CATALYST PLANET - The Night Markets of Taiwan

One of the most well-known attractions in Taiwan are the night markets where people flock for delicious food, shopping and games.

Shilin Night Market. Allon Lim. CC BY-ND 2.0

One of the most popular nighttime activities in Taiwan is visiting one of the many night markets. Starting from around 5pm, stalls on the streets will open up for people to stop by and enjoy. However, the markets don’t get busy until closer to 7 or 8pm, and they stay open until late at night. Most popular are the many street snacks, but there are also items to shop for and games to play.

Sticky Rice Sausage Stall. Kimberly Vardeman. CC BY 2.0

The food is the biggest draw for Taiwanese night markets. There are a lot of classic and authentic Taiwanese street foods, such as stinky tofu, oyster omelets, salty popcorn chicken (bite sized fried chicken), chicken cutlets, fried sweet potato balls and more. There are stalls that sell foods from other cuisines as well, but most will have Taiwanese snacks. Takoyaki, a Japanese snack, and Kimchi rice cakes, a Korean snack, are among the popular foreign foods in these night markets. Also, because a lot of the portions are small and snack sized, it is easy for customers to try a variety of foods from multiple stalls.

Another common thing to do at a night market is to shop for items. Clothes, jewelry, electronics as well as other items can be bought for much lower prices than at a regular store. Night markets tend to be cheaper in every aspect, from food to items, but the lower prices don’t necessarily mean lower quality. Many non-food stalls sell useful items that do last a long time.

Night Market Games. Brian Jeffery Beggerly. CC BY 2.0

The last component to a Taiwanese night market is the entertainment. There are many small games that all offer prizes to the winners. These tend to be carnival type games, like shooting darts at balloons, ring tossing and fishing for goldfish. With the ring tossing, instead of having bottles or poles to throw the rings on, participants will throw the rings directly onto the prizes. Anyone who lands their ring around their desired item can keep the item as a prize. Goldfish fishing is another popular game to play, and it is essentially just using a paper net to catch as many fish as possible before the paper dissolves in the water.

Also, claw machines have gained a lot of popularity in recent years. Taiwanese people love them, and there are many arcades full of just claw machines for people to play. They aren’t exclusive to night markets, but there is bound to be multiple claw machine arcades near the markets. They’re extremely cheap, and, unlike claw machines in other countries, these ones have more than just stuffed animals and candy. There are some machines stocked with hair dryers, portable chargers and even toilet paper. The low prices encourage people to play, and it is often a lot cheaper to win something rather than buy it from a store.

Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, has the most extensive netowrk of night markets. Among them, Raohe Night Market and Shilin Night Market are some of the biggest and most famous ones. Jiufen Old Street is another popular night market, located in a village outside of Taipei. Taichung has Fengjia Night Market, which is known for being the largest market in Taiwan, and Ita Thao Shopping Street, which is in a nearby village that’s also next to Taiwan’s largest lake, Sun Moon Lake. Most cities and towns in Taiwan have night markets, but these are the most popular and most recommended.