Before the huge road and river flood wall was built Guide Street in Dadaocheng was at the waterfront. It was one of the wealthiest streets in Taipei with many rich merchant families living here. Like Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, China it was the street where foreigners were permitted residence. Above is a satellite photo from 1945 showing the Dadaocheng area. The wide yellow line on the riverfront is where Huanhe Road is now. Guide Street is the narrow street next to this. To the left of each piece of text is a surviving mansion.

As you can see from above not a lot of Guide Street is left now (though Dihua Street has fared much better). The widening of Xining N Road destroyed a lot, and changing fortunes in the area led to many old houses being replaced with taller blocks.

If you start at the southern end of Guide the first mansion you’ll come to (number 49) is a very imposing and dour looking building. Like many old houses in the area it's built on raised steps for protection in high tides and floods. The Xining Road side of this structure appears to be a tea shop, one of many remaining in what was Taipei's tea district. The entire complex suffered a huge fire last year, but it seems to have been restored (pic is Jan 2015).