The “Big 5” Night Markets in Taichung

Every city in Taiwan has its own night markets

In my quest to visit every major night market in Taiwan, I recently visited Taiwan’s “middle” city to check out the other major night markets in Taichung. What I found is that, perhaps due to its central location in the country, Taichung’s night market scene is a microcosm of the country’s. The city has night markets that I would describe as Taipei-style, but also ones that are reminiscent of those in Tainan and Kaohsiung. And so sheer variety night market styles and Taiwanese foods is what you can expect when night market hopping in Taichung!

Feng Chia Night Market Guide

Feng Chia Night Market (逢甲夜市, also spelled Fengchia, Fengjia or Feng Jia Night Market) is by far the most famous night market in Taichung. For more information than I’ll provide here, including a walking tour map so you don’t get lost like I did the first time, visit my separate map and guide to Fengchia Night Market.

It is also one of the largest night markets in all of Taiwan. There are claims that it is the largest in Taiwan, but this is difficult to say for sure. Fenchia is definitely Taichung’s answer to Shilin Night Market in Taipei, and it is the one that most tourists visit when they come to Taichung.

Fengjia Night Market first opened in 1963, when nearby Feng Chia University first opened. The night market started out on Wenhua Road, which is still it’s main road, but has spread out into several other alleys and roads since. The market doesn’t have any particular specialty like some do. It’s mainly known for its sheer variety of choices.

Fengchia is in Xitun district, quite a ways from the city center, so you need to take a taxi or bus to get there. From the Taichung High Speed Rail station (get your discount HSR tickets from Taipei here!), you can take the new Taichung MRT green line to get there–get off at Wenxin Yinghua Station. Once the blue MTY line is opened, you will be able to ride it there from Taichung station.

Yizhong Street Night Market

Yizhong Street Night Market (一中街夜市) is a more centrally located Taichung night market. This one is Taichung’s hippest night market, so I would compare it to Ximending shopping district in Taipei.

Yizhong Street is known as a shopping street focused on trendy, low-priced trendy in the daytime, and for its many cram schools. The street is named after Taichung First Senior High School (Taichung YiZhong / 臺中一中), which is also found on the street. It is also crammed between the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and the National Taiwan University of Sport.

The food stalls at Yizhong Night Market cater to the high school and university students (lucky them!) and the many other youths who flock there to feast, shop for fashionable items, and play night market games. Even though the vibe is trendy, the foods for sale in this market are still mostly traditional.

Famous Stalls/What to Eat

1. 21 Stinky Tofu (21臭豆腐) Crispy and excellent – there are several other stinky tofu stalls around it

2. Angel Chicken Fillet (天使雞排 – 一中店) Classic jipai stall

3. Tiger Sugar Bubble Tea (老虎堂 台中一中店) A super popular bubble tea shop in recent years, with black sugar syrup poured down the sides of the cup

4. Lu’s Half Moon Shao Xian Bing (stuffed flaky pastries) 盧の堡半月燒餡餅一中總店) Traditional flaky pastries stuffed with various things

5. Xi Feng Yu Tianbula and Mianxian (喜豐榆 甜不辣/麵線) Taiwanese fish cakes and vermicelli stew

6. Fengren Shaved Ice (一中豐仁冰) Cups of very traditional shaved ice (think beans, sour plum flavor, etc.), considered a must by local visitors

Zhongxiao Road Night Market

Zhongxiao Road Night Market (忠孝路觀光夜市) is another of the largest night markets in Taichung ­– not to be confused with Jhongsiao Night Market in Kaohsiung, which is also on a Zhongxiao (Jhongsiao) street

Speaking of Kaohsiung, though, Zhongxiao Road Night Market reminds me a lot of another famous (among locals, not tourists) Kaohsiung Night Market – Guanghua Night Market. At both of these night markets, most diners pull up on scooters to take their food away. Thus I like to think of Zhongxiao Road Night Market as a “Kaohsiung-style” night market in Taichung.

