Ri Xing Type Foundry

These make great souvenirs/ gifts and are very reasonably priced. You need to know what Chinese characters you want before you go, so decide on your Chinese name and have it written down or saved in your phone. On the day I went there were no English-speaking staff, but the shop clerk was super helpful and we managed (also thanks to a kind Taiwanese-American customer helped me out). You give them your characters, choose your font/ size, and you can either have them made into a stamp or set in a box. Also, stash your bag in the pigeon-holes when you enter the shop. I didn’t see them at first and the staff are clearly anxious about shoplifting.

Customer service must be a top priority for any business. However, there is literally none here. A lady at the counter shouted at me to leave my bag at the shelves as soon as I entered the shop. Nobody attended to me. As I started asking questions about the place and seeking help about their products, the staff were very curt and did not help much. The lady at the counter was the worst. She insisted that I pay up as soon as I selected the pieces I wanted. All i wanted was to check prices before buying. I usually don't leave bad reviews but this place really left a sour taste to my mouth. There is another shop opposite and I suggest you visit it instead, esp if you are not a professional typesetter or artist.

Friendly reminder: Really have to be careful with the type bricks. You don’t want to damage them or drop them. :)

Type foundries are so rare now and I'm honestly so grateful that Ri Xing still exist AND is open to the general public. It's not your typical tourist spot so I don't understand the need for top notch customer service. Of the few times I've been there, I just wander around on my own and if I needed help finding a specific character, i just write it down and hand it to their staff, and they're very efficient. Upon entrance, there's a clear sign asking the customers to leave their bags, and warning signs on how to handle the type pieces because they're quite fragile. There's a little table on the left beside the cashier that has a type book, showcasing each font and size. Write down the characters and the font you want, hand it to their staff, and you're good to go. Each type piece is worth 30-60 NTD depending on the size, you can also get gift boxes for your pieces. Really recommend it for gift giving, inexpensive yet very thoughtful.

The shop was open in 1969 and is the only workshop in the world that's still marking the "traditional Chinese" movable lead type. In the past, this is how to print a document or a book. It works like a tiny little stamp. The traditional Chinese character is more interesting. The beauty of it lies in the composition of the characters. It's designed with the combination of meaningful elements and a well-balanced structure. Only Hong Kong and Taiwan use the traditional Chinese now. Remember to put their backpack on the shelf, and don’t touch anything or you will have to buy it if you do. You can buy some meaningful types and put them in a nice little wooden box as a special souvenir. There's also a local FREE walking tour called Vintage Taipei tour takes you here. Go check it out if want to learn more.

With the digitalisation of everything, this place is a rare gem. The large collection of Chinese characters just leaves you in awe. It's also amazing how traditional Chinese characters with numerous strokes can be carved on a block with a tiny surface area. They have types in English letters, symbols and numbers as well. You can make your own stamp, and the prices vary according to the number and size of characters.

You probably won't notice this shop when walking past it, but what's inside is pretty fascinating. The amount of words/types are so many (that it also made searching for your name difficult). Getting a stamp done for your name can be quite expensive, depending on the size of the stamp and number of words. But definitely worth a visit, or get a custom souvenir!

The cultural things are fine. However the clerks are not very friendly. The one who helps with Japanese tourists seems nice but the other one is not so good. She doesn’t talk much and just want to finish duties quickly. If you don’t mind the attitude problems, making souvenirs here is still worth trying.