Xinhua

Xīnhuà (新化) is a historic district just east of the central core of Tainan City. It developed as a political and commercial center during the Japanese colonial era and preserves an exceptional concentration of heritage architecture, most notably Xinhua Old Street, widely regarded as one of the finest old streets in Taiwan. The street is lined with neo-Baroque, Art Deco, and modernist shophouses. Beyond the old street, Xinhua is home to Xinhua Martial Arts Hall (新化武德殿), a restored kendo and judo training facility with a distinctive spring-loaded floor completed in 1936, and Xinhua Township Office (新化街役場), completed in 1934 and now operating as a restaurant and café. The district also features several preserved Japanese-style wooden dormitories and other remnants of the colonial administrative infrastructure.