TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taipei's Dihua Street (迪化街) Lunar New Year Market runs through Sunday (Feb. 15), drawing crowds seeking traditional goods ahead of Year of the Snake celebrations. The market offers traditional snacks including preserved and candied fruits, dried ingredients, and holiday essentials, making it a key destination for shoppers in Taipei area. This year's theme, 2026 Taipei Lunar New Year Festival (台灣年味在台北), enhances the experience with cultural elements and shopping district collaborations.
The market's main venue stretches along Section 1 of Dihua Street in the historic Dadaocheng (大稀埕) area, extending to parts of Minsheng West Road (民生西路) and Guisui Street (歸綏街). Dihua Street, a landmark of Taiwan's commercial history, is known for wholesale and retail offerings of dried goods, herbal medicines, fabrics, and teas. Its Baroque-style architecture, dating to the late Qing Dynasty (清朝) and Japanese colonial period, showcases a blend of European grandeur and local materials.
Dihua Street, known as "the Lunar New Year Goods Street," features vendors selling holiday essentials including candies, snacks, gift items, and ingredients for traditional New Year dishes. Red lanterns overhead and lively vendor calls create a distinctly Taiwanese Lunar New Year scene as crowds browse the stalls. The festival includes a grand raffle and connects 10 special shopping districts across the city to cater to diverse shopping needs.
Common Lunar New Year goods include reunion dishes such as chicken, duck, fish, and meat, along with dried foods including mullet roe, dried scallops, shiitake mushrooms, cured meats, abalone, and red dates. Traditional festive pastries such as Fortune Cake (發糕) and sticky rice cake (年糕) are staples, while popular snacks include pistachios, peanut brittle, jerky, nougat, and Puffed Rice Peanut Candy (米粩). Many snacks carry auspicious meanings, allowing shoppers to browse, sample, and enjoy the festive atmosphere while preparing for celebrations.