Last December, lines snaked around Huashan when tickets for Urban Simple Life, the park's biannual music-design-food festival, went on sale.

WSJ: In Taipei, Taiwan, Life in the Slow Lane

Attempts to evict them by officials were met with resistance by artists and their supporters, leading to a public battle over Huashan's fate.

WSJ: In Taipei, Taiwan, Life in the Slow Lane

Occupying a former factory in Huashan is VVG Thinking, the latest venture by Grace Wang, an interior designer behind a mini-empire of shabby-chic cafes and boutiques.

WSJ: In Taipei, Taiwan, Life in the Slow Lane

But they alone don't explain the proliferation of cafes serving single-origin coffee or the indie-minded designers selling their wares at stores such as Good Cho's in 44 South Village and Huashan's 1914 Connections.

WSJ: In Taipei, Taiwan, Life in the Slow Lane

Huashan embodies this new ethos.

WSJ: In Taipei, Taiwan, Life in the Slow Lane