Why was taipei built?

The origins of Taipei city can be traced back to 1709, when the first Chinese settlers entered the basin around the Daben River, which is now Danshui River, and established Mengjia. These settlers were mainly the Hokkien people from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou in Fujian Province, China. The city name was changed to Taipeh ("Northern Terrace" or "Northern Bay") in 1744 during the Qing Dynasty, owing to the fact that it lies in the northern part of the Taipei Basin, and thus started to play an important role in shipping and economy of northern Taiwan.

Before the beginning of the 19th century, Taipei was still a little remote town. In 1875, the Qing Dynasty established the first school in the city, and the first printing press in 1886. In 1885, the Fujian and Taiwan Province was formally established with Taichung as the provincial capital, and Taipei became the provincial subcapital. In 1887, the subcapital of Fujian and Taiwan Province was moved from Tainan to Taipei, making Taipei the cultural, economic and political centre of Taiwan under the Qing Dynasty. As a result, the city developed rapidly in the 1890s.