Zhongli City 中壢市, Taiwan

Taiwan's beef noodles capital

Zhongli City 中壢市 (also spelled Jungli, Chungli, Jhongli, Chongli) is one of Taiwan's biggest cities. Greater Zhongli (Zhongli together with his twin city Pingzhen) has a population of nearly 580.000 (source), which would make it the 6th biggest urban center in Taiwan. This weekend my wife and I were looking for a place to "走走" or to walk around and for a long time I wanted to see this big, yet widely unknown Taiwanese city.

Zhongli is about 50 min away from Taipei, if you take a regional train. It's a little smaller than the nearby Taoyuan City, but has a much more pleasant ambiance, even though it's constantly in its shadow. Zhongli is known for its big Hakka population, however there are significant portions of Southeast Asian gastarbeiters and descendants of soldiers, that came to Taiwan in the late 1940s from the Chinese mainland. It was this group of migrants, that brought one of Taiwan's most popular dishes to the island: Beef noodles. The city is far from clean and attractive, that's visible to every visitor, who arrives here at the main station. I would personally not like to live here, but I'm somewhat convinced, that returning once in a while would be a good idea. I definitely need to see more, because I've only seen the central part and the famous night market. What I've noticed are the wide roads, which makes it more pleasant to walk. It also minimizes the number of lurking scooters behind oneself on the sidewalk, which is a nice change from the bad habit people have in Taipei's suburbs. Central Zhongli looks like stuck in the 1980s, I've not seen many modern buildings, what's worse, there were many completely empty and abandoned buildings with a dirty facade and smashed windows. I'm not updated about the urban revitalization projects of Zhongli's city center, but I do hope that something will be done to meet the housing standards of the 21st century. There is hope on the horizon, because right next to some of the ugliest buildings, there is the Zhongping Road, a road reserved only for pedestrians, polished up with a European style paving (reminded me of my hometown) and finished up with trees, which make it a kind of a green lung of the city.

Let me share my photos of Zhongli (July, 2011):

This are the platforms of the Zhongli train station.

The waiting room inside the station.

View to the left from the station: Zhongzheng road.

View to the right: Yuanhua Road.

The station is a bit elevated, you need to go down the stairs to reach the plaza.

The station is ugly, but still less than the one in Taoyuan.

A minute away from the station is Zhongping road.

Zhongping road is Zhongli's road reserved for pedestrians only.

This is one of the longest and most pleasant promenades in Taiwan.

It reminded me of my country, because for our cities is normal to have such streets.

It was a delight to pass by trees and no scooter was "pushing" me.

On the way we saw those instant illegal vendors and a lot of people surrounding them.

Zhongping road is full of shops and prices are lower compared to Taipei.

Zhongli, a shopping paradise? Maybe for some.

A road like many others in Zhongli.

The long Zhongping Road ends with one of the tallest buildings in the city.

This building is now housing the China Trust Hotel, but it used to be a SOGO department store before. It's nearly 124m tall and was built in 1989, it's currently Taoyuan County's tallest building, but in a couple of years it will be surpassed by a new one currently under construction (source).

Zhongyuan road.

Another view on the China Trust Hotel.

At this point we were tired and went to have cup of coffee in a shop nearby.

After we returned, it was already getting dark. We headed to the night market.

And here it is: One of the most beautiful night markets I have seen so far!


Zhongli Map - View Larger Map

This is a map of our tour that day, feel free to follow.

More about the Zhongli night market in my next post. If you ask me, if it's worth to go to Zhongli, I would say yes. But it also depends on the purpose of your visit and your expectations. Mine were pretty low, as I knew that I won't be visiting a historic city like Tainan or Danshui, nor a tourist magnet such as Jiufen. However, there are many parts of Zhongli I need to explore, when I come back, so you can expect a deeper review some time in the future. For now, a superficial overview should be enough.

[My TAIWAN TRAVEL page][TAIWAN][All photos by MKL, 2011]

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Liuhe Night Market, Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung's famous night market

Liuhe Night Market 六合夜市 (or Liouho Night Market) in Kaohsiung is one of the most famous and oldest night markets in Taiwan. First food stalls appeared at the end of 1940s and at the beginning of 1950s, but in 1987 the area was polished up and turned into a tourist night market (source). The night market, albeit small, boasts with a very rich display of Southern Taiwanese delicacies, however seafood is predominant. This is definitely not the biggest night market in Taiwan, but it's one that you need to visit, if you happen to be in Kaohsiung, if you're a seafood lover. I'm sure you'll find something you like.

