Packed with vendors selling traditional snacks and low-priced merchandise, the Taiwan island’s ever-popular night markets are bulwarks against the relentless tide of modernization.
For many first-time visitors to Taiwan, the sight of streets lined with vendors had them reaching for their cameras. Locals react differently: Often, the smells wafting from such places make their mouths water.
In the days of yore, Taiwan's temples severed as social and business hubs as well as religious centers, so it is hardly surprising that some of the island’s oldest night markets are associated with places of worship. The most famous of these is Miaokou(廟口) Night Bazaar in Keelung (基隆) – miao means “temple” and kou means “entrance”. This market developed around Dianji (奠濟宮) Temple and is now much better known than that shrine.