Cities > Taipei > 7 Things Tourists Don't Do in Taipei, but You Should...
5) Try a Small Night Market
Ningxia Night Market & Other Smaller Night Markets
Just about every tourist in Taipei makes an effort to visit at least one night market during his or her stay, and the most popular ones with visitors are the Raohe Street Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市) and Shilin Night Market (士林夜市).
You definitely should check out one or the other of the two most popular night markets, but it is worthwhile to visit a smaller night market, as well. Smaller night markets tend to focus more exclusively on street food and draw a more local crowd from the surrounding neighborhood. These are a good choice if you want a chance to practice your Mandarin a bit or if you simply find the enormous crowds at the most popular night markets overwhelming.
When travelgasm.com last was living in Taipei, we were based within walking distance to the Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市), so it was our local and we commonly went several times a week. Since then, it has become so much more popular that it is a bit of a stretch to still call it one of our 7 Things Tourists Don't Do in Taipei, but You Should.
There's even an organized tour for the Ningxia Night Market now. It is expensive for a night market tour, but it includes a choice of several local dishes, snacks, and desserts. If you don't speak Mandarin, you're the foodie type, and you would find value in having a local provide insight into specific dishes, it could be well worth it.
Even with the emergence of organized tours — although it has long had an English language gateway formally branding it as a market for tourists by the city — the Ningxia Night Market is physically smaller than the Raohe Street Night Market and Shilin Night Market and still receives fewer international visitors, so it still feels a bit more local. When this piece first was published, there, at least, still were some night markets in Taipei that remain essentially undiscovered by laowai (老外).
At one time or another, we visited each of the following seven night markets that are less commonly visited than the most popular markets. In our opinion, any of the seven named here are well worth the time, and each is within convenient walking distance of the MRT, also. If you find Ningxia to be more crowded with tourists these days than you would like, try Dalong or Linjiang or one of the others:
| Night Market | Nearest MRT Station |
|---|---|
| (1) Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市) | Shuanglian (雙連) |
| (2) Yansan Night Market (延三夜市) | Daqiatou (大橋頭) |
| (3) Dalong Night Market (大龍街夜市) | Yunshan (圓山) |
| (4) Shuancheng Night Market (雙城街夜市) | Zhongshan Elementary School (中山國小) |
| (5) Liaoning Night Market (遼寧街夜市) | Nanjing Fuxing (南京復興) |
| (6) Linjiang Night Market (臨江街夜市) | Xinyi Anhe (捷運信義安和) |
| (7) Gongguan Night Market (公館夜市) | Gongguan (公館) |
These seven small night markets are listed on our map below using their corresponding numbers, as well. No matter where your hotel or apartment is located, it is hoped that one of these will be close by so that it is easy for you to make one your local night market, too.
From Taipei? Which night market is your favorite? Why? Please share. 謝謝.
How to Get Here: For the Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市), take the Red Line (Line 2, Tamsui-Xinyi Line) to Shuanglian Station (雙連), Exit 2. Turn right from the metro exit and walk straight down Minsheng West Road (民生西路). The other six Night Markets — Yansan, Dalong, Shuancheng, Liaoning, Linjiang, and Gongguan — are on the map below also.
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Live in Taipei? What's your favorite "local" thing to do? 謝謝. Spotted anything out-of-date or inaccurately translated? 對不起我是老外. Please tell travelgasm.com. Thanks!
