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Around the world, there is no shortage of underground malls that connect to train stations and that connect train stations together.

In fact, Taipei Main Station (臺北車站) alone has several underground malls that connect it to the HSR regional rail station (臺北火車站), and the central bus station (臺北轉運站) as well as other above ground malls and highrises in a labyrinthine fashion. Don't feel bad if you get lost in this maze. Just about everyone gets lost their first time if not their second and third, as well.

If you work in retail or real estate, you, no doubt, will notice positioning differences between the malls. With an enormous selection of video games, clothes, toys, collectibles, and more, Taipei City Mall (台北地下街) attracts the bulk of attention from tourists and locals alike and suits a young mass market crowd. If you're young or young at heart, you likely will enjoy browsing through this mall to see whatever is cute or weird this week. It's almost like an underground Ximending (西門町). Station Front Mall is targeted more toward travelers and those interested in gift purchases and Station K Underground Mall — with its self-described "Classy Restaurants" — is more upscale. Of course, all of these malls as well as the attached above ground malls and streets have literally hundreds of local and international restaurants. You can choose from plenty of other classy and non-classy restaurants alike if you're hungry.

Stroll Zhongshan Metro Mall

Although the differences are easy to overlook without open eyes and a complete walkthrough, another attached underground mall — Zhongshan Metro Mall (中山地下街) — historically has attracted less attention and fewer visitors than it should. Those interested in cities — and who have an open mind about underground development — should give it a stroll. Although it certainly is true that underground development can be disorienting, it rains a lot in Taipei in the summer and early autumn (more than 250 mm/12 inches in September on average), and it definitely is a welcomed escape during a heavy rainstorm or hot weather.

Zhongshan Metro Mall travels under about half a mile (815 meters) of central Taipei and runs parallel to the Red Line (Line 2, Tamsui-Xinyi Line). It connects Taipei Main Station (臺北車站) to Zhongshan Station (中山) and Shuanglian Station (雙連) as well as the MRT's corporate headquarters — officially the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation — in a straight line and has a couple of important differences compared to the other malls.

In terms of its built environment, Zhongshan Metro Mall is unremarkable, but its relationship with the city and with its people is praiseworthy because it is more than just a tunnel or just commerce either one.

One portion of the mall is mass market shopping, but it also has a portion that acts as a free art gallery of ever changing works. Another portion is a dedicated "Book Street" (originally part of a government initiative to encourage reading), and perhaps most impressively, the section of the mall immediately in front of the MRT's headquarters features a stage and an area for teenagers to practice "cheerleading" as well as other forms of dance. Consequently, the Zhongshan Metro Mall is more than just shopping. It's really an underground civic space.

In a world where "defensive" architecture — or more accurately hostile architecture — is an actual term referring to city design that intentionally makes it uncomfortable, difficult, or impossible to simply hang out — loiter, if you prefer — and some developers and metro operators have gone as far as to install stupid noise-making devices that only teenagers can hear to try and get them to leave. Apparently such developers are unaware that teenagers own headphones and can drown out fabricated noise with their own. Taipei's MRT should be praised not only for allowing teenagers to hang out in front of their headquarters, but also for actually building a facility for that purpose and encouraging them to do so. The MRT even hosts "Metro Street Dance Competitions" with cash prizes. Encouraging teens to hang out more — increase their "dwell time" in retail parlance — also is good business as it will encourage them to spend more money in businesses connected to the MRT. By contrast, developers who treat teens like pests or criminals will find that teens will spend their money — and that of their parents — elsewhere.

Book Street Redevelopment

In 2017, in response to the relative decline in popularity of the "Book Street" section of the Zhongshan Metro Mall in a more-and-more digital world, this portion was closed and redeveloped by Taipei's increasingly famous Eslite bookstore chain — well-known by locals for its 24-hour Dunhua location — to give it a modern vibe and expanded inventory. It formally reopened on August 7, 2017 as Taiwan's "longest underground book street" (which it was already, just not acknowledged as such), and Eslite and the Taipei government alike hope that it will become a new tourist attraction.

When travelgasm.com first published this piece, the Zhongshan Metro Mall definitely was an overlooked gem, but because of its redevelopment and increased promotion, it likely will become a stretch to still call it one of our "7 Things Tourists Don't Do in Taipei, but You Should" at some point. However, the majority of tourists probably still won't really appreciate Zhongshan Metro Mall's role as an underground civic space. Take the time to explore its entire length — not just the Underground Book Street — and think about it a bit.

We hope that because of its redevelopment, Zhongshan Metro Mall's Underground Book Street will be more successful than it was before and encourage locals and visitors alike to read more. Likewise, we hope that the MRT will continue to have such an open and supportive relationship with Taipei's teens.

How to Get Here: Zhongshan Metro Mall (中山地下街) is connected to Taipei Main Station (臺北車站) and links it together with Zhongshan Station (中山) and Shuanglian Station (雙連). It can be reached from any of these stations as well as via dozens of entrances between them. It depends on where you happen to start from, naturally, but it's likely most straightforward to walk from Taipei Main Station to Shuanglian Station through the mall itself.

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