before Western medicine was available and doctors were scarce, people with any serious or minor ailment would go to Longshan Temple to pray and draw medical divination slips, and then they would go to Herbal Medicine Lane next door to grab a few packets of medicinal herbs to take home. This was the main practice used by people for medical treatment from the 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Consequently, Herbal Medicine Lane was also given the nickname “Jiuming Jie” or “Lifesaving Street.”
By the 1980s, Longshan Temple no longer offered medical services. Even though people couldn’t pick medical divination slips any more, they continued to visit here due to its reputation. Around 2000, when the Taipei City Government renovated the area, Herbal Medicine Lane was transformed into an elegant historical business lane. Many of the men and women who worship at Longshan Temple—or tourists from far away—will come here to buy fresh medicinal herbs or specially made packets of herbal tea to take home.
Paying your respects to Longshan Temple, visiting Herbal Medicine Lane for some fresh, cooling herbal tea, and then, strolling the local streets to get a taste of the old days, makes a very good choice!
