How to Spend an Afternoon Near MRT Zhongshan Station (Including Chifeng Street) (中山區｜赤峰街）

Zhongshan is a great area to spend an afternoon, but wandering around without a plan will cost you. There’s a lot packed into a short stretch here, and you can spend an hour walking past the places that were actually worth stopping for.

My parents live about a 10-minute walk from Zhongshan MRT Station, so this area becomes my home base whenever I return to Taipei from the United States. After years of walking these streets, I’ve developed my own favorites.

Below is how I would plan an afternoon here.

Zhongshan At A Glance

When locals say “let’s hang out in Zhongshan,” they almost always mean the area around Zhongshan MRT Station. That is the part I’m writing about.

You can picture the area as a fishbone.

The spine is Xinzhongshan Linear Park (心中山線型公園), a narrow strip of park running north from Zhongshan Station all the way to Shuanglian Station. Walking the full length takes about 10 minutes.

The bones are the small lanes branching off both sides of the park. Chifeng Street (赤峰街) is one block west and runs parallel, though people use that name loosely for the whole area, park and lanes included. This is where the cafés, dessert shops, and small boutiques are, and it’s all outdoors.

At the base of the fishbone, right at the station on Nanjing West Road, are the department stores. Eslite Spectrum and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi sit next to each other, a minute from the exits.

Who This Area Is Best For

You’ll like this area if:

• You enjoy browsing smaller streets filled with independent shops and cafés, but also appreciate having department stores nearby
• You’re looking for a slower-paced part of Taipei where you can spend a few hours without rushing
• You want to see what an ordinary Taipei neighborhood feels like

It may not be the best choice if you’re looking for major landmarks or must-see attractions.

How To Get To Zhongshan

• Google Maps: MRT Zhongshan Station

Take either the Red Line or the Green Line to Zhongshan Station (R11 or G14).

If you’re coming from Taipei Main Station (R10 or B12) and don’t mind a short walk underground, look for the sign for Zhongshan Metro Mall (中山地下街). It takes less than 10 minutes, and there are shops the whole way.

How To Spend An Afternoon Near Zhongshan Station

This route is a loop. You start at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, walk north through the park and Chifeng Street, then end at Eslite Spectrum, which is right next to where you began.

Start With Lunch

There are plenty of places to eat here. If you want Taiwanese food and don’t know where to start, this is one I’ve come back to many times: Yonshin (永心鳳茶, Google Maps).

It’s a casual sit-down restaurant inside Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Nanxi Store III (南西三館). Use MRT Exit 4.

I go for the set menus. You get a range of Taiwanese dishes without having to pick everything yourself, and the flavors are familiar but a little more refined than street food. There’s an English menu.

You can reserve online. Without a reservation I usually wait about 30 minutes, though most of my visits are in summer when it’s busier. The wait doesn’t bother me much, since you’re already inside a department store.

Their tea and cakes are good. I’d still save room.

Explore Chifeng Street (赤峰街)

After lunch, walk to Xinzhongshan Linear Park (心中山線型公園, Google Maps).

If you only have time for one part of Zhongshan, come here.

I’ll be honest about how I use this area. Most of the shops sell clothing and accessories aimed at a much younger crowd, and I haven’t been inside most of them. What brings me back is dessert.

Almost everything here is takeaway. You can walk, eat, and look around without sitting down anywhere. On weekends there are booths in the park selling accessories, art, and handmade goods.

Here’s where I stop.

Worth Sitting Down For

Ron Museum (榕美術館, Google Maps) is my favorite in the area. It’s a tofu pudding shop (豆花). The exterior is beautifully designed and I often see people taking photos outside. The inside is just as nice.

Eat While You Walk

• Greedy Beagle (貪吃狗甜點, Google Maps) on a hot day. Most cream puffs are round and big enough that the filling squeezes out the moment you bite down. Theirs is a long rectangle, which sits better in your hand and fits your mouth, so nothing ends up on your face. Several flavors. I had the passionfruit, which is summer only. They close at 7:30pm, earlier than most shops here.
• Yuciren (魚刺人, Google Maps) when it’s cold. Egg cakes (雞蛋糕) made fresh, warm in your hand.
• Smile Froyo (Google Maps) for frozen yogurt in a cup or cone with fresh fruit on top. Everything is beautifully presented and tastes as good as it looks. A little pricey, but worth it. I took my son here once and we both loved it.
• Melting Finger (Google Maps) for Korean-style macarons filled with cream cheese. They’re lovely to look at. They’re also around NT$100 each and gone in two bites, so I pick carefully. Opens at 1pm.

Save These For Later

• Sa Bai Tian (灑白甜, Google Maps) is my son’s favorite for mochi. We often grab some on the way home. Mochi gets sticky, so I’d eat these back at your hotel.
• Cookie 886 (Google Maps) makes traditional butter cookies. I bought the tin with original and classic cocoa mixed together. The yellow tin travels well if you’re bringing something home.

If The Weather Turns

Taipei summers bring afternoon thunderstorms, and they arrive without much warning. The last time I was here, the rain came down so hard that an umbrella made no difference. I stood under a shop awning for a while and waited.

It wasn’t going to stop.

So I ran over to the linear park and went down into Zhongshan Metro Mall, the same underground street that runs from Taipei Main Station. There are several entrances along the park and you won’t have trouble finding one. I walked all to Eslite Spectrum and continued my shopping there.

This is why the department stores matter. If you check the forecast and it looks bad, skip the outdoor part and spend the afternoon between Shin Kong Mitsukoshi and Eslite instead.

Visit Eslite Spectrum

After the alleys, head indoors to Eslite Spectrum (誠品生活南西店, Google Maps).

Eslite is one of my favorite places to bring visitors. It started as a bookstore and grew into a department store concept. Along with books, you’ll find fashion, accessories, lifestyle goods, and stationery, all carefully selected. Many of the brands here use Taiwanese materials or draw on Taiwanese design. If you want a souvenir that feels more thoughtful than a typical gift shop find, browse here.

The store runs from B1 to the 5th floor. The bookstore is on the top floor and it’s the most impressive part of the building, though the English selection is small. If books aren’t your thing, start on the 4th floor and work your way down.

Give it an hour at least.

End With Dessert Inside Eslite

By now it’s time to sit down. There’s a food court on B1, but the place I keep going back to is Shi Xi (食習, Google Maps) on the 4th floor.

They serve Taiwanese home-style dishes along with tea and Taiwanese desserts. The dessert menu changes, so I won’t promise you anything specific.

Right next door is Maji Treats (神農生活, Google Maps), run by the same group. It’s a shop selling Taiwanese food products and household goods. This is where I’d look for edible souvenirs.

If You Have More Time

Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市) is about a 15-minute walk from Chifeng Street.

I’d get there around 5:30pm, before the crowds build up.

Final Thoughts

Zhongshan isn’t a place you visit for a landmark. It’s a place you come to spend time.

Everything sits close together, so there’s no rushing between stops. Start with a proper meal, walk the streets, stop when something catches your eye, and go indoors when you need a break.