With the swipe of a finger, discover Old Taipei!

Taipei Historical Maps combines maps and photographs recorded between 1895 and 1974, and integrates them into present-day Taipei using Google Maps and Street View. Equipped with geographical location referencing, the app allows users to transcend history to see how Taipei has changed over time with the help of maps and photographs.

The Center for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) of the Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences (RCHSS), Academia Sinica, has provided ten different street maps of Taipei dating from various time periods. All of the maps depict a general view of the area inside the city wall, Mengjia (Bangka) (present-day Wanhua District), and Dadaocheng. Other contributions include 131 old photographs from the collections of the Institute of Taiwan History at Academia Sinica, the National Diet Library of Japan, and Sunnygate Phototimes.

Taipei Historical Maps
Taipei Historical Maps
Taipei Historical Maps

Disclaimer: 1. The maps provided are for reference purposes only; geographical accuracy is not guaranteed. The GIS is not responsible for any liabilities incurred by the use of this app. 2. The Google Maps and Street View functions may require an internet connection.

Sketch map of Taihoku City, Dadaocheng, and Mengjia (Bangka) (1895)

Sketch map of Taihoku City, Dadaocheng, and Mengjia (Bangka) (1895)

Time period: Late Qing Dynasty, early period of Japanese rule
Publisher: Mapping Department, Office of the Governor General of Taiwan
Scale: 4000:1
Notes: From a survey conducted in Meiji 28 [1895]
Characteristics: This map depicts Taipei's three-city area (Mengjia (Bangka), Dadaocheng, and Taipei’s walled city) during the late Qing Dynasty and early period of Japanese rule. The structure and appearance of the city wall and the inner city have, for the most part, been preserved in their original forms. Most streets have also retained their original names. When this map was drawn, the railway lines had not yet been changed.

Complete Map of Taihoku, from the Latest Survey (1903)

Comprehensive Map of Taihoku, from the Latest Survey (1903)

Time period: Early period of Japanese rule
Publisher: Taiwan Daily News (Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpō)
Scale: 6000:1
Notes: Surveyed by army staff member Hikari Okura, Office of the Governor General of Taiwan
Characteristics: This map depicts Taipei's three-city area (Mengjia (Bangka), Dadaocheng, and Taipei's walled city) during the early period of Japanese rule before the government began its urban improvement project. The map also portrays the early development of land beyond the city wall, including the residential and commercial districts outside the West Gate and the government offices outside the East and South Gates. In order to accommodate the newly planned railway lines, Taipei Train Station was moved east.

Taihoku Street Map (1914)

Taihoku Street Map (1914)

Time period: Early period of Japanese rule
Publisher: Shinkōdō Bookstore, Taipei (Taihoku: Shinkōdō Shoten)
Scale: 8000:1
Notes: Printed and published in Taishō 3 [1914] by Nagaaki Murasaki
Characteristics: This map depicts Taipei's three-city area (Mengjia (Bangka), Dadaocheng, and Taipei's walled city) in the early period of Japanese rule, after the government had implemented its urban planning program. The layout of the streets of inner city Taipei was fixed, the city walls were demolished and replaced with a three-lane road, the Office of the Governor General of Taiwan was moved to its present location, and a museum and the New Park were built.

Detailed Professional Map of Greater Japan, no. 156: Taihoku City (1928)

Detailed Professional Map of Greater Japan, no. 156: Taihoku City (1928)

Time period: Mid-period of Japanese rule
Publisher: Tokyo Transportation Agency
Scale: N/A
Notes: Printed and published in Shōwa 3 [1928] by Saiichi Kitani
Characteristics: This map depicts Taipei's three-city area (Mengjia (Bangka), Dadaocheng, and Taipei's walled city) in the mid-period of Japanese rule, with government offices, businesses, and shops labeled. At the time, the peripheral areas around Taipei's walled city were expanding outwards, and the Taipei Bridge, which had been demolished, was being rebuilt.

Taihoku City Map (1930)

Taihoku City Map (1930)

Time period: Mid-period of Japanese rule
Publisher: Taiwan Daily News (Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpō)
Scale: 10,000:1
Characteristics: This map depicts Taipei's three-city area (Mengjia (Bangka), Dadaocheng, and Taipei's walled city) in the mid-period of Japanese rule. Government offices and districts are labeled with numbers. This map shows a larger area, including Yuanshan, Dalongdong, Xiyuan, and Guting.

