Dihua Street

Section 1, Dihua St, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103

The cultural fabric of Taipei is made up of distinct neighborhoods, districts and even streets, one of which is the well-known Dihua Street. Situated in one of the oldest parts of town, the buildings around Dihua Street used to be massive storehouses for goods transiting in and out of Taiwan. Today it’s the best place in Taipei to find dried goods of every ilk. Squid, nuts, fruits, teas, and more are all found sold by the kilo, and a walk through provides a great education in the culinary customs of Taiwan. For a fun treat, many shop owners offer samples of their fruits and nuts; just be sure to buy a small bag (about $2) before leaving to be polite. Dihua Street is also home to some of the best street food stalls in town. The eating is simple and even hectic at times, but the hot bowls of meat and noodles is truly hearty eating at its best.

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The Weirdest (and Most Delicious) Street in Taipei

The cultural fabric of Taipei is made up of distinct neighborhoods, districts and even streets, one of which is the well-known Dihua Street. Situated in one of the oldest parts of town, the buildings around Dihua Street used to be massive storehouses for goods transiting in and out of Taiwan. Today it’s the best place in Taipei to find dried goods of every ilk. Squid, nuts, fruits, teas, and more are all found sold by the kilo, and a walk through provides a great education in the culinary customs of Taiwan. For a fun treat, many shop owners offer samples of their fruits and nuts; just be sure to buy a small bag (about $2) before leaving to be polite. Dihua Street is also home to some of the best street food stalls in town. The eating is simple and even hectic at times, but the hot bowls of meat and noodles is truly hearty eating at its best.

Empty streets along Dihua Jie, Dadaocheng, Datong District.

I’m going to try a little free-form, stream of thought composition writing, here it goes: The streets are completely empty today along Dihua Jie. Considering this is the only day of non-rainy weather this week in Taipei, I’m a little bit shocked, the street should be teeming with people. Datong district, along with Wanhua District just south of Datong, are two of the oldest districts in Taiwan: The most historical, The most storied, and the most local (zaidi 在地). You can feel a certain kind of emotional outpouring from these buildings here. They want to be known again, to have their history, their pain and suffering, their happiness and joy, shared with people once again. But on this cold and overcast day, there’s no one here to recognise their story.

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