The coolest part of this Asian city is actually underneath it

New York has one, so does Paris, Sydney and Singapore. High lines, or linear parks, have transformed old railway lines into lush urban escapes in some of the world’s most-densely populated cities.

But only beneath the 600-metre ribbon of Taipei’s Zhongshan Linear Park will you find a buried book street.

Nice find: SPOT-Huashan, the film house in Taipei’s Huashan 1914 Creative Park.Credit: Getty Images

Down the rabbit hole we go, where a sign – “Under the city. We live for reading” – is the first clue that this is no ordinary passageway. The second is the unbroken line of Eslite bookstores, hooked together with walk-through openings like carriages on a train.

I flip through everything from children’s books to art and design, graphic novels to alternative literature, and while most are in traditional Chinese, simply breathing in the ink-charged air is thrilling enough.

With exhibitions, stationery shops and a type foundry with castings of characters for letterpress printing, it’s a portal for bibliophiles with a touch of Alice.

But books are just the beginning of this subterranean strip running between the Zhongshan and Shuanglian metro train stations, where pop-up anime events clash with roller door shopfronts emblazoned with bold street art.

Nanxi Shopping District near the Zhongshan metro station in Taipei.Credit: iStock

A wave of music heralds an underground jazz square, where groups of young locals are practising their moves in front of a wall of mirrors. From hip-hop to dirty dancing, anything goes, except, according to the sign, “dangerous movements such as the basket toss”. Egged on by a group of teens, my husband and I manage a few off-beat steps before exiting stage left and escaping up a flight of stairs to the sunshine above.

A visit to Zhongshan, one of Taipei’s up-and-coming neighbourhoods, is not normally on the dance card of first-time visitors to the Taiwanese capital. In fact, most visitors to Asia sidestep this mountainous island located off the coast of south-eastern China.

It’s day four of our 15-day Far Eastern Horizons cruise from Hong Kong to Tokyo aboard Viking Venus when we forgo the shore excursions to explore Zhongshan on our own.

We stroll past whimsical urban art – rabbits racing snails, ducks marching in a line – all playfully tucked amid the layered plantings of trees and shrubs. Weekend markets line the path ahead, the aroma of coffee and fried pancakes drawing us along like the beckoning fingers of a cartoon wisp.

The park’s transformation started in 2017, but the neighbourhood’s roots go back to the late 1800s when Taipei was under Qing dynasty rule. Then came the era of Japanese rule (1895-1945), a legacy still seen in the tidy street grid and abundance of ramen shops.

We detour to Chifeng Street, known as “Iron Street”, where former scrap metal shops have been transformed into a creative hub of unique and design-driven stores. A time-worn belt from EWF Vintage, a pot of tea at Illumination Books and a playful snap inside the TiMELAB photo booth are the joys of exploring a neighbourhood.

While many of the stores have had a modern makeover, it’s the weathered bones of the century-old shop buildings that anchor the present to the past. Strolling deeper, the clang of metal from the remaining auto repair shops adds a raw, industrial rhythm to the street vibe.

We see more of Zhongshan’s creative soul inside the former US embassy, a Colonial-style mansion now home to the SPOT Taipei Film House. Though there’s no time for an arthouse flick, we relax in the cafe like seasoned film buffs.

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei.Credit: Getty Images

From here it’s a short walk to the Museum of Contemporary Art, where an impressive collection of works is housed inside a former 1920s elementary school.

We finish on a lane at the edge of Linear Park, where a queue leads us to Mian Xian Ding, a Japanese-style shop stand serving traditional mian xian. For a handful of crumpled notes we receive a barstool at the crowded counter and a bowl each of gluey noodle soup. How much it cost or what was in it (oysters? intestines?) I’ll never know, but every mouthful brings me closer to the heart of the neighbourhood, and the people who call it home.

THE DETAILS

CRUISE

Smooth sailing: The Viking Venus at sea.

Viking’s 15-day Far Eastern Horizons cruise from Hong Kong to Tokyo (or the reverse) costs from $10,795 a person, based on double occupancy, flights not included. All meals, beer, wine and soft drinks with onboard lunch and dinner, one shore excursion in every port of call, Wi-Fi, gratuities and speciality dining are all included. See viking.com

FLY
Qantas flies daily direct from Sydney and Melbourne to Hong Kong. See qantas.com

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The writer was a guest of Viking Cruises.