MY IMPRESSION: The market is relatively small. It occupies a section of Liuhe 2nd Road. It's divided into two parts, of which one is longer and more crowded. The road is closed for traffic, especially for scooters, however now and then you will see some of them passing through (who can stop them?). The area is relatively clean, but can't be compared to some of the night markets in the north, such as Yonghe's Lehua. The overall impression is good, especially because the road is wider (something very unlikely to be in Taipei). We arrived there relatively early (at 17.40) and that's why we have avoided the huge crowds, that are common at later hours. What I also liked were the trash bins in the middle and some stalls even had tables where you can sit down and eat your xiao chi.

WHAT KIND OF FOOD IS COMMON: The most common food here is seafood 海鲜 (hǎixiān), followed by pork 猪肉 (zhūròu) and other standard night market dishes such as stinky tofu 臭豆腐 (chòu dòufu) or oyster omelette 蚵仔煎 (kēzǐ jiān). Among the more unusual dishes is snake meat 蛇肉 (shé ròu), fried ice 炸冰 (zhá bīng) and the expensive black fish eggs a.k.a. black caviar 烏魚子 (wū yúzǐ).

MUST-TRY FOOD AT LIUHE NIGHT MARKET: I'm not really sure what I would recommend as must try. The fried ice is definitely interesting, although I have not tried it. It's definitely what the name says (you can see a photo here). If you're a fan of snake meat or just wanting to try something different, than you have the chance to experience that here. Unlike in Taipei's famous snake alley, I've only seen one snake restaurant here. But all in all I recommend you to try some fried xiao chi or small eats and some seafood, be it squid, crabs or fish, you will get the ocean's finest treasures at Liuhe street.

Let me show you some photos from Liuhe Night Market in July, 2011:

Intersection of Liuhe Road and Zili Road.

After we crossed that street, we were inside the market.

People started to become more, but we still had a lot of space to walk.

POPULAR SNACK: MARINADE

This is one of Taiwan's most common dishes: Marinaded meat by-products and tofu.

The middle part was already crowded.

POPULAR SNACK: STEWED PORK AND SHRIMP NOODLES

We went into a restaurant, partly to enjoy the air condition.

We ordered stewed pork and Tainanese shrimp noodles.

The soup was yummy, so was the pork, but I don't think the shop is famous.

Stalls like this one are very common at Liuhe: Seafood is everywhere.

The second part of the night market is separated from the bigger main part.

Scooters are more common here, but I think they illegally sneak in.

A family enjoying a walk.

POPULAR SNACK: GRILLED CHICKEN

Grilled and marinaded delicacies. What would Taiwan be without these?

This chicken was delicious! I highly recommend it.

That's a huge pile of noodles.

More seafood.

And another stall with the fruits from the ocean.

POPULAR SNACK: SNAKE MEAT

The snake restaurant. Would you dare to try?

Taiwanese having fun. This is also part of the night market experience.

President of China...! Republic, that is. He praises a papaya milk shop as the best.

POPULAR SNACK: PAPAYA MILK

And this is one of the most famous stalls, were even presidents can't resist.

The papaya juice with milk is their most famous beverage. It's really tasty.

If there's a drink you need to try, is this one here. I tried the banana with milk and it was so yummy, I decided to order another one. This stall is popular with tourists from China.

After we filled our stomachs with delicious food, we left for Chishan.

LIUHE NIGHT MARKET IN CONCLUSION: I like this night market a lot and would like to return one day, after I visit all other night markets in the city. It's a small and compact night market with less exceptional food, but a lot of solid one, so it's almost as if whatever you try, you will go safe and be sure it'll taste good, but I don't really have any particular recommendations. The only thing you really should try is the papaya milk. That's my favorite drink in Kaohsiung from now on.

Opening hours are from 5pm to 5am, almost all night. Amazing!

HOW TO FIND LIUHE NIGHT MARKET? SEE MY MAP:

To find the night market is very easy, exit at the Formosa Boulevard Station at Exit 11 and you are there. Click on photo for the Google Map and the original source.

[FOOD in TAIWAN][My TAIWAN page][My TAIPEI page][All photos by MKL, 2011]

[My TAIWAN NIGHT MARKETS list][My MAP of Night Markets in Taipei]

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