Taipei Nights
September 2025
Taipei awakens after sunset. Its night markets are a feast for the senses. All manner of spicy, smoky, and sweet scents and delicious foods are on offer. The city is home to over a dozen of them, each offering its own specialties and must-try treats. Tonghua/Linjiang is known for stinky tofu and Raohe for its (Michelin-rated) pepper buns. Other common delicacies include crispy fluffy taro balls, refreshing juices, and various meats-on-sticks including “chicken buttholes” as a giggling NTU student explained in 2010, thinking that she had pranked me when in fact I seek out the most adventurous food wherever I go.
The other star of the Taipei night is Taipei 101, which was the tallest building in the world until the completion of the Burj Khalifa in 2009. We visited just before sunset, allowing for both daytime (set #1) and nighttime vistas.
The tower is reminiscent of a pagoda and steeped in symbolism, with eight segments of eight stories each because that number is associated with prosperity (note the number of photosets!). From the tower, the most interesting view is of the traditional Sun Yat Sen Memorial complex juxtaposed against the ultramodern Taipei Dome (set #8). Within the tower, watching the tuned mass damper counteract the building’s motion in the wind is equally fascinating and terrifying.
Whether wandering crowded markets or gazing from Taipei 101, the city’s nocturnal energy is more vivid than any photograph can capture.
Recipes: Reggie’s Portra, Classic Cuban Negative
Taiwan Photosets:
Taipei Days
Taipei Museums
Taipei Nights
Jiufen/Shifen
Taichung
Sun Moon Lake
Food
Baseball
