Taipei Lantern Festival (2017年臺北燈節)

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The Lantern Festival (元宵節) is a traditional festival which is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year and its celebration marks the culmination of the traditional Spring Festival celebrations. 

The festival is one that is steeped in tradition and historically featured simple round red lanterns which symbolized a ‘new start’ for the year as well as good fortune as red is an auspicious colour in Chinese culture. 

The simplicity of the small red lanterns that were put on display during Lantern Festival are something that became synonymous with Chinese culture over time while the elaborate lanterns we see today were mostly reserved for the emperor.  

These days things are a lot different and the lanterns you’ll find at the various lantern festivals throughout the world come in all shapes and sizes and can often be very complex in design.

The Lantern Festival in Taiwan is an important celebration with events being held in every city and county in the country as well as a designated national Lantern Festival which is being held in Yunlin this year. 

2017 Taiwan Lantern Festival Website: English | 中文

The Taipei Lantern Festival traditionally features lanterns created by students who took part in a lantern-creation contest as well as professionally-made lanterns which all focus on the themes corresponding to the Chinese zodiac. 

The 2017 Taipei Lantern festival is taking place between February 4th and 17th. This years incarnation boasts both traditional lanterns but also showcases Taiwan’s high-tech prowess using the latest technology for light projection and illumination which will be displayed on the walls of historic sites and buildings.  

While the Taipei Lantern Festival traditionally focuses on the display of “lanterns”, this one which has the theme “West Side Story, Taipei Glory” focuses on the history of the area between the Northern (北門) and Western gates (西門) of the city.

The festival is broken up into several different themed areas based on either chickens or eggs and there are also several different stages for performances, parades, children’s activities and light shows. 

The event organizers boast that this years Lantern Festival is a break with tradition and they hope that it will allow visitors to enjoy the historic commercial districts with the celebrations being held on the streets. 

In the past, the Lantern Festival would be held at Liberty Square (自由廣場), Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念堂) or the Taipei Expo Park (花博公園) all of which have large open areas that can accommodate large crowds. 

This year the city government threw all of that out the window and planned for the festival to take place in the heart of the already busy Ximen Shopping District (西門町商圈). Instead of a large open space the organizers have decided to fill three meter wide sidewalks with tens of thousands of people.

Transportation to the Lantern Festival is quite convenient - You can access the festival from either the Ximen MRT station (西門捷運站) or from Taipei Main Station (台北車站).

A large crowd wondering where all the lanterns are... 

The issue is that with the amount of people who go to the annual festival, the amount of congestion makes it almost unbearable, especially when you have to cross large streets to visit the different sections. 

In another break with tradition, the lanterns which the festival is dedicated to are actually few and far between and the city has decided to focus on impressive light shows. 

While the Lantern Festival has only been on for a few days, the media and the internet have exploded with criticism of not only the location of the venue but the focus on light shows rather than lanterns. The festival has been compared to Taipei’s (somewhat) failed attempt at holding a “Nuit Blanche” (白晝之夜) art festival last October.

The most universally criticized aspect of this years Lantern Festival is the “lantern” that represents Lin Mo Niang (林默娘), the woman who is more popularly known in Taiwan as the Goddess Mazu (媽祖). The eight meter high image of the goddess has been designed to look like a Japanese cartoon and has ignited a lot of criticism of not only the design but the “dead-looking eyes” of the goddess who is known as Taiwan’s protector deity. 

News Link: 台北燈節林默娘長這樣 網友驚：媽祖還是鬼娃？

As the Lantern Festival was spread out over a large area and because there were far too many people and not enough to see, I didn't spend a whole lot of time taking photos this year. I made sure to visit the area where there were lanterns made by young Taiwanese students and checked out some of the light shows, but I didn't stick around for any of the performances or the parades. I didn't get many photos of the chickens or the eggs, but I think the lanterns created by Taiwan's young students were the highlight of the festival.  

As usual the city government and the organizers of the festival put a lot of work into organizing the festival and planning fun and interesting events for the people who attend. The location and the lack of lanterns however make this years event somewhat disappointing but there is always something to see and the experience of visiting Taipei's lantern festival is always an interesting one. The festival will go on for the next ten days, so if you’re in Taipei and have free time, head over to check it out. 

