<Old Street>
Radiating from Yanshuei downtown are three main roads, Jhongjheng Road, Chaocin Road, and Sanfu Road. At the junction of these main roads is the busiest commercial centre in the commercial port era in the past. Along the two sides of these roads where people now call the Old Street are traditional business buildings. The heart of the downtown area in that time was at one end of Jhongjheng Road, i.e. the square in front of Ghara Temple with three streets, Fabric Street (now Sanfu Road), Bamboo Street (now Chaocing Road), and Mazu Temple Street (now Jhongjheng Road), meeting here.
It is apparent that, based on the names of the streets in the early days, the Yanshuei commercial port used to be a main hub for fabric and bamboo, two indispensable materials for agriculture. The Mazu Temple Street where Hubi Temple is located not only serves as a religious centre, but also boasts a tremendous amount of buildings and shops preserved from the Japanese colonial period. The design of their façades is so elegant that even the modern department stores in big cities pale in comparison.
 |  |
| the square in front of Ghara Temple | Mazu Temple Street |
<Historic Residential Area>
In addition to the high streets from earlier times, there are a few historic lanes and alleys that characterize Yanshuei. Some simple red brick houses have sat along two sides of winding, narrow paved trails for nearly 100 years, and a walk along these trails evokes nostalgic memories of a bygone age.
The historic quarters of Yiying Lane, Wangye Lane, and Liancheng Lane cover an area among three buildings, which were important in the port era including Octagonal Hall, First Bank, and Wangye Temple. This was where businessmen and scholars resided. Though the brick houses are already old, with their handmade bricks on the outside, they are good at telling the stories of the good old days.
 |  |  |
| Yiying Lane | Wangye Lane | Liancheng Lane |
 |  |
| Octagonal Hall | Octagonal Hall |
Another part of the historic residential area is Ciaonan Street, located next to the old Yanshuei Port, leading to southern towns during the Cing rule. In the past, shops and mansions mushroomed on the street which gave life to the area. The old unique buildings feature joint residential and commercial purposes. Examples include arcades for customers to shop around and a mezzanine for storing merchandise. A century-old blacksmith is still running business on the street, and the old-school workmanship has turned the shop into a tourist attraction on holidays.
 |  |
| Century-old Blacksmith Shop | Ciaonan Street Arcades |