Taihoku City Map (1940)

Taihoku City Map (1940)

Characteristics: This map depicts Taihoku in the post-period of Japanese rule, with organizations, schools, streets, railways, and trolley tracks labeled. Taipei was gradually spreading east and south at this time.

U.S. Army Aerial Photo (1945)

U.S. Army Aerial Photo (1945)

Characteristics: This photo depicts the aftermath of US air strikes on Taipei in 1945, resulting in the destruction of many buildings. The picture includes Dadaocheng, the area within the old city, and the Southern Airport.

Detailed Street Map of Taipei City (1952)

Detailed Street Map of Taipei City (1952)

Time period: Early R.O.C. period
Publisher: Survey Office, General Headquarters of Combined Service
Scale: 10,000:1
Notes: Re-surveyed R.O.C. 39, reexamined in R.O.C. 40, printed in R.O.C. 41.
Characteristics: This map depicts Taipei's three-city area (Mengjia (Bangka), Dadaocheng, and Taipei's walled the city) shortly after the Nationalist government moved to Taiwan and renamed the city streets. The new street names and numbers are labeled. Before the Second World War, the city had begun to expand into the area east of Xinsheng North Road, including the present-day Zhongshan and Daan Districts.

Taipei Street Map (1958)

Taipei City Map (1958)

Characteristics: This map depicts Taipei City in the late 1950s, with organizations, businesses, schools, and temples labeled. The map covers a large area, including the Datong, Zhongshan, Songshan, Wanhua, Zhongzheng, Daan, and Xinyi Districts.

Taipei Aerial Photo (1974)

Taipei Aerial Photo (1974)

Characteristics: This photograph depicts the development of Taipei in the mid-1970s, covering Beitou, Yonghe, Xindian, Neihu, and Nangang. The straightened Keelung River can also be seen.

Information Collecting Units

Center for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at the Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences (RCHSS), Academia Sinica

In recent years, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have proven to be a useful research tool in the fields of humanities and social sciences. Academia Sinica's Research Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences established its own GIS center in 2006 to gather and integrate large quantities of digital resources, including maps from different eras, aerial photographs, satellite images, and statistical data. The center has applied GIS technology to these resources to create a series of databases and systems for academic use, such as Taiwan Historical Maps in the Last One Hundred Years website , the Integrated Map Search System, Taiwan History and Culture in Time and Space (THCTS), Chinese Civilization in Time and Space (CCTS), Culture Resources Geographic Information System, and Map Exhibition - Statistical Geographic Information System. These tools, and the rich research materials that they contain, are assets for researchers in the humanities and social sciences and local history and culture. For more information, please visit the website of the Center for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at the Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences (RCHSS), Academia Sinica.

Institute of Taiwan History at Academia Sinica

Academia Sinica's Institute of Taiwan History was first proposed in 1993 to continue the work of the Taiwan Historical Field Research Program, gathering historical documents and materials. After its official opening in 2004, it participated in several digitization programs, creating digital databases of rare literary and historical sources, including ancient Chinese classics, government documents, biographical materials, and images. The photographs presented in this app are from the Taiwan Rare Book Collections Database, created by the Institute of Taiwan History.

The Library of the National Diet of Japan

Japan's National Diet Library is a department of the National Diet, responsible for providing the Diet with information. It possesses copies of all books published in Japan. In 1998, it began to digitize its Meiji-era map collection, and after securing copyright, made the maps available on the Internet. Subsequently, it expanded its digitization efforts to maps and publications from the Taishō period. The photographs presented in this app are from the National Diet Library Digital Collections, created by the National Diet Library.

Sunnygate Phototimes

Sunnygate Phototimes collects rare photographs and negatives taken by early Taiwanese photographers and photography studios, then digitizes the images, creates a record for each, and publishes them on the Taiwan Digital Archives website. The collection contains photographs from both the pre- and post-war period, providing a decades-long visual record of local conditions across Taiwan and a true representation of the lives of ordinary Taiwanese people. The photographs presented in this app are from the Insight Taiwan and private family collections.

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