2017 Taipei Lantern Festival Website: English | 中文 

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Longtan Martial Arts Hall (龍潭武德殿)

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When I wrote this article several years ago, I was still quite new to this whole blogging thing and was likewise just starting out exploring historic buildings from the Japanese era.

Keeping in mind that the Longtan Martial Arts Hall was the first of Taiwan’s Martial Arts Halls that I visited (and wrote about), when I look back on the original article, it’s easy to see how little I knew back then and how much I’ve learned over the past few years.

Given that my visit to the Martial Arts Hall was done prior to its restoration, I had always planned to make a return visit to update this article, and now that its re-opened to the public, it’s my turn to give this space a fresh look!

So I’m back with an entirely new article that includes new photos mixed in with the older ones, and more importantly several years of experience researching and learning about these historic buildings.

This update includes considerably more information than the original one did, but to keep it shorter, I’ve removed some of the original elements that didn’t focus specifically on the building. A lot of that information focused on providing an explanation of what the Japanese-era was, and the purpose of these Martial Arts Halls.

While it should be fairly straight forward that this historic building was once a space for practicing Martial Arts, the original intent and the significance of these buildings requires a bit more reading to understand their purpose.

Thus, if you haven’t already, I recommend stopping here and reading my general introduction to Taiwan’s Martial Arts Halls, which details the purpose of the buildings, their history and where else you’re able to find them around the country!

Link: Martial Arts Halls of Taiwan (臺灣的武德殿)

If you’re up to date with all of that, let’s just get into it!

I first visited the Longtan Martial Arts Hall years ago prior to its restoration, which was a time when the historic Hakka village of Longtan (龍潭) was undergoing a bit of a transformation in the way it presents itself to the rest of the world.

Once a quiet little town nestled in the mountains of south-eastern Taoyuan, Longtan was a gem for those of us who knew about it, but has traditionally been overshadowed by Daxi Old Street (大溪老街), the Shimen Reservoir (石門水庫), and areas further up in the mountains.

In the years since then, the Taoyuan City Government has invested heavily in the historic village with several projects that have caught the attention of domestic tourists.

Even though Longtan isn’t considered a tourist “Old Street” (老街) in the way that Daxi or Sanxia is, visitors these days are easily able to park their car, grab a Youbike or walk around the downtown core of the village, which features quite a few destinations, with the Martial Arts Hall being just one on a long list! 

Having undergone a several year restoration project, the long-awaited reopening of the Longtan Martial Arts hall took place with lots of local fanfare and was expected to become one of the villages most popular tourist attractions.

The photos above were taken prior to the restoration of the hall

Then COVID-19 reared its ugly head and wreaked havoc across the world, putting a halt on international tourism and for a period, domestic tourism as well. All of the tourists that the Taoyuan City Government had hoped to attract to the area weren’t showing up, so it was decided that the Martial Arts Hall would remain closed, except for special occasions, until people started traveling again. 

This caused a bit of a headache for me personally as I visited the area on several occasions hoping to be able to finally get inside the building to see the interior but ended up being denied each time!

Fortunately things are starting to settle down and the Martial Arts Hall (and nearby tourist attractions) is slowly opening up on a full-time basis to an ever-expanding rotation of art and cultural exhibits, making it an important stop when visiting Longtan! 

Longtan Martial Arts Hall (龍潭武德殿)

Let me start out this much more in-depth history of the Martial Arts Hall with an apology. 

When I first wrote about the Longtan Martial Arts Hall, I reported that it dates back to 1930 (昭和5年), but didn’t really include much else about its long history - and for the past few years that is what I’ve had published on my blog for all to see. When I first starting writing about this stuff, I admit that I relied a little too much on information provided by Chinese language Wikipedia, which I’ve discovered doesn’t necessarily always provide factual information. 

The Longtan Martial Arts Hall actually dates back to 1937 (昭和12年) and is a borough-level branch (分會) of the only other Martial Arts Hall that remains in Taoyuan today, the Daxi Martial Arts Hall (大溪武德殿).

