Comparison
Minsheng Community and Zhongshan Station & Chifeng St.: two kinds of street life
Updated: 2026-10-08 · Reviewed: 2026-10-08
The biggest difference between Minsheng Community and Zhongshan Station & Chifeng St. is where their streets came from. Minsheng Community is a model community based on American urban planning, with streets laid out in a grid and 25 parks[1]. Zhongshan Station & Chifeng St. grew up around a station where two MRT lines meet, with a linear park built on a former railway and the shops of an old street[2][3][4].
Below, the two are set side by side in three sections: daily life, transport and walking, and things to check. This piece doesn't pick a winner. One is a planned, green residential neighborhood; the other is close to a transport hub, with more shops and more going on. Which suits you depends on how you spend your days.
Daily life
Minsheng Community was Taiwan's first American-style model community. It was planned as 7 neighborhood units, each with its own small park and play area[1]. The whole community has 25 parks of various sizes, green space covers about a tenth of it, and every road has street trees[1]. So for a walk or an outing with children, there is usually somewhere close to home.
Daily life around Zhongshan Station & Chifeng St. unfolds along the Xinzhongshan Linear Park. This green strip runs between Zhongshan Station and Shuanglian Station and was left behind when the Tamsui Line railway was moved underground[3]. The park often hosts markets and music festivals, and at Christmas there is a giant Christmas tree[3]. Nearby Chifeng Street filled with car-parts and hardware shops after the war and became known as "Blacksmith Street"[4]. After 2010, community groups and art collectives moved in, and today old shops sit alongside independent bookshops and select shops[4]. On Ningxia Road there is also the Ningxia Night Market[5].
Transport and walking
Zhongshan Station is the interchange between the Tamsui-Xinyi Line and the Songshan-Xindian Line. It lies beneath Nanjing West Road and the linear park, connects to the Zhongshan Underground Mall, and has department stores around it[2].
In Minsheng Community, by contrast, the MRT runs around the edges: the Wenhu Line to the north-west and the Songshan-Xindian Line to the south, so getting into the community means changing to a bus[1]. Nearby stations include Nanjing Sanmin, Songshan Airport and Zhongshan Junior High School[1][6][7]. More than twenty bus routes run along the community's main roads, going directly to places such as Taipei Main Station and the Xinyi Planning District[1].
Minsheng Community covers about 3 square kilometres, so the walk to an MRT station varies a lot depending on where you live in it[1]. On both sides, straight-line distance on a map is not the same as commuting time.
Things to check
Songshan Airport lies just north of Minsheng Community[1]. When viewing a home, go at different times and listen for yourself. Stand for a while on the street you're considering, once by day and once in the evening, and you'll know what it sounds like.
The Zhongshan Station area connects to the Zhongshan Underground Mall and has department stores around it[2], as well as a night market and events in the linear park[5][3]. How far your home would be from these places, and whether you can live with the crowds at weekends and in the evenings, is something to check in person.
These two neighborhoods
On-site checklist
- Your usual route: walk from the property to the station, take the line you'd normally use, and time the whole trip. Do this once each for Minsheng Community and Zhongshan Station, including any transfers and walking.
- Weekday shopping: shop near the property once on a weekday evening, and check whether the shops and supermarkets you'd want to use are on your way.
- The street in the morning and evening: walk around once in the morning and once in the evening, and see whether the crowds, lighting and street noise are something you can live with. In Minsheng Community, you could stand on the street for a while when flights are taking off and landing; around Zhongshan Station, go during the busy evening hours.
- The actual walk to the station: use your phone to time the walk from the front door to the station entrance, including slopes and traffic lights, rather than estimating from straight-line distance.
This article draws on public data and street photos. It does not rate property prices, rents or safety. Please check in person before you move. Where the data comes from