Amid a jolting crowd on Dihua Street

Lining from shoulder to shoulder in a less-than-two-meter-wide space, I was tucked in a jolting crowd and resounded by loud noises. Oh, I was not standing in front of a famous pop-star concert stage but in Dihua Street Market (迪化街), a famous Taipei shopping destination for Chinese New Year supplies. A normally wide street was narrowed by rows of tarp-covered stands on both sides, creating a bottleneck flow of shoppers passing through its Section 1. This sardine-packed crowd reminded me of Jatujak Weekend Market in Bangkok, even though Dihua Street Market is much smaller but in a more pleasurable weather than Jatujak Weekend Market. Usually, Dihua boasts for herb and dried-food shops and its architecture of the Baroque decoration from Daisho Era, but this size of crowd easily blinds one from seeing the buildings’ architectural style (the about-one-mile alley packed at least 7,000 people today, my own non-scientifically estimated number).

Architectures of Dihua Street Buildings in Baroque decoration of Daisho Era looking down the jolting crowd.

Most Taipei-ren (台北人) here came for their New Year Party supplies, but I joined the crowd for a feel of it and plus for enjoying free samples offered by all vendors (I learned about free samplings from an article on Taipei Chinese New Year). I was quite sure that a large proportion of this crowd also loves such free samples. All shops were decorated by red paper with golden Chinese letters as “red for good luck,” but offered similar products from one another, ranging from auspicious-name dried fruits to colorful sweet candies. I did not know much about these goodies but I was puzzled by strangely red-orange interesting flatten heart-shape stuff. I latter learned that these were “Mullets’ eggs,” and it is a must-buy-must-eat New Year dish, as a saying goes "eating gray mullet's golden eggs can bring you lots of good fortune every year!"

Kids and adults are circling piles of colorful sweets.

Tanghulu (sugar coated fruits or vegetables) and frog leg stands.

Colorfully wrapped, candies were piled high as if one could taste how sweet they posses in a glance. Kids and adults circled and dug into candy piles as if they were mountains of gold. Dried fruits displaying their colors invited me to stop and taste. I decided to buy some dried sweetened green beans and apple slices home. People were not only circling the piles of goodies but also enclosing one another. Nonetheless, a glance through space of the touching-shoulder wall entertained my brain by colorful displays and scents from one vendor to the next, from a strong smell of hot ulong tea to savory scents of fried noodles and steamed buns.

A lady preparing fried stinky tofu nearby a Taiwanese sausage stand.

Attractive displays and aroma of goodies were not enough. To persuade potential buyers, the shop keepers worked as a team, dressing in an eye-catcher costume, speaking into a microphone to amplify their products’ specialties, while handing samplings out to moving crowd. Some vendors put on a demonstration, especially at toy shops. A roasted pork stand even displayed whole roasted baby pork, which attracted attentions fairly well. Too bad, I did not taste the pork whether it was good or not. In addition, xiaochi stands were located on the north end along Gueishuei Street and spuriously on Dihua Street. Often, shoppers veered out to pray for blessing at the Xiahai City God Temple, one of Taipei's most reputable worship places. Some released themselves from the crowd to enjoy various performances and programs running throughout the day on stages hosted by Taipei City as Dihua Street is a part of multilocale 2008 Taipei Big Street New Year Shopping Festival.

Sellers speaking into a megaphone to persuade a crowd of shoppers.

Roasted baby pig on display (though its size is relatively large). Shopkeeper is narrating how good the pork tastes, I assume.

Yummy noodle soup and fried noodle being prepared by chiefs.

After pilgrimaging the full circle on Dihua street and filling my stomach along the way, I continued walking down to Ximending to find myself amid another type of crowds watching wannabe-star performers.