David on Formosa

Last Sunday the Taiwan Photo Club held its monthly meeting. Brian Webb has a report on the meeting. Following the meeting a group went to Dihua Street (迪化街) to take some photos of the busy market that sets up there in the few weeks before the Lunar New Year. I only took a few photos on Sunday afternoon, but returned again with a friend yesterday afternoon to take some more photos. We thought the market would be less busy on weekday afternoon, but as the photo above shows it was still pretty crowded.

Dihua Street is traditionally a place for selling Chinese medicine. Behind the many stalls in the busy market you can still find shops like this one doing their trade.

The selection of beans and rice here also reflects the market’s more traditional roots.

Dried seafood is a popular item on sale in the market, although it is not really the focal point of this photo. Most of the stalls offer free samples so you can try before you buy or you can just walk along the street tasting the wide variety of things on sale.

And if you have a sweet tooth then there are many varieties of candy on offer. And some people can’t resist the V-sign pose.

The closest MRT stations to Dihua Street are Zhongshan and Shuanglian. There is a free shuttle bus operating from Shuanglian Station. The Puppet Museum is also located nearby and is well worth a visit. You can find a few more photos at flickr.