After the Zhonghua Market finished construction in 1961, a wide variety of shops, including bakeries, restaurants, antique stores, stereo shops and gift stores, began centralizing in that area, and Ximen entered its golden age. At the time a popular saying was often heard, “if you haven’t been to Taipei, you don’t know the prosperity of Taiwan; if you haven’t been to Ximending, you don’t know the excitement of Taipei.”

In the wake of the growing popularity of movies, live theater began to decline, and the Red House Theater was changed to the Red House Cinema in 1963. A common memory of children in the 50s would be going to Red House to watch older Western movies, where they also began absorbing Western culture. However, Ximen in the memories of children growing up in the 60s are of an old, dilapidated place that only showed old movies. Over time, the Eastern portion of Taipei became more and more prosperous, while Ximending became congested and dirtier, with the youth there causing more trouble. As a result, the area fell into a dark age.

Zhonghua Market was torn down on October 20, 1992, after which the railroad going through the area was relocated underground. With the new metro line beginning construction and new city development policies, Ximending was redesigned and was restored to its former glory.