Daxi

Dàxī (大溪), also romanized as Dasi, is a historic district in Taoyuan known for its well-preserved Japanese colonial architecture, including the Daxi Martial Arts Hall completed in 1935. The district features a famous old street lined with neo-Baroque shophouses and is home to the Cihu Mausoleum, the final resting place of generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. During the Japanese colonial era, Daxi developed as a commercial center and staging point for camphor and tea trade; the area also contains remnants of coal mining operations such as the Shunhe Coal Mine. The construction of Shimen Reservoir in the 1950s and 1960s attracted tourism infrastructure, leaving behind ruins like the Hubin Hotel and the Tianwei Fude Temple, which is submerged when water levels rise. In the post-war era the district was populated by numerous military dependents’ villages like Taiwu New Village and Gengsheng New Village.