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Take a seasonal stroll down Dihua Street

By David Momphard
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Jan 17, 2004, Page 16

Shoppers cross Minsheng West Road, which divides the annual Lunar New Year circus on Dihua Street, which is packed with pedestrians and peddlers even on a weeknight. PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES

The number of oddities and essentials sold along Dihua Street throughout the year is a smorgasbord for the senses. In the weeks before the Lunar New Year, however, the 150-year-old trading post becomes a veritable circus. There is seemingly no end to the number of dried, candied and pickled things available to holiday shoppers.

To better understand Chinese culture, you can do no better than walk down Dihua Street. And with only five days left before the year of the monkey, there's little time left to horse around.

The area began to boom in the 1850s after a trader named Lin Lan-tien set up shop on the street. He traded locally produced sugar, rice, camphor and fruit with merchants importing goods from China, then sold their products to locals. Textiles became the area's main item of trade and remains so today, but there are over a hundred shops in the area selling traditional medicines, some of which have been open since the late 1800s.

But despite the fact that many of the area's vendors now ply a trade in fabric or medicine, the economic importance of Lunar New Year cannot be overestimated.

Much of the allure of walking along Dihua Street before Chinese New Year is the colorful array of goods. PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES

"Half of what I make each year is in January," said one shopkeeper named Gao. For the past three weeks he's sat atop a small mountain of dried fish, but normally Gao's shop is lined with bolts of cloth. Like many vendors here, he's moved aside his usual inventory to sell the trappings of Chinese New Year.

"I trade this stuff year round," he says of his variety of dried, shredded fish, "but nobody comes to this part of town during the year to buy it. So it goes straight from where it's made to store shelves."

There's plenty to see and do. PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES

He's not alone in his new year's sales estimate. Most merchants will tell you that about half of their yearly earnings are made in the weeks leading up to the new year -- if, that is, you can catch them at a moment when they're not hawking customers.

Foodstuffs aren't the only thing being flogged. Lunar New Year decorations, jade trinkets and calligraphy are also on offer, as are such practical things as socks, slippers and speeding detectors.

Merchants are almost hidden behind mountains of dried fish. PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES

But if you're thinking there are bargains to be had on these things -- or on the foodstuffs -- think again. Mark-ups are typical and often extreme (though this is usually part of the sales pitch -- there are no set prices here). A box of Chinese tea I bought from a local vendor last fall cost NT$300 at the time. That same box from the same vendor cost NT$1,000, but he was willing to let me have three boxes for that price.

A busy Dihua Street packed with shoppers. PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES

Anyone heading towards Dihua Street is strongly recommended to leave their car at home and take public transportation, as there is virtually no parking available on any of the streets in the vicinity. A driver's best bet is to head for the large parking area adjacent to the Tamshui River at the end of Minsheng East Road. Note, however, that driving on Minsheng Road becomes more congested as you approach Dihua Street. It is a 15-minute walk east down Minsheng East Road from the Shuanglien MRT station. Special busses running the length of Minsheng East Road will also be available during the next two weeks. Look for the busses marked with red and white banners.
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