Taipei's urban renewal programme succeeds by listening to its citizens

Dihua Street used to be a place to visit just once a year. "It was for Chinese New Year," says Wang Yu-ling, general manager of the Blue Dragon Art Company.

Although Dihua was once the commercial heart of Taipei, its prominence faded as the city's centre of gravity moved east. The remaining shops are well stocked with tea, snacks and other sundries, but for many Taipei residents they hold little appeal outside the festive season. "We didn't come any other time," says Wang. "The buildings - nobody took care of them.

Things have changed. Dihua Street today is a frenzy of renovation as landowners fix up their historic shophouses, built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Fujianese traders and colonial merchants from Japan. "Now they've been restored, you can see how beautiful they are," says Wang.

And while Dihua Street is still the best place in Taipei to buy a metre of colourful fabric, a kilogram of oolong tea or a bag of walnut-stuffed dates, it has also been rejuvenated by a new generation of shops and cafes.

"We love old stuff, but we realised we didn't just want to put old things in our store, we wanted to be on an old street," says Wei Yen, a designer at Mogu, a firm known for its Booday brand of homeware and clothing. It recently moved its offices to a shophouse on Dihua Street, where it also runs a travel-themed shop selling bags and other accessories.