Beitou Plum Garden: a calligrapher’s 1930s summer villa in the hot-spring hills

Plum Garden was built in the late 1930s as a summer getaway for Yu Youren, one of modern China’s most celebrated calligraphers and a senior statesman who served for decades as President of the Control Yuan. The two-story wooden structure mixes Japanese and Western design, and unusually its ground floor was constructed as an air-raid shelter, heavily reinforced with steel rods and concrete — a reminder that the house dates to the tense years before and during the Second World War.

The Taipei City Government listed the villa as a historic site in 2006, and after restoration it opened to the public in 2010, with later renovation work in 2015. Inside, displays have featured Yu Youren’s calligraphy alongside the history of the building and local architecture. Yu was a master of the cursive ‘grass’ script, and the garden’s name — Plum Garden, or Meiting — nods to the literati tradition of associating scholars with the plum blossom, an emblem of integrity that flowers in the cold.

This is a small, gentle stop rather than a major museum — the appeal is the atmosphere of a historic residence set among greenery, with the quiet rhythm that defines Beitou. The wooden interior, sliding screens, and the way the building steps up the hillside reward a slow, unhurried visit, and it has also hosted small musical and cultural events over the years.

Because it’s compact and rarely crowded, Plum Garden works best as one beat within a wider Beitou afternoon rather than a standalone destination. Treat it the way you might a teahouse pause: somewhere to slow down, look closely at a few things, and enjoy the hush before moving on to the springs.

Take the Taipei Metro to Xinbeitou Station — the short pink-tiled branch line that splits off at Beitou — and walk a short way uphill to the east, within the hot-spring district near Beitou Park. The whole quarter is walkable, so you can string Plum Garden together with the library, museum, Thermal Valley, and a soak without ever needing transport in between.

Note that Plum Garden has been closed for renovation since 2024 — hours and access can change during restoration work, so the current status and reopening date are worth confirming on the official Taipei Travel site before building it into your plan.