Tainan Night Markets (Tainan Yeshi 台南夜市)

Anyone will tell you that the essential Taiwanese cultural experience is a visit to any of the island's numerous night markets. Pubs and night clubs are mere subcultures compared to the mass-assembly of nightlife in Taiwan's night markets, and many Taiwanese never tire of braving the crowds. Tainan is no excep-tion when it comes to night market culture. In fact, much of the street market food you �nd all around the island originated at Tainan's night markets. While you no longer have to travel to Tainan to eat danzai noodles or co�n bread, many visitors still make Tainan's night markets a priority in their visit.

Night markets are essential to Chinese culture and have been around for more than a thousand years. They have a long and storied tradition, both on the mainland and on this side of the Taiwan Strait. In fact, much of the political and social history can be found in the bends and curves of night market culture. Under the Japanese, night markets were highly regulated. During the 1950's, they boomed in Taipei due to the increase of migrant workers from the south. During the 70's, merchandise like handicrafts and herbal remedies were replaced by o�-sales of the Made in Taiwan boom. These days, those same light industry products are sold, but they usually come from China. Traditions involving night markets have changed with the seasons, but they have always been meeting grounds in which people have gathered to socialize, shop, and eat.

For newcomers, night markets are a lot to take in. On the one hand, they are crowded, hot, noisy, and unsani-tary places. On the other hand, they are a vibrant sense-explosion, o�ering a multitude of a�ordable eating, shop-ping, and entertainment experiences all in one place.

Most markets are divided into separate sections for food, merchandise, and games. These sections all consist of small vendor stalls lined up in rows, competing with each other for the a�ention of the hoards of people trying to pack through the lanes. The food is usually of the xiaochi (literally: small eat) variety. Many food stalls o�er Taiwanese staples, but many others are vying for business with foreign delights or anything new. You can �nd fruit, iced drinks, candy, pastries, wraps, food on stick, or even steak, just to name a few things on o�er. Purses, costume jewelry, and T-shirts with bad English printed on them are the basics at the shop stalls, but like the food vendors, many sellers branch out to cover all manner of things. Most food and goods are cheaper here than in restaurants or stores, but don't expect high quality. As far as entertainment goes, it's usually o� to the side or in the back of most night markets. There, you can �nd old-fashioned fairground games for kids or the young at heart. Try your hand and catching gold �sh, dart-throwing, Mahjong Bingo, or any number of simple chance games.

Most markets are geared towards students, but families and people of all ages a�end them. In fact, they are often the one place you can �nd people from all economic classes and walks of life.

※ Hua Yuan Night Market (Huayuan Yeshi 花園夜市)Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays; Haian Road, Section 3, between Lixian Rd. and Hewei Rd., North District. This is the largest night market in Tainan, and the largest fully-outdoor night market in Taiwan. Ample parking is provided here.

※ Da Dong Night Market (Da Dong Yeshi 大東夜市)Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays; Linsen Road, Section 1, near Chongde Rd., East District. This is the second largest night market in the city. It is very popular on Friday nights, especially with NCKU students.

※ Wusheng Night Market (Wusheng Yeshi 武聖夜市)Wednesdays and Saturdays; Wusheng Road, a few blocks west of Wen Xian Rd., North District. Not easy to �nd, but it's one of the longest running night market in the city.

※ Yonghua Night Market (Yonghua Yeshi 永華夜市)Thursdays and Sundays; Yonghua Road, Section 2, at Yonghua 4th St., Anping District. Prob-ably the newest night market. It's a few blocks past the Anping Carrefour.

※ Kaiyuan Night Market (Kaiyuan Yeshi 開元夜市)Wednesdays and Saturdays; Kaiyaun Road at Linsen Road, Section 3, North District. On the northeast side, not far from NCKU.

※ Xiao Bei Night Market (Xiao Bei Yeshi 小北夜市)Tuesdays and Fridays; Ximen Road, Section 4, at the intersection of He Wei Rd., North District. One of the oldest night markets in the city.

Note: This article was originally post in Tainan City Guide (http://tainancity.wordpress.com) by Karl Bergman and is carried out here under his permission.

House-rental reminders for foreigners in Taiwan

One of the �rst priorities for foreigners who have just arrived in Taiwan is housing, which can already be a headache for the locals, not to mention newcom-ers from abroad. Thus, we are o�ering some additional useful tips on house-renting, in the hope of making this an easier process for foreigners se�ling down

Rents vary according to the location, size and type of house, nearby convenient facilities and so on. Generally speaking, houses in downtown areas will be more expensive than those in suburban neighborhoods. After a prospective tenant decides to rent, it is mandatory that they sign a lease agreement with their landlord, regardless of how long they plan to live there. In turn, landlords are required to present documents verifying their ownership of the residence, in a step safeguarding the basic rights of foreign ten-ants.

Home rental information can be found via relevant websites, student service cent-ers at schools, online forums for foreigners and similar places. Among all of these options, the Tsuei Ma Ma Foundation for Housing and Community Service (TMM) is a recommended choice for foreigners. TMM, which has earned praise over the years for its services for foreigners, provides a wealth of rental information in Chinese and English. After signing up for membership on the TMM website, visitors can immediately navigate their way to ideal housing options by entering their various needs and requirements. TMM also o�ers Chinese-English bilingual contracts for those who may encounter com-munication di�culties when signing rental agreements. In addition, TMM recommends home movers and provides legal rental counsel to further assist landlords and tenants.

We o�ers a friendly reminder to landlords and tenants that, in addition to obliga-tions and responsibilities indicated on leases, showing respect and consideration for each other’s cultures and living habits will go a long way toward not only minimizing unnecessary con�icts but also maintaining a pleasant landlord-tenant relationship.

※Online forums for foreigners:http://www.tealit.com

http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan

※ Home rental information website with basic English service:http://twhouses.com.tw/netc/chengSearch/englishsearch.html

※ Website for Tsuei Ma Ma Foundation for Housing and Community Service:http://www.tmm.org.tw/tindex.html

※Website/hotline of information for foreigners:http://i�.immigration.gov.tw

0800-024-111

※Foreigner Service in Tainan http://foreigner.tncg.gov.tw

06-2981000

Note: This article was post in the latest version

of Taiwan What’s Up by the immigration o�ce.

Hot Spring, cuisine and leisure at Guanziling

2010 Guanziling Hot Spring Festival will start on Nov. 20 and last for two weeks until Dec.4. The warm-up concert in front of Dacheng Temple will be held at 18:00 on Nov. 20. The o�cial series of activities starts with the hiking activity at 09:00 Nov.21. After that, free local cuisine such as Mushroom and Bamboo Chicken Broth, Bean Sprout Noodle and Urn-roasted Chicken are available.

In the hiking activity, there will be guides leading tourists walking through several scenery which include Lingding Park (嶺頂公園), New Haohanpo Trail(新好漢坡), Guanziling Tianti (關子嶺天梯, a great number of stairs) and Central Acalanatha (火王爺).

Tourists who consume in the shops at Guanziling can get the limited edition of Guanziling Character Amulet. The prayer cards for a be�er year are available in Dacheng Temple

Source: h�p://udn.com/NEWS/DOMESTIC/DOM5/5978380.shtml

No.6, Sec. 2, Yonghua Rd., Tainan City

Tainan Foreigner Assistance Centerhttp://foreigner.tncg.gov.tw/en(06)2981-000

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