This was because at the time, Longtan was administered as a borough of Daxi, which was a much larger and more economically significant town at the time (although I think one could argue that this remains the same today).  

Taiwan’s political and geographic administration was much different than it is today, and the Taoyuan City (桃園市) that we know currently was simply just a part of greater Shinchiku Prefecture (新竹州 / しんちくしゅう) with Taikegun (大溪郡 / たいけいぐん) acting as the local administrative centre for Taikegai (大溪街 / たいけいがい), Ryutansho (龍潭庄 / りゅうたんしょう) and the mountain Indigenous area (蕃地), known today as Fuxing District (復興區).

Thus according to the hierarchical branch ranking system, the Longtan Martial Arts Hall (分會) was overseen by the Daxi Martial Arts Hall (支所) and the Shinchiku Prefectural Martial Arts Hall (支部), all of which ultimately received orders from the “Taiwan Martial Arts Hall Branch of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai” (大日本武德會臺灣支部). 

If anything, modern Japanese governance is known for being exceptionally skilled at instituting confusing forms of hierarchical bureaucracy, and all of this bureaucratic red-tape is just part of the democratic experience and ensures that if the shit hits the fan that there is someone available to take the blame.

Constructed next to the Ryutansho Police Precinct (大溪郡警察課龍潭分室) and directly across from the Ryutansho Public School (新竹州龍潭公學校), the Martial Arts Hall functioned primarily as a space for the local police to train in Martial Arts, and in conjunction with local Shinto Shrines and Buddhist temples sought to propagate ”Japanese spirit” (大和魂) amongst the local people. 

One of the things that I failed to mention in my brief introduction to the history of the Martial Arts Hall in my first attempt at introducing the building was what happened after the Japanese Colonial Era ended.

In terms of the history of the building, that information is probably a lot more important as it explains why it has been able to survive for so long, unlike so many of its contemporaries.

Suffice to say, it was constantly occupied and that ensured that it was never demolished.

  • 1945 (民國34年) - 1946 (民國35年) - Household Registration Branch (戶政所)

Shortly after the Japanese surrendered control of Taiwan to the Republic of China, the hall was converted into a temporary Household Registration Branch (戶政所) to start recording the personal information of the residents of Longtan for governmental purposes. 

  • 1950 (民國39年) - 1957 (民國46年) - Air Force Barracks (空軍宿舍)

Due to the housing crisis brought on by millions of refugees coming to Taiwan in 1949, the Air Force rented the hall from the local police as a place to house members of the Air Force who were stationed at the base in Longtan. 

  • 1957 (民國46年) - 1974 (民國63年) - Longtan Township Assembly Offices (龍潭鄉民代會辦公室)

During this period of time, the hall was rented by the Longtan Township Administration (龍潭鄉民代會), which used it as an office for some of their employees as space at the administration building at the time was limited.

  • 1974 (民國63年) - 1989 (民國778年) Longtan Police Station Standby Room (龍潭分駐所備勤室)

When the Township Assembly moved out (after having a new building constructed), the Longtan Police Station took control of the building again and used it as a Standby Room (備勤室) for its officers. 

  • 1993 (民國82年) - 2010 (民國99年) - Police Barracks / Health Centre (龍潭衛生所汪射室 / 龍潭分駐所警員宿舍)

During this period, the Longtan Police Station renovated the interior of the building and used it as a barracks for the police who were stationed in the area. A space was also made available to the Longtan Health Centre which utilized it as a space for providing necessary vaccinations and injections for the local people. 

