Chinese New Year Shopping, Bicycle Rides, and Riverside Fun

Itinerary:

Breakfast beside Yongle Market→New Year Shopping along Dihua Street→ArtYard→Prayer at Taipei XiaHai ChengHuang Temple→Traditional Peanut Soup→Bicycle Ride Starting at Dadaocheng Wharf→Dinner at Ningxia Night Market

Taipei's Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area was one of the first commercial areas to flourish in the Taipei Basin, and for a long time it was the most important. After going through a period of decline during the last couple of decades, today it is flourishing once more, and is a fascinating area of traditional commerce laden with historic sites. As the Chinese New Year approaches this always busy place becomes even busier and more festive than usual, and is a great destination for travelers to get a taste of Taiwan New Year spirit and traditions. Leave time though, after exploring the area, to take a leisurely bike ride along the nearby bike-path system which follows the Tamsui River (淡水河). To round off the day, sample some traditional Taiwan xiao chi (snack food) in one of the city's best night markets.

To get to Yongle Market (永樂市場), hop on the Taipei Metro system, and hop off at MRT Shuanglian Station. Now take the Mackay Memorial Hospital (馬偕醫院) exit, transfer to the No. 518 bus, and get off at the mouth (west end) of Nanjing West Road (南京西路). Alternatively walk from the MRT station, heading west for about 15 minutes along Minsheng West Road (民生西路), then turn south on Dihua Street (迪化街). Either way, it takes about 15 minutes from the station. Beside the market is a collection of heritage shops and vendors of authentic old-time snack treats, and since it's probably breakfast-time and this spot is well-known in Taipei for its sailfish and rice-noodle soup, why not sample a steaming bowl? The delicious broad noodles are saturated with the rich broth. Try adding a delicious side serving of soy-braised pork. Other taste-of-the-good-old-days items sold at the stalls here are thick mackerel soup and short, thick rice-noodle soup.

Next, head up to the second and third floors of Yongle Market, to the Yongle Fabric Market (永樂布業商場). These two floors can in fact be said to be the original Yongle Market, and forms the core of Taipei's fabric-industry development. It's been up-and-running for more than a century, long before the present-day market building was built. During the 1895-1945 Japanese colonial era, Japanese businessmen had a taste for imported Japanese printed fabrics, and this venue quickly developed into north Taiwan's key wholesale center for imported materials, a position it still holds today. The shops on the second floor sell all sorts of printed fabrics, along with cloth for household furnishings such as curtains and drapes, while the third-floor vendors handle sewing, processing, and customized tailoring. The old New Year adage“out with the old, in with the new”(除舊布新) means business is beyond brisk here as the holidays approach, and whatever type of cloth or pattern you had in mind, Yongle Fabric Market pretty much guarantees satisfaction.

Adding to the festive aura at the market is a“prayer corridor”on the second floor, which will be in place until January 21st. Small prayer cards are being given away for free, on which you can write your New Year wishes.

When you leave Yongle Market you'll immediately be swept up in the crowds swarming into Dihua Street for Taipei Lunar New Year Festival (臺北年貨大街) events. Here you'll be regaled by enthusiastic hawkers shouting out what they have and why you must have it; stop for the free samples given out by many of the food vendors, and check out the wonderful array of New Year goods on sale. If your load of purchases gets too heavy, remember that the Dihua Street Post Office (迪化街郵局) and special booths set up offer New Year delivery services, taking the load out of your hands and a load off your mind. There's also a special deal available until January 27th at Yongle Plaza (永樂廣場), where you can get a lucky bag (福袋) valued at NT$500 for just NT$100 — an auspicious and convenient item for hailing your trove. Entertainment beyond the joys of shopping are also being provided for you, with a loaded program of events on weekends/holidays that includes shows by folk-arts troupes, street-dance performers, and pop singers.

ArtYard – Traditional Culture, Modern Art Aesthetics

If you need a little break from all that passionate New Year consumer-ing, head down Dihua Street's Lane 32, to ArtYard (小藝埕) and a relaxing history/art/cafe combo. Opened in February 2011, ArtYard is located in a facility that originally housed (on the right side) the first pharmacy in Taiwan to import Western medicines. ArtYard was opened by a cooperative of artists as a cultural space containing a cultural-creative studio and merchandise outlet, a historic space designed to draw a younger crowd to Dadaocheng.

ArtYard has three floors. On the first is the ceramics-brand outlet Hakka Blue (台客藍), showcasing the simple traditional themes of Hakka culture (in which indigo dye was heavily used), and In Blooom (印花樂), which has a concentration on fabrics with bird patterns and the ceramic-tile patterns of old. On the second floor is Luguo Cafe (爐鍋咖啡), which sports a nouveau atmosphere within an old heritage space. The coffees are presented here as a sommelier presents wine, first in sample glasses, then with your choice delivered, again in the appropriate glass, as wine would be. The third floor is an exhibit space, Thinkers' Theater (思劇場), which has an irregular program of small exhibits, symposiums, and other events related to the cultural arts.

Across from this attraction, the Taipei XiaHai ChengHuang Temple (台北霞海城隍廟) is another must-visit draw when in Dadaocheng. Many come here on Valentine's Day to ask the Chinese version of Cupid, the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), to bring true love and marriage into their lives. Beside the temple is a small but very well known shop, Maofeng Peanut Soup (茂豐花生湯), which is always busy but especially so in the chilly winter months, when the steaming bowls of peanut soup warm the spirits.

Bike Outings from Dadaocheng Wharf – Enjoying the Tamsui River Landscape

As it gets later in the day, and the sun prepares to make its daily exit in the west, head to the Dadaocheng riverside for a leisurely bike ride from Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕碼頭). Walk to the western end of Minsheng West Road, and through Evacuation Gate No. 5 (第5號水門). There's a bike-rental facility here, and with wheels you can meander into and through Yanping Riverside Park (延平河濱公園), enjoying unique vistas and the local eco-environment. As the sun disappears off in the distance the ripples on the Tamsui River seem to dance and sing with fading sparkles.

Ride back to the wharf, through the dike gate, and head eastwards to Chongqing North Road (重慶北路), dipping into the lanes and alleys. This is where the community's old days still live strong, bright, and vigorous. When you hit the Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市) you'll then experience what makes traditional local nightlife tick. Hopefully you'll have a big appetite by now, for to truthfully claim you've“done”this market you have to try the oyster omelet, the fresh seafood snacks, the mountain-raised range chicken, and the many sweet treats, notably the conspicuously popular fried taro balls.

This Dadaocheng“riverside and old town”tour allows you to glimpse directly into Taiwan's past while enjoying all the amenities of the present, enjoying the New Year atmosphere, the warm hospitality of the people of this city, and the crisp, fresh riverside air while enjoying pleasant scenery and a bit of exercise. What better way to enjoy a winter's day?