During my week-long visit to Taipei, Wanhua District was one of the places I returned to most often. By day, I enjoyed visiting the area’s temples and historic sites. But I really felt Wanhua come alive in the evening as its night markets and the neon-washed streets of Ximending ramp up.
Here’s how I would plan a late-afternoon and evening walk through Wanhua, from its older, rough-around-the-edges historic core to one of Taipei’s definitive after-dark hotspots.
Start your Wanhua itinerary at Bopiliao Historic Block
Wanhua District is one of Taipei’s oldest neighborhoods. So, I can’t think of a better place to start exploring it than Bopiliao Historic Block, one of the city’s oldest quarters.
From Longshan Temple MRT Exit 1, Bopiliao Historic Block is a five-minute walk up Kangding Road.
Bopiliao Historical Block is a row of red brick shophouses dating back to the Qing Dynasty. While walking around the block, I spotted a clear stylistic split between older arched shopfronts to the north and Japanese-era baroque facades to the south.
The whole block feels as if it were left unswept by modern development.
I’d set aside time to visit the Heritage and Culture Education Center at the southeast corner. It’s worth ducking in to get to know the area a bit better. What I find particularly interesting here is the wing on traditional medicine, which still has an old apothecary cabinet on display.
What I should mention, though, is that while Bopiliao Historic Block looks great in photos, it can feel a little empty when there’s no exhibition on display. The area is restored, not lived in.
It didn’t feel as alive to me as Dihua Street in Datong District, which I thought was one of the most interesting old streets in Taipei.
(I’d still stop at Bopiliao, but I wouldn’t expect much beyond scoping out the architecture.)
Bopiliao Historical Block is free to wander around. The alley stays open until 9 pm, but the buildings close at 6 pm, and the museum wing closes at 5 pm. (It’s closed on Mondays.)
Before leaving the Bopiliao area, I’d also try to squeeze in a visit to Xinfu Market. It’s just a few minutes further down Kangding Road at Sanshui Street.
Xinfu Market is set in a 1935 market building renovated into a small café and history space, with the working produce stalls of Dongsanshui Street Market still running right next door.
Most of Xinfu Market shuts down by early afternoon, so my recommendation only works if you’re not starting your evening Wanhua itinerary too late.
Wish for luck in love at Longshan Temple
From Bopiliao Historical Block, Longshan Temple is barely a minute’s walk away, right at the intersection of Guangzhou Street and Kangding Road.
Longshan Temple has survived earthquakes, fires, and an American bombing raid in 1945 that destroyed part of the main hall. What’s standing now is mostly postwar reconstruction. But unlike other recreated temples I’ve visited around Asia, this one does not feel like it was rebuilt.
Fujian settlers founded Longshan Temple in 1738 to honor Guanyin. Today, the same hall also worships Mazu and Yue Lao, the matchmaker god that locals still visit, hoping for good luck in love.
The altar dedicated to Yue Lao is smaller than the main hall, but I could see that it still pulls steady foot traffic on its own, separate from anyone completing the rounds of the bigger deities.
I’d budget at least 20 minutes at Longshan Temple, longer if you want to watch how locals actually pray. There’s a specific order to it, moving between different halls and deities.
(In my experience, nobody will stop you from following along if you’re respectful about it. In fact, the local worshippers encouraged me to hop in and showed me the ropes!)
One thing I should mention is that since it’s one of the most popular places to visit in Taipei, Longshan Temple seems to get very crowded by mid-afternoon, especially on weekends. And there’s no quiet corner to retreat to if you need a break from the incense smoke.
If you wanted to squeeze in a morning visit, instead, the temple also runs chanting ceremonies at 6 am and 8 am. The atmosphere then is completely different from what we see here in the afternoon.
Longshan Temple is free to enter and is open daily from 6 am to 9:45 pm.
Before leaving the area, I’d also duck into Herb Alley. Officially called Qingcao Lane, this alleyway is tucked into Lane 224 off Xichang Street just behind the temple.
Herb Alley is narrow enough to feel a little claustrophobic, but that design is intentional. Keeping the alley enclosed helps preserve the herbs sold inside. Around a dozen shops line the lane, some over a century old, selling more than 100 varieties of fresh and dried herbs.
The tradition dates back to temple-goers who would receive herbal prescriptions after praying at Longshan Temple and needed a nearby place to fill them.
Most shops also sell cold herbal tea by the cup. Flavors like roselle, wintermelon, and mesona are common. (Although I’d prefer to snag a bubble tea, grabbing a cold tea here to cool off before our next itinerary stop isn’t such a bad idea, either.)
Walk up to Bangka Old Street
From Herb Alley, Bangka Old Street runs along Guiyang Street, about a 6-minute walk north.
This stretch used to be called Fanshu Street (“Sweet Potato Street”) and, along with Dihua Street in the Dadaocheng neighborhood of Datong District, is one of the oldest streets in Taipei. A handful of red brick buildings from the Qing Dynasty and the Japanese colonial period still stand here.
