Shilin Night Market () is a

night market Night markets or night bazaars are street markets which operate at night and are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets. They are typically open-air markets popular in East Asia, So ...

Shilin District Shilin District (also spelled Shihlin District, zh, t=士林區, p=Shìlínqū, poj=Sū-lîm-khu) is a district of Taipei. The central command center of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) is located in Shilin. History The name ''Shilin'' w ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

, often considered to be the largest and most famous night market in Taiwan.

Overview

The night market encompasses two distinct sections sharing a symbiotic relationship: a section formerly housed in the old Shilin Market building, containing mostly food vendors and small restaurants; and the surrounding businesses and shops selling other nonfood items. The food court holds 539 stalls, and the second floor serves as a parking lot for 400 cars. In addition to the food court, side streets and alleys are lined with storefronts and roadside stands. Cinemas, video arcades, and

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

bars are also prevalent in the area. Like most night markets in Taiwan, the local businesses and vendors begin opening around 16:00. As students begin returning home from school, crowds reach their peak between 20:00 and 23:00. Businesses continue operating well past

midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours ...

, closing around 01:00 or 02:00. Tourist traffic has increased in recent years due to the opening of the

Taipei Metro Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), branded as Metro Taipei, is a rapid transit system serving the areas of Taipei and New Taipei in Taiwan, operated by the government-owned Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, which also operates the Maokong Gondo ...

system. The night market is closest to

Jiantan Station Jiantan (, formerly transliterated as Chientan Station until 2003) is a metro station in Taipei, Taiwan served by Taipei Metro. There was a station of the same name on the now-defunct Tamsui railway line, however the position was different; the T ...

on Tamsui–Xinyi line (Tamsui/Red Line), and can be seen from the station platform.

Historical development

The night market is located near the former location of a

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locati ...

on the

Keelung River The Keelung River () is a river in northern Taiwan. The Keelung River originates in the mountains west-northwest of the town of Jingtong in Pingxi District, New Taipei City, flows down to a rift valley and then flows ENE to Sandiaoling. Then ...

. Agricultural produce from farms in Shilin being shipped to other ports such as Banka and Dadaocheng would typically be sold in this area. The daytime Shilin Market was formally established in this area in 1909, and the market was inaugurated in 1913. With the influx of customers, many new businesses and food vendors began to establish themselves in the area and the Shilin Night Market was born. The most prominent landmark inside the night market is the centuries-old Matsu Temple, known as , which was first established in 1796 and moved to current location in 1864. Shilin Night Market has since become the largest and most well-known night market in Taiwan, especially with regards to food, and is a favorite focal point for Taipei's

nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

among residents and visitors alike. Due to safety, sanitation and fire hazard concerns, the old Shilin Market structure was demolished in October 2002 by the Taipei City Government; the food vendors formerly based within the old structure were relocated to a newer temporary structure a few hundred meters away, next to the metro

. Plans for the renovated site began in 1999. Work commenced in 2006 after the relocation of the vendors to the temporary site. The renovated site re-opened in 2011.

Transportation

Shilin Night Market is accessible via the Tamsui–Xinyi line (Taipei Metro) at Jiantan Station. A number of bus routes also serve the area with stops at Jiantan Station, nearby Ming Chuan University, and Xiao Bei (Hsiao Pei) Street.

Famous foods

Bubble tea Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, tapioca milk tea, boba tea, or boba; , ) is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. Taiwanese immigrants brought it to the United States in the 1990s, initially ...

() * Chicken katsu () * Cold noodles () * Fried buns () * Grilled king oyster mushrooms () * Lemon

aiyu jelly Aiyu jelly (; or ; or simply ), known in Amoy Hokkien as ''ogio'' (), and as ice jelly in Singapore (), is a jelly made from the gel from the seeds of the awkeotsang creeping fig found in Taiwan and East Asian countries of the same climates an ...

() *

Oyster omelet 200px, Taiwanese style Oyster omelette The oyster omelette, as known as o-a-tsian (), o-chien () or orh luak (; Peng'im: ''o5 luah4'') is a dish of Banlamese (both Hokkien and Teochew) origin that is renowned for its savory flavor in its native ...

() *

Oyster vermicelli Oyster vermicelli or oyster misua (traditional Chinese: 蚵仔麵線; Taiwanese Hokkien: ô-á mī-sòaⁿ) is a kind of noodle soup originated in Taiwan. Its main ingredients are oysters and misua (Chinese vermicelli). One of the famous places ...

* Papaya milk () * Peanut candy () * Peanut butter and jelly sandwich *

Small Sausage in Large Sausage Small sausage in large sausage () is a snack sausage sandwich invented in Taiwan in the late 20th century. A segment of Taiwanese pork sausage is wrapped in a (slightly bigger and fatter) sticky rice sausage to make this delicacy, usually served ...

() *

Stinky tofu Stinky tofu () is a Chinese form of fermented tofu that has a strong odor. It is usually sold at night markets or roadside stands as a snack, or in lunch bars as a side dish, rather than in restaurants. Traditionally the dish is fermented in ...

() * Taiwanese tempura

Overview

Historical development

Transportation

Famous foods

See also