Huaxi Street Night Market Tours

The Huaxi Street Night Market is popular with first-time visitors to the Taiwanese capital. Come here to get a foot massage, find bargain goods, try local foods that you’ve never tasted before, or simply to people watch.

Also known as “Snake Alley,” the market’s nickname refers to the fact that you can taste snake here. While soup made with snake blood or snake wine isn’t for everyone, it does attract a lot of extra visitors to these night markets. Rodents and reptiles, including big pythons, are also on display in stacked cages, adding to the market’s exotic image.

No snakes for you? Then try the soft-shell crab in spicy sauce or grilled prawns, sample the deep-fried rice cakes, or order an oyster omelet, among a wide range of other dishes. You can also dine out in the art deco style “ainan Danzai Noodle House, an iconic signature gourmet restaurant in the heart of the Huaxi district.

Get right into the spirit of the Huaxi Street Night Market by shopping for low-cost products. For the perfect personalized souvenir, duck into one of the little painting shops to get your name signed in Chinese characters.

The pedestrian-only market officially spans two blocks, but the stalls are also set up in the surrounding small alleys of the Red Light District where the more exotic and obscure products are sold. Like in any busy place where people walk shoulder to shoulder, watch your belongings at all times and be aware of pickpockets.

The Huaxi Street Night Market is located in the central-west district of Wanhua (or Manka). It’s close to Taipei’s famous Manka Longshan Temple, one of the oldest in the country. To reach the market, take the Taipei MRT to the Longshan Temple Station and walk the short distance there.

The markets are free to visit and open daily from late in the afternoon until midnight. There are other main night markets nearby that are less touristy and don’t display snakes, if you are after a more mellow and authentic market experience.