Bangka Old Street is short and only takes a few minutes to walk. I wouldn’t build it into a long dedicated stop on its own, but it’s a stroll that’ll deliver us straight to our next stop…
Check out Bangka Qingshan Temple
Bangka Qingshan Temple was built between 1856 and 1859 by Fujian settlers to honor Qingshan Wang, a Three Kingdoms-era general named Zhang Gun, who was deified after supposedly stopping a plague in the area.
The temple is smaller than Longshan Temple, and that’s the whole appeal.
When I visited, I found Bangka Qingshan Temple smaller, quieter, and less crowded than the nearby Longshan Temple. The front hall has an octagonal ceiling and stone columns repurposed from the old Yuanshan Shinto Shrine.
PRO TIP: If you’re visiting Bangka Qingshan Temple in late October or early November on the lunar calendar, the Qingshan King Festival takes over the neighborhood for several days, complete with a night procession through the streets. It’s one of Taipei’s three biggest annual temple festivals.
Bangka Qingshan Temple is free for visitors to enter and is open until 10 pm daily, making it easy to fit into any evening walk through Wanhua District.
Grab dinner at Huaxi Street Night Market and Guangzhou Street Night Market
Aside from Longshan Temple, I made my first trip into Wanhua District to check out its most infamous attraction: Huaxi Street Night Market.
One of Taipei’s most famous night markets, Huaxi Street once “charmed” visitors with its snake shows, giving it the nickname “Snake Alley.”
With the carnivalesque snake-killing shows (gladly) now banned and the snake-based dishes all gone since 2018, Huaxi Street Night Market is a little easier for me to recommend these days. The night market even snagged a Michelin Bib Gourmand nod in the 2019 Michelin Guide, proving that it’s left its shady past behind while still keeping its old-school charm.
Even so, I’d still prefer to send most first-time visitors over to Guangzhou Street Night Market to enjoy Taipei’s tastiest street snacks. When I visited this popular night market, it felt more local than Huaxi Street with cheaper and better food options.
Locals would point you towards glutinous rice in pork intestines here (yeah, I’m gonna pass on that), but I’d sooner recommend the braised pork rice at Si Fang A Jiu (map) or grilled squid on a stick from one of the street-side grillers to first-time visitors.
Between the two, I’d rather spend more time on Guangzhou Street and treat Huaxi as a walk-through for snacks that’d catch my eye rather than a full meal.
Both markets sit within a five-minute walk of Bangka Qingshan Temple, back toward Longshan Temple MRT.
End the night in Ximending
Besides eating at night markets, I can’t think of a better cap to a day in Taipei than spending time exploring Ximending. This fun area sits at the very northern tip of Wanhua District where it meets Datong District and Zhongzheng District.
On my way to Taipei, I had a 36-hour layover in Tokyo. What I didn’t expect to see in Taiwan’s capital two days later was its own answer to Shibuya or Shinjuku!
After wandering around both by day and night, I don’t think there’s a better time to explore Ximending than after dark. Once the sun goes down, the neighborhood’s pedestrian streets fill up with foot traffic, under the glow of its bright neon lights.
Whether I walked here from the night markets via Kangding Road and Chengdu Road or via the Ximen MRT, I’d start exploring Ximending at the Red House Theater.
The building spent years as a derelict eyesore before the city turned it into a creative hub with shops, bars, and a weekend market. The red brick exterior of the Red House Theater still stands out against Ximending’s newer buildings.
If your visit lands on a weekend, the Red House Creative Market takes over the plaza out front. The market runs on Saturdays until 10 pm and on Sundays until 9:30 pm, with local vendors selling everything from jewelry to phone cases.
From the Red House, America Street is a few minutes’ walk over on Kunming Street. This stretch is a government-sanctioned graffiti zone covered in murals and tags from Taiwanese and international street artists.
PRO TIP: As much as I love Ximending by night, America Street is a better experience during the day. The colors in the street art are more vibrant under natural light than when lit up by streetlights.
For a last bite before calling it a night, I’d pop over to Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle (No. 8-1 Emei St). This foodie hotspot has served only one dish since 1975: thick, glossy rice noodles in a bonito-flavored broth, with pieces of pork intestine mixed in.
You garnish the soup yourself at a self-serve station with minced garlic, chili sauce, and dark vinegar, then find a spot to stand to eat, or take it to go. (There’s no seating here.)
The noodles at Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle were one of the tastiest quick bites I’ve had while visiting Taipei. The line moves fast enough that it’s worth the wait.
PRO TIP: Thanks to its nightlife, Ximending is one of my favorite areas to stay in Taipei. I’d recommend Roaders Hotel, which charms guests with its wild west, American road trip-themed common areas and spacious, comfortable rooms.
