新店 Xindian, New Taipei City

新店 (Mdn. Xīndiàn, lit. “New Store”)

The name is said to date back to the Qianlong (乾隆; 1736-95) early in China’s Qing dynasty, when someone surnamed Lin (林) and others from Quanzhou (泉州) in Fujian Province (福建省) set up a small house on the road to Wulai (烏來) mountainous district in which they sold miscellaneous goods and exchanged goods with aborigines from the mountains. Since the store had no official name, passersby simply called it the “new store”, which eventually gave the whole area its name.

In 1980 Xindian (Urban) Township (新店鎮) became Xindian City (新店市) in Taipei County, and in 2010 it became Xindian District (新店區) of New Taipei City.





Several areas within Xindian have names based on their natural features; these include:

Ankeng (安坑; “tranquil gorge”), a gentrified version of the original Ankeng (暗坑仔; “dark gorge”).

Bìtán (碧潭; “green lake”), where the Xindian River (新店溪) broadens to form a slow-flowing “lake”. The name is said to have originated with local poet and country gentleman Cai Yu-lin (蔡玉麟) when engaging in poetry rapping (吟詩作對) with friends. His poem combining the area’s green mountains and emerald waters was later recorded in a literary magazine, and Bitan's reputation spread further when it was included in the list of “Taiwan’s 8 Scenes and 12 Natural Beauties” (台灣八景十二勝) in 1927.

Dapinglin (大坪林; “Large Area Forest”).



Text and photos © Jiyue Publications 2011