Ximending
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ximending (Traditional Chinese: 西門町; Hanyu Pinyin: Xīméndīng; Wade-Giles: Hsi-men-ting; Taiwanese POJ: Se-mn̂g-teng; Romaji: Semoncho) is another main attraction of the Wanhua District of Taipei. The historical spelling of this area was Hsimenting, which is based on the Wade-Giles romanization of Mandarin Chinese. The use of the character 町 (chō) is unusual in a Chinese context; it is part of a ward in the Japanese municipality system.
Ximending serves as a center of counter-culture and trendy shopping, and is Taipei's main movie theater district. Trend-conscious young people spend a lot of time in this area, which boasts cinemas, CD shops, coffee houses and tattoo parlors.
Older, retired servicemen of various sexual orientations known in Chinese as 怪叔叔 or 怪爺爺 (pinyin: guài shùshu or guài yéyé, literally "strange uncle" or "strange grandfather") are reputed to frequent some of the fast food restaurants and coffee houses in the area, cruising the younger crowds and one another.
