Li Chunsheng Memorial Church

Li Chunsheng, a famous wealthy merchant of Dadaocheng, made his fortune as a comprador for foreign trading houses and became a local legend. He helped British merchants run tea production and sales in northern Taiwan with great success, is known as the 'father of Taiwan tea' and was a pioneer in exporting Taiwanese tea to Europe and America. As a Christian and a well-known local merchant, he often stepped in to mediate disputes between foreign traders and local residents and settle them. He was generous and devoted to public causes, and was highly respected. He also made many contributions when Liu Mingchuan was pushing modernisation projects. The memorial church, built with donations from his descendants, commemorates him. The two-storey building is on Guide Street, which in the late Qing was where foreigners lived, with wealthy merchants and foreign trading houses, and was the busiest part of Dadaocheng. Because it is beside the Tamsui River, which often flooded, the houses here have higher foundations than usual. The facing tiles on the exterior have been renewed, but the main features of the facade are fairly well preserved. It resembles a face, with the entrance as the mouth and two ox-ear windows as the eyes. This style of building is found nowhere else in Taipei.

Translated and shortened by DealTaipei from Taiwan's national tourism database. Sources are on the terms page.