Taipei, Taiwan’s Dihua Street-Stocking Up For Lunar New Year

A food seller hands out samples of traditional snacks during the Lunar New Year market on Dihua Street in Taipei, Taiwan

Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year is the most important celebration in Taiwan and throughout most of the Chinese speaking countries and communities of East Asia, Southeast Asia and the rest of the world.

Families will get together all over Taiwan with New Year’s eve and the reunion dinner being the most important meal of the holidays. Many will spend extra money and serve more expensive ingredients, snacks, and treats for the celebration.

In Taipei many will head to Dihua Street, or “Grocery Street”, it’s nickname for stocking up on special ingredients and goodies.

Since the 19th century Dihua Street has been an important center of commerce with Chinese traditional medicine shops, fabric stores, incense materials, and the post-processing of Taiwanese tea taking up a majority of the shop space in the district.

Every year for a about two weeks before the Lunar New year sellers of traditional Taiwanese snacks, treats, and candies set up stalls all along Dihua Street handing out samples and marketing their products to eager customers.

In this episode of Far East Adventure Travel I take a walk through the market area just a few days before the New Year when the shopping frenzy is at it’s peak.