Ports in western Taiwan during the Qing era were mostly prosperous and flourishing business towns. Business associations (in Mandarin: jiao shang) handled trade between Taiwan and Fujian and Guangdong, as well as within Taiwan. Retail markets and foreign firms appeared in these towns. When merchandise from China arrived, companies in the various business associations gathered and organized the goods before transferring them to wholesalers, retailers, and market vendors, before they ultimately reached the consumers. The prefectural capital (today’s Tainan), Lukang (Lo̍k-káng), Mengjia (Báng-kah, today’s Wanhua, Taipei), and Dadaocheng (Tuā-tiū-tiânn, now part of Taipei’s Datong District) were the main harbor towns from south to north Taiwan.