  • 2013 (民國102年) - 2019 (民國108年) Protected Historic Building (歷史建築) / Restoration

In 2013, the Taoyuan City Cultural Affairs Bureau (桃園市文化局) registered the Longtan Martial Arts Hall as a Protected Historic Building (歷史建築) explaining that it was one of the ‘most complete’ buildings from the Japanese Colonial Era left standing in Longtan, and because it was one of the only two remaining Martial Arts Halls in Taoyuan. (Official explanation and translation below)

『龍潭武德殿乃是目前龍潭鄉所遺留下來日治時期的建築中最完整的一棟建築物。其建築物的建築形式乃是「和洋風」的建築形式。也是目前桃園縣僅存的二所武德殿的其中之一所。』

Registered under Article 1 and Article 3 of the Cultural Assets Law (依據文資法), which are meant to preserve and utilize cultural assets to enrich the lives of local citizens, the hall was recognized as a historic building with cultural significance with enough of its original architectural design still intact. 

Link: 歷史建築 - 龍潭武德殿 (桃園市政府文化局)

Once the building received official protection as a historic structure, the government was tasked with coming up with plans to restore it and reopening it for the enjoyment of the public.

This period of time saw the Martial Arts Hall closed while a restoration project was planned and carried out.

This several year project reinforced the structure and made repairs to the building on both the interior and exterior.

Now that the restoration process has been completed, the Taoyuan Cultural Affairs Bureau plans to use the space for culturally significant events such as art exhibitions and other exhibitions focused on the history of the area and more importantly as an extension of the newly opened Japanese-era Longtan Elementary School Teachers Dormitories across the street. 

Architectural Design (龍潭武德殿設計)

Even though a restoration project was ultimately necessary to ensure its continued survival, the Longtan Martial Arts Hall had long been considered the most well-preserved of all the Martial Arts Hall in Taiwan.

If we take into consideration that it was more than eighty-years old before being restored, in addition to the number of tenants that moved in and out over the years, its kind of amazing that the building remained in such good shape.

Maybe we shouldn’t actually be all that surprised though. 

One of the major differences between the Japanese and the Chinese Nationalists who came after them, was in the way they looked at Taiwan - The Chinese Nationalists were of the attitude that the island was simply a ‘temporary’ stop on the road to retaking their homeland, while the Japanese never really had any intention to leave. 

The evidence of those polar-opposite approaches is easily seen through the buildings that were constructed during both eras - If we take this Martial Arts Hall as an example, it remained in excellent shape after eight decades while buildings that had been constructed several in the decades after the Japanese left are on the verge of collapse.

The Longtan Martial Arts Hall was built with a fusion of Japanese and Western construction techniques that mixed concrete, brick and beautiful Taiwanese cypress. This so-called east-west fusion (和洋混和風建築) style of architectural design was popular with the Japanese architects of the day, who expertly blended traditional architectural design with modern western construction techniques that were common in Europe, namely the baroque and gothic styles. 

Interestingly, when we talk about east-west fusion, it’s important to note that even within the “east”, lots of cultural fusion was also taking place. Even though the building appears to be what most would consider common for traditional ‘Japanese-style’ architecture, that in itself was heavily influenced by the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty (唐式宮殿建築) in China.

That being said, the Longtan Martial Arts Hall was designed with the Irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造 / いりもやづくり) layout, which includes a variation of the ‘hip-and-gable roof’ (歇山頂) rising up to resemble a mountain-like structure. 

The roof of this Martial Arts Hall certainly isn’t as elaborate in design as some of the other Martial Arts Halls remaining in Taiwan, but that certainly doesn’t mean it isn’t an intricately designed masterpiece. 

As is the case with this style of architectural design, the roof is considerably larger than the base, known as the ‘moya’ (母屋) and is held up by a network of pillars and trusses that distribute the weight evenly.

When it comes to the design of roofs like this, it’s easier to think about them as two separate entities that join together. In this way we can see that the ‘hip’ or ‘yosemune’ (寄棟) is the lower four-sided section of the roof, while the ‘gable’, known as the ‘tsuma’ (妻) is located near the top and faces in the opposing direction. 

There is somewhat of an optical illusion taking place with these roofs as the ‘gable’ appears as if its a narrowest section, but it essentially covers the ‘moya’ allowing the ‘hip’ section below to extend beyond the base of the building. 

In typical Irimoya-designed buildings, the ‘hip’ part of the roof extends beyond the ‘moya’ so that it can cover the ‘hisashi’ (廂), a style of veranda that encircles the building. The absence of a hisashi on this building however means that the roof doesn’t really need to extend so far, which is part of the reason why this roof looks somewhat less elaborate in comparison to other Martial Arts Halls. 