The night market is in South District, just south of Taichung City Third Market (臺中市第三公有零售市場) a day market for everything from meat, produce and dried foods to clothing and household goods, as well as Cultural Heritage Village (臺中文化創意產業園區), one of the top Taichung attractions. It is about a 10-minute walk southwest of Taichung Train Station.

Hanxi Night Market

If Zhongxiao Street Night Market is a Kaohsiung-style night market, then Hanxi Night Market (旱溪夜市) is a Tainan-style one. In Tainan, most night markets are not along normal streets but in huge, vacant parking lots. There

Also, just like night markets in Tainan, Hanxi Night Market only opens on certain days of the week. Every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, vendors set up temporary rows of stalls in this large space just east of the Han River (旱溪 or Han Xi), hence the night market’s name

In terms of food, expect lots of typical local specialties, like quail egg skewers, meat skewers, papaya milk, green onion cakes, oyster omelets, and the list goes on. One specialty the night market is known for is fermented bean curd chicken (豆乳雞) – the chicken is marinated in fermented bean curd paste before being deep fried. and Hanxi Night Market is in Taichung’s East District, about 30 minutes on foot from Taichung station. I recommend going by taxi or Uber like I did.

Famous Stalls/What to Eat

1. Master Fang Lian’s Dried Dou Gan (方臉師傅豆干) Super yummy dougan (dried tofu) with various toppings

2. Good Hualien-style Green Onion Cakes (好蔥食花蓮炸蛋蔥油餅 旱溪總店) Deep fried green onion cakes with a runny whole deep fried egg inside

3. Zhengfeng Original Pineapple Ice (正豐原祖傳鳳梨冰) Traditional slushy pineapple drink

4. Yiye Fermented Bean Curd Chicken (一也豆乳雞) A popular fried chicken stall; the chicken is first marinated in furu, or fermented bean curd sauce

Zhonghua Road Night Market

Dating to the 1950s, and officially recognized as a night market in the 1960s, Zhonghua Road Night Market (中華路夜市) is Taichung’s longest-running night market. However, despite holding the title as Taichung’s oldest, the night market is past its prime and I don’t really recommend it.

The reason I say this is that it barely counts as a night market because it is so long and spread out. There is no single part of it with a dense collection of food stalls that you can easily stroll on foot. Instead, it’s better to arrive at a specific stall by scooter as the locals do.

As the name suggests, the night market runs along both sides of Zhonghua Road (spaning parts of section 1 and 2). The night market starts a few blocks northeast of where is indicated on GoogleMaps, but runs about a kilometer (southwest direction) from there. But like I said, it’s not a continuous night market, so there are many streets or gaps with few or no stalls.Still, many older Taichung locals love to come to Zhonghua Road Night Market for the memories and traditional foods on offer. It’s also known for being the go-to place to find something greasy and delicious to eat as late as 4 A.M.

A 10-minute walk directly west of Yizhong Street Night Market will bring you to the start of Zhonghua Street Night Market, but as I mentioned, it’s best to plan where you want to eat first, then arrive by scooter or taxi, rather than walk from one end to the other.Four of the night market’s most famous stalls (all on my list below) are at the same intersection, where Zhonghua Rd Sect 1 (中華路一段) and Taiwan Boulevard Sect 1 (台灣大道一段) meet, so that would be the best spot to arrive. Still, no won’t really feel you are in a night market – at least I didn’t.

Famous Stalls/What to Eat

1. Fu Din Wang (富鼎旺豬腳-中正店) Famous for their braised pork knuckles

2. Three Generations Fried Noodles (三代炒麵 or San Dai Chao Mian) 60+ year-old fried noodle shop. They’ve also got a “ketchup fried rice” (don’t knock it till you try it!)

3. A Quan Gua Bao (阿全割包担) For guabao (“Taiwanese hamburgers”), just across the street from the above two

4. Zhonghua Stinky Tofu and Oyster Omelet (中華臭豆腐蚵仔煎) Two Taiwanese classics at one stall, across from the latter