Taipei City Government

It might be nigh impossible to imagine today, but a century ago the Keelung River flowed where today's wide Jihe Road lies, beside MRT Jiantan Station in Shilin District. The river was then a major transportation highway, and a thriving market—the now famous Shilin Market—grew up by the riverside, with goods of all sorts gathered from all around the region.

During the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945), the authorities acted with vigor to improve environmental sanitation and stop the spread of infectious diseases. In 1913 a public market facility was built here, and the area's itinerant vendors were brought under one roof. The structure was made of red brick and had a wooden frame, with arched galleries running down either side inthe central area, and a courtyard in the middle. Major reconstruction of the location was launched in 2002, with vendors moved to a nearby temporary facility, where the futuristic Taipei Performing Arts Center will now go up. The vendors moved“back”into their new digs late last year.

The Shilin Night Market is Taiwan's traditionalstyle market with the longest opening hours. The use of“night”in the name is in fact incorrect; the market's night-time food vendors quickly became well-known in the old days, and people mistakenly assumed this was a night market. In fact you can find fun and culinary satisfaction here all through the day, from morning until late at night.

The back of the new Shilin Market opens up onto the plaza fronting venerable Cixian Temple. The facility sits within a larger commercial area bracketed by Danan Road, Dadong Road, and Wenlin Road, making it Taipei's largest night-market district. The new market structure is an attractive, modernistic architectural work, although the original Japanese-era arched galleries have been retained, the red-brick walls, arched portals and windows, and wooden roof adding a warm, nostalgic air and creating a pleasant mix of old and new. The new market is impressively large, housing 380 vendors, who
continue to work using their original three-shift system.

The first level i s divided into three sections: the“heritage long building,"“heritage short building,”and the central-area, the“steel shed.” In the long building is found a general marketplace, with vendors selling sundry goods. In the short building the majority of vendors hawk fresh seafood in an area which looks, feels, and sounds like Taiwan's classic old-style markets. The steel shed area between the two is busy in the morning with vendors selling fresh meats, vegetables, and fruits along with general merchandise, while in the afternoons sellers of daily-use items, snack foods, and souvenirs take over. There is also a large underground food court below all this, with the same type of open-concept, non-partitioned layout used in the original market. This layout preserves the timeless, unobstructed layout and sensory experience of the traditional Taiwan night market for tourists, with the environment“updated”to modern standards for cleanliness and brightness.

It has always been the hot food vendors that have been the big draw at the Shilin“Night”Market, and this tradition continues on the underground level at the new Shilin Market – all the snack-food purveyors from the old temporary facility have moved in. You'll find all the great names that have so long been synonymous with the market, in all its guises, among them“little bun wrapped in big bun,"“coffin cakes,”thick squid soup, oyster omelets, fried beefsteak, Shilin sausages, and medicinal pork-ribs. The same owners are all still here, serving up the same smiling faces and familiar
old-time tastes.

The new Shilin Market is open all day, every day, and is just a 7-minute walk from MRT Jiantan Station. After feasting on traditional Taiwanese treats, be sure to hit the surrounding area's streets and alleys for some serious browsing!