Taichung Central

Central District (中區) is the historic commercial core of Taichung City, developed on the site of the old Dadun (大墩) settlement and laid out as a modern grid city by Japanese urban planners around 1900. Taichung Railway Station (臺中火車站), a national monument completed in 1917 and in continuous operation until 2016, anchors the district’s eastern edge. The surrounding streets are home to the Second Public Market (第二市場), built in 1917 with a distinctive hexagonal watchtower, and the Changhua Bank Headquarters (彰化銀行舊總行), a municipal monument completed in 1938. The district declined sharply in the 1990s as commercial activity shifted to newer areas, leaving landmark buildings like the Qianyue Building (千越大樓) and Seng Yuh Theater (森玉戲院) largely abandoned. In the 21st century a number of old buildings were redeveloped into modern attractions, particularly Miyahara (宮原眼科) and the Fourth Credit Union (第四信用合作社), drawing renewed attention to the historic city center.