What to do and see in Taipei, Taiwan: The Best Churches & Cathedrals

建於日據時代， 1992被列為台北市歷史建築，以哥德式建築風格著稱

This church was built in memory of the famous Dadaocheng tea merchant and ardent philanthropist Lee Chun-sheng. One of the more interesting qualities of the church is the front façade, which resembles a face—the main doorway suggesting a mouth and the two upper windows resembling eyes.

This Presbyterian church is built in an English Gothic style and has a strong European flavor. In fact the building was designed by the Japanese architect Kaoru Ite and built in 1916 during the Japanese occupation period for Japanese Christians living in Taiwan. Part of the funding for the construction was provided by the Taiwanese tea merchant Lee Chun-sheng. Today it is protected as a Taipei historic site.

Situated in Dadaocheng’s historic quarter, the branch of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was built on a piece of property donated by Li Chun-sheng, a prominent figure in contemporary Taiwan. It is believed that Li modeled the main church structure after Western houses of worship he found in China’s Xiamen area. As part of the Christian outreach efforts in Taiwan, the church installed a main structure in the early days of Japan’s Taisho period, reinforced with premium red bricks, excellent craftsmanship and a West-meets-East facade. Christianity’s growing acceptance in Taipei from the late 19th to early 20th century is evidenced by the church’s key features, such as segregated seating, performed at a time when gender equality was unheard-of, and men and women were required to use the left and right entrances, separately. Despite its resemblance of its European precedents, this historic church has been praised as a rarity in contemporary Taiwanese architecture for its unique facade — with an exposed-aggregate finish that is half-Taiwanese, and half-European, stately yet welcoming — and thus designated as the City’s 100th historic monument. Among its little-known highlights is a musical clock, which comprises 25 bells of various sizes and marks noon (12:00 p.m.) with 7 different tunes on a rotating basis.

In the early days, the transportation in Muzha District was very inconvenient as the town was located in the inland of Taipei basin, impeding Christian missionary outreach. In 1875 (the 1st year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign), Zhang Nai-Hong, a tea grower in Zhinan mountain area, went past Xindian area and met Professor Mackay (Rev. George Leslie Mackay), who was teaching the scriptures in the Bible’s Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Zhang was no stranger to extremely heavy cargoes, so the scripture left quite a strong impression. He began to believe in the Lord and went to church with his wife on Sundays since then on. Afterwards, Zhang became an elder in Xindian Church in 1878. As the journey to Xindian Church is long, Zhang set up “Neihu Church” (a branch of Xindian Church) in August 1891 at the ferry of Zhinan village (near Duxian Bridge of National Chengchi University). In 1897 (the Japanese colonial period in the Meiji era), Zhang and others  spent 30 dollars on the current estate, on which the the church was built, and named “Muzha Church.” Construction was completed on April 30th of the following year. It was elevated to an official church on April 17, 1954. However, due to factional dispute, another group of believers set up “Xinxing Church” at a location less than 50 meters away on the same street. In 1962, with the effort of Taipei Presbytery of The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, the two churches merged into one, which was named “Bunsan Church”. Reconstruction of the new church, currently known as the old church, was launched on April 22nd of the same year. Nevertheless, the church could not accommodate the expanding congregation. Hence the construction of another new church, which began on March 13, 1994 and the dedication service was completed on April 12, 1998 after a series of challenges. Opposite the church is the starting point of the Muzha Old Street; its current address is No. 27, Kaiyuan St. In the past, it was a midway destination for the travelling traders, but now it is just a general store. Its tilted roof and wooden window frames, however, still tell the stories of its former glory.