Gongguan

This guide to Gongguan in Taipei layers three eras onto one patch of ground: a Qing-dynasty trading post where Han settlers and the plains' indigenous peoples once bartered, a Cold War-era US Air Force base that closed in 1976, and the student neighborhood that grew up once National Taiwan University moved in next door. You'll hear where the word gongguan itself comes from, and how a runway apron gave way to alleys of night-market food stalls. Walk Roosevelt Road toward Tingzhou Road to trace the same ground.