East Gate Night Market

Ziqiang Night Market, which has long been a must-see for tourists going to Hualien, closed on the 30th of November 2015. Those stalls which had long accompanied the evenings of many tourists, like the one offering BBQ meat, fruit juice, or the seafood stall run by a handsome indigenous man, have now all become memories. In line with the reforms to Hualien’s tourism, the stalls at Ziqiang Night Market have been moved back to their original location at East Gate Night Market, which stands between Beibin Park and Nanbin Park. The reason it is called East Gate Night Market is because Hualien is Taiwan’s biggest gate to the Pacific Ocean.

East Gate Night Market has now been divided into three blocks, Fuding Night Market (福町夜市), street of the provinces, and an indigenous street. Fuding Night Market is like one that exists in memories, with vendors selling fun games, such as shooting darts, playing marbles and poking fun. Next to these is a mini climbing wall, which is the place that children most look forward to in the night market.

But the thing that leaves the deepest impression on visitors is the indigenous street, where you can buy aboriginal bamboo rice (竹筒飯), grilled mochi (烤麻糬), mountain pork (山豬肉) and magao sausages (馬告香腸). Most interestingly, there is a wide range of wild vegetables that you probably can’t even name, such as "lover's tears" (or rain mushroom雨來菇), which you would have to agree is a beautiful name. There are also chayote (佛手瓜) and wheel bitter squash (車輪苦瓜), which have an interesting flavour indeed. If you have the opportunity to come here, don’t miss out on giving them a taste. In addition, there is also a stage area in this night market where, if you're lucky, you can hear aboriginal people singing some traditional songs for you in beautiful voices. After you have finished browsing here, why not take a wander around Beibin Park or Nanbin Park? Followed by the sound of the waves of the Pacific, it will be the perfect end to your day.