After 17 months of reconstruction, the 93-year-old Chien-Cheng Circle food market in Taipei's Tatung District reopened yesterday evening.
Due to the two devastating conflagrations in 1993 and 1999, Taipei City Government decided in March 2001 to revitalize the time-honored food market. Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) ordered the demolition of the Chien-Cheng Circle and announced that its reconstruction was one of the projects aiming to revitalize Taipei's older districts.
The reconstruction cost the city government about NT$160 million in construction and NT$50 million in compensation for old vendors residing in the former building.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Located at the intersection of Chungching North Road, Nanking West Road and other four arteries, the Chien-Cheng Circle has been part of the collective memory of many Taipei citizens as well as international visitors because of the Taiwanese delicacies available there all night.
Dubbing the opening of the new circle as "the reappearance of Taipei's halo," the city government yesterday gave away 700 food-tasting coupons of NT$100 each and organized a tour of the historical building.
The tour was led by Chuang Yung-ming (莊永明), who is a vice chairman of the municipal historical research department and also a professor at Taipei Medical University.
Branded Taipei's new delicacies landmark, the brand new Chien-Cheng Circle is a cylindrical two-story glass building accommodating 20 food-vending booths, as well as a performing arts center on the top of the building.
Designed on the theme "the circle of life," the architect Lee Tsu-yuan (李祖原), a nationally distinguished architect who also designed the Taipei MRT's Hsintien Depot, said that he wanted to let people enjoy traditional fare in a modern building, attracting both old and young customers.
Blooming since the Japanese colonial era, the Chien-Cheng Circle was the most bustling and popular night market in northern Taiwan.
In its heyday during the 1960s and 1970s, there were about 100 booths selling popular Taiwanese snacks such as glutinous rice dumplings, oyster omelettes, fish ball noodles, unfried spring rolls and other delicacies.
During the reconstruction, the engineering team unearthed a reservoir from the center of the circle which was constructed by Japanese soldiers during World War II.
The city government has announced the reservoir as the 105th historic spot in Taipei.
Huang Jung-feng (
"It is Taipei's pride," Huang said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS