Walking north along Huaxi Street Tourist Night Market, the bustle gradually dies down, and the market proper ends at the corner of Guiyang Street (貴陽街) and Huaihe South Road Section 2 (環河南路二段), which also marks the beginning of the Hebin No. 2 Market (河濱二商場). This is not really a night market, although it does remain open until 10pm. It is a center for the sale of hardware and kitchen equipment, and if you are looking for a 20-gallon cauldron or an industrial-strength extractor fan, you will certainly find one here. It is a fascinating place to browse.
All of this can be found by heading west from Longshan Temple along Guangzhou Street. By heading east you will find at the first intersection the Xichang Street Night Market (西昌街夜市), which is more low-key and caters to a more local clientele. There are a number of interesting stores selling herbs for medicinal teas, and further down the warren of allies extending off into the less visible fringe of this bustling district, the oldest profession continues to ply its trade.
While Huaxi Street is labeled as a tourist market, the transformation from its older and more discreditable past — when it was known as Snake Alley — is not, for better or for worse, complete. The area around it, ranging from Xichang Street to the east to Huaihe Street to the west, is still too full of the rough-and-tumble life of old Taipei to be totally drowned out by the ice cream vendors, restaurant chains and the ostentatiously “traditional” boutiques that have colonized the area. A hint of the mean streets still hangs about Longshan Temple and its environs. It is this, above all, that distinguishes this network of night markets from similar venues in other parts of the city.
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