While appearing simple in terms of design, the roof does contain the following decorative elements: 

  1. Hiragawara (平瓦 /ひらがわら) - A type of arc-shaped clay roofing tile.

  2. Munegawara (棟瓦 /むねがわら) - Ridge tiles used to cover the apex of the roof.

  3. Onigawara (鬼瓦/おにがわら) - Decorative roof tiles found at the ends of a main ridge.

  4. Nokigawara (軒瓦/のきがわら) - The roof tiles placed along the eaves lines.

  5. Noshigawara (熨斗瓦/のしがわら) - Thick rectangular tiles located under ridge tiles.

  6. Sodegawara (袖瓦/そでがわら) - Cylindrical sleeve tiles

  7. Tsuma (妻/つま) - The triangular shaped parts of the gable on the roof under the ridge.

  8. Hafu (破風板/ はふいた) - Bargeboards that lay flat against the ridge ends to finish the gable.

Working in tandem with the roof and giving it more shape, the building is equipped with a traditional ‘hafu door’ (破風門), which is essentially a covered porch that opens up to the main doors of the hall. This style of porch is a popular design indicative of Japanese architecture dating back to the Heian Period (平安時代) from 794-1185, but is also heavily influenced by the architecture of the Tang Dynasty in China, as mentioned earlier. 

Porches like this extend from the front of the building and require pillars to hold up the roof that covers it.

In this case, the roof mimics that of the rest of the building in that it is also hip-and-gable in design, albeit facing in the opposite direction. The four-sided roof on the porch rises up, but its triangular-shaped ‘tsuma’ faces to the front rather than to the side.

In most cases these porches are held up by thick timber polls, but here they’ve used reinforced concrete to maintain a fluid design with the rest of the building.

The recent restoration of the building included the addition of traditional ‘rain chains’ or ‘kusari-doi’ (鎖樋 / くさりとい), which are both decorative and functional at the same time!

Prior to the restoration of the building, the windows that surround it were modified and weren’t of the traditional Japanese sliding-glass variety. They were truthfully really unattractive and in traditional Taiwanese fashion featured rusted and deformed security gates that were meant to prevent anyone from gaining access to the building through the windows.

The Martial Arts Hall prior to restoration

This is one area where the restoration of the building really stands out as the windows have been restored to what you’d expect from a building like this, and add to the beauty of the building rather than taking away from it. 

In a design feature that differentiates this hall from the others around Taiwan, the windows aren’t as large, so in what seems like an attempt to allow even more natural light and fresh air into the building, you’ll find that the front facade has three entrances - one on both sides of the main doors while the rear of the building consists entirely of windows.

Restored Windows

As for the interior, let me preface this by saying that I had to wait more than five years to actually enter the building, so the anticipation built for quite a long time. In the meantime, I visited other Martial Arts Halls in Daxi, Taichung, Changhua, Xinhua, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Qishan, so I pretty much knew what to expect when I got inside.

With that in mind, let me just say that the interior of the building was rather underwhelming. 

Considering that the space is currently used by the Taoyuan City Government to hold art exhibitions and cultural events, the walls are full of a bunch of needless decorations, the ceiling has been filled in with modern panels and lighting, and a large portion of the wall is taken up with projector screens and other electronic equipment. 

Likewise, the hardwood floor has been replaced with cement tiles, which is unfortunate.

It’s possible that I waited so long to see the interior of the building that I was easily let down, but I’m not particularly a big fan of these buildings being filled with a bunch of unrelated paraphernalia after they’re restored.

They’re supposed to be simple in their design, so it would be nice if the government could find a balance between providing an exhibition space, and keeping with tradition.

Even though the Martial Arts Hall has served a number of different roles over its almost a century-long history, one thing that never changed are the two beautiful Taiwanese Arhat Pine Trees (臺灣羅漢松) that were planted in front of the building.

Both of the trees measure over 30 centimetres in diameter, and if sold would go for around $30,000 USD each.

