Monday, December 3, 2012

Shilin Night Market

Location/Accessibility
Shilin Night Market is located in the neighbourhood of Dadong Road, Danan Road, Wenin Road and Jihe Road. Shilin Night Market is situated nearby the Jiantan MRT Station with a five- minute walk down the Wenlin Road. Besides travelling by train, visitors can also gain access to the night market using buses which stop at either the Xiaobeijie or Jiantan Metro Stop.
In comparison to the other night markets in Taipei City, Shilin Night Market is the most conveniently located night market. Being the largest night market in the city, Shilin Night Market would expect heavy human traffic at most times, especially during the weekends. Hence, it is important for the night market to be strategically located so as to ensure ease of accessibility for the visitors.

Map of Shilin Night Market
Entrance of Shilin Night Market

Nearby Attractions/Amenities
The attractions nearby Shilin Night Market included the Shilin Official Residence, Cixian Temple and Jiantan Mountain hiking trail. In general, it seems that the presence of temples seems to be a common sight in some of the night markets such as Raohe Night Market and Shilin Night Market. We felt that the building of such temples before or after the existence of night markets seems to give us the impression that the temples are there to bless the night markets with prosperity. Probably, this is part of the Chinese culture in Taiwan. If we have gone there in the day, we could have pay a visit to the temple and find out more information such as the history of the temple and the influence of the night markets on the temples. 
Signboard indicating nearby attractions 
Cixian Temple

Specialities
Shilin Night Market is filled with numerous food stalls which offer a wide variety of traditional food and beverages such as the large fried chicken cutlet, braised pork rice and oyster omelette. Beside food items, visitors can find apparels as well as accessories at affordable prices. This area may be a shopping heaven for youth visitors as it offers fashionable clothes, shoes and accessories. Based on our experiences and observations, we noticed that there were several tour groups visiting the night market. This shows that the night market is capable of meeting the needs of both the locals and international tourists. According to our research, Shilin Night Market is always listed as one of the must-see destination in Taipei City.
Delicious braised pork rice and oyster omelette
Fruits
Large fried chicken cutlet
A stall selling some traditional Taiwan food

Layout of Stalls
Stalls in Shilin Night Market are lined neatly indoor with two distinguished sections. One of which is the temporary market area across the Jiantan Metro Station while the other section is on Danan Road. There is also a basement food court which offers a whole range of traditional food and beverages. Similar to the layout in Feng Chia Night Market, stalls are located adjacent to the various main streets. These adjacent lanes allow visitors to walk over from one main street to the other.
Shilin Night Market offers a resting area filled with colourful benches for visitors who were tired from their touring. Behind the resting area are shops that sell children’s apparels. While in the front of the resting area, there are games stalls catered to the demand of young kids. In our opinion, this arrangement is family friendly as parents and children can rest on the benches after a day long at the night market. 

One of the main streets at Shilin Night Market

Left: Games stalls
Center: Resting area with colourful benches
Right: Children's apparel stores

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