Don’t get any ideas.

Getting There

 

Address: #198 Donglong Road, Longtan District. Taoyuan City (桃園市龍潭區東龍路198號)

GPS: 24.863580 121.214680

The Longtan Martial Arts Hall is located within the downtown core of Longtan District (龍潭區) in the south-east area of Taoyuan City, close to the mountains. The former village is located near the Shimen Reservoir (石門水庫) and the popular Daxi Old Street (大溪老街) and is serviced by the Formosa Freeway (國道三號). 

That being said, given Longtan’s geographic location near the mountains, it isn’t serviced by the Taiwan Railway.

This means that if you plan on visiting, you’ll need to have access to your own means of transportation or rely on one of the various buses that runs through the area. 

Car / Scooter

If you’re driving a car or scooter, simply input the address or the GPS coordinates provided above into Google Maps or your preferred GPS system and you shouldn’t have much trouble finding your way to the hall. 

Its important to note however that the Martial Arts Hall is located within the downtown core of Longtan and is near the local wet market, which can make the area quite busy and difficult to find parking.

If you plan on visiting, you should take note of the two paid parking lots on Lane #200 of Donglong Road, which is adjacent to the hall. 

If you’re riding a scooter, you should be easily able to find a parking spot along the road near the hall, but don’t park directly in front as you may end up getting a ticket. 

Public Transportation

If you’re coming from Taipei, there are a number of options for getting to Longtan. 

  1. Kuo-Kuang Bus #1820 (國光客運) Taipei (台北) - Chu-dong (竹東)

  2. Taiwan United Bus #5350 (台聯客運) Taipei (台北) - Leofoo Village (六福村)

  3. Yalan Bus #1728 (亞聯客運) Taipei (台北) - Longtan (龍潭) - Hsinchu (新竹)

  4. Taoyuan Bus #712 (桃園客運) Yongning MRT Station (捷運永寧站) - Longtan (龍潭)

  5. United Bus #709 (統聯客運) Yongning MRT Station (捷運永寧站) - Ping Chen (平鎮)

If you’re taking the train to Taoyuan, the closest railway stations are the Taoyuan Railway Station (桃園火車站) and Zhongli Station (中壢火車站) and from each, you’ll have to transfer to a local bus. 

From Taoyuan Railway Station (桃園火車站)

  1. Taoyuan Bus #5053 (桃園客運) Taoyuan (桃園) - Longtan (龍潭)

  2. Taoyuan Bus #712 (桃園客運) Yongning MRT Station (捷運永寧站) - Longtan (龍潭)

From Zhongli Railway Station (中壢火車站)

  1. Zhongli Bus #701 (中壢客運) 804 Hospital (804醫院) - Linkou Hospital (林口長庚醫院)

  2. Hsinchu Bus #5671 (新竹客運) Zhongli (中壢) - 804 Hospital (804醫院)

Rear of the building

For these Zhongli Buses, you’ll have to walk from the Railway Station down Chung Cheng Road (中正路) to the Zhongli Police Precinct (中壢分局) to get the bus. The bus stop is located opposite the Japanese-era Police Dorm Culture Park, on Yan-Ping Road (延平路), which is also well worth a visit if you’re there. 

No matter which bus you take to Longtan, once you arrive at the station, the Martial Arts Hall is only a short walk away and there are lots of things to see and lots of great food in between. 

Longtan is a really interesting little Hakka village and apart from the Martial Arts Hall, nearby you’ll also find the Japanese-era Longtan Elementary Teachers Dormitories, Longyuan Temple (龍元宮), Nantian Temple (南天宮), Longtan Lake (龍潭大池), the Miracle Terrace (聖蹟亭) and the hip Lingtan Art Street (菱潭街興創基地). 

The Martial Arts Hall is currently part of the Chung-Chao-Cheng Literary Park (鍾肇政文學生活園區), which also includes the former Longtan Elementary School Teachers Dormitories across the street.

The culture park is dedicated to a local Hakka author who achieved quite a bit of notoriety while teaching at the school and living in the former Japanese-era dormitories with his family.

Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 08:30 - 5:00 (Closed on Mondays and National Holidays)

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Guishan Lingyun Temple (靈雲寺哲學廟)
Yixing Suspension Bridge (義興吊橋)
Yixing Suspension Bridge (義興吊橋)

Dihua Street Lunar New Year Market 2017

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The busiest of all the Lunar New Year Markets in Taiwan is Taipei’s Dihua Street (迪化街) in one of the oldest districts of the city. It is estimated that each year more than a million people visit the street in the two weeks leading up to the Lunar New Year festivities and that number is consistently rising with the market becoming larger each year.

Click here for the 2015 and 2016 Dihua Street Lunar New Year Photos.

This year the "street" has continued its outward expansion and is branching out to the neighbouring streets around it. It seems that with the rent being so extreme and more businesses wanting in on the action that the city has planned several streets to allow people to do their shopping and that in turn should allow for the easing of traffic on the street itself.

 Dihua Street (迪化街) and the entire Dadaocheng area (大稻埕) has a history dating back to the 1850s where it was an important centre for commerce in Taipei - especially for Taiwanese tea, Chinese medicine, fabrics, etc. The street today still remains one of the most commercially active areas in Taipei and has been preserved to show its historical roots. Many of the buildings on the street were built in the baroque style which is quite common on many of Taiwan's old streets (Like Daxi Old Street)

Check out: Love, Daodaocheng - A site dedicated to the historic area of Taipei

The street is busiest during the preparations for Lunar New Year, but considering its history, it is an important tourist attraction for Taipei and you will also find the Xiahai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟) on the street as well which is one of Taipei's most important temples with Bao-An Temple (保安宮) and Confucius Temple (台北孔廟) also nearby. There is always something interesting going on in the area and it is a great place to visit to see "old Taipei" so if you can't make it during the Lunar New Year market, you can still go whenever you visit the city!

While visiting the street it is common to find vendors selling all sorts of peanuts, cashews and pistachios as well as different types of candy and traditional snacks. There are cured meats, freshly made Taiwanese-style and Hong Kong-style sausages as well as pork knuckle. If you are a fan of jerky you are in for a treat as you will find various styles of Taiwanese pork and beef jerky as well as different styles of dried fish and squid.

Vendors also sell all sorts of dried mushrooms, dried scallops, dried abalone and something called mullet row (烏魚子) or as the Japanese call it "karasumi" (カラスミ) which is an expensive salted and dried roe of the mullet fish. I'm not really a big fan, but it is popular in Taiwan and is a sign of wealth if you are able to serve it at your Lunar New Year feast.

Candy vendor

You will also find an unhealthy variety of candy that can be in the form of dried fruit or the gummy variety. Lunar New Year is all about the family and children are an important part of the family. It is quite common to have a lot of candy available for the kids to eat while the parents are having fun and drinking Taiwanese Kaoliang (高粱酒) or Cognac and gambling.

One of the unfortunate aspects of the traditional market is that the sale of Shark Fin is still so prevalent - despite protests and a society that is changing its attitude toward the terrible and inhumane act of shark finning. There are various vendors throughout the market selling dried shark fins and while they continue to make profit off of such a bloody and wasteful trade - they are also quite aware that societies perception is changing and that the foreign community are very vocal about it which means these shop owners are not very keen on being photographed.

The Lunar New Year Market on Dihua Street is progressively getting bigger each year and the amount of people that show up in the time leading up to the important holiday has also increased exponentially. It is a great time of the year to be a photographer in Taipei and getting to the street is one of the things that photographers around here enjoy doing. Getting good shots however can be difficult due to the amount of people and the constant state of motion. You have a split second to get a photo before the people behind you are pushing and that is part of the reason why it is so exciting. 

Lunar New Year is a busy time in Taiwan and I'll be quite busy as usual. The entire country has a week off from work and I'll be taking part in the festivities with friends. The weather is looking good for the first few days so I'll be busy with my camera!

Happy Lunar New Year!  大家，新年快樂～ 雞年大吉！恭喜發財

Gallery / Flickr (High Res Photos)

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