Traditional

If you want to buy all the goods you need for Chinese New Year, you must visit Dihua Street because it is the most popular historical and traditional grocery market in Taipei City.Dihua Street is located near the Danshui River in Datong District of Taipei City, Taiwan, with a total length of 800 meters. In the past during the development of the old Taipei City, Dihua Street was the major trading center for Chinese herbs and medicines, dried goods, fabrics, as well as teas since it is near the Dadaocheng Wharf；and because of this, Dihua Street is also the central area connecting the north and south of Da-Dao Cheng, which can be divided into three sections, namely, South Street, Centre Street, North Street. In particular, most of the shops on South Street are mainly selling all kinds of fabrics, and the shops located on Centre Street could be divided into two different mainly selling types, including: Chinese herbal medicines and Northern to Southern dry goods; in addition, the shops on the North Street are mainly based on the sale of Northern to Southern dry goods. The street has also lovingly preserved its old world charms over the years. On ordinary days, Dihua Street is a relatively quiet street, and you can easily take a walk here to experience its historical and cultural value; however, this street will be lively and crowded for few weeks before Chinese New Year, and you can enjoy cheerful and bustling atmosphere here.

 

traditional grocery market
 
The so-called Northern to Southern dry goods are processed food, and they can can be divided into two categories, including：mountain production, and seafood production; and most of these products have gone through the sun-drying process, so that they can not only be kept well for many days to avoid food spoilage, but also to enhance the taste of the most essential ingredients. For example, the northern and southern goods of the mountain are mushrooms, fungus, pickles, and ham, etc；and the seafood of the north and south of the goods are like dried shellfish, dried fish, kelp, salted fish, abalone, and squid dried……,etc.
 
 
 
南北貨商行
Before the Chinese New Year, housewives will buy a large number of Northern to Southern dry goods, and that is because the market will be closed for a few days in a row during the Chinese New Year holidays, resulting in no way to buy fresh meat fruits and vegetables, so it is necessary to store some Northern to Southern dry goods at home in advance for the Chinese New Year holidays.
Of course, the food needed to be stored in the Chinese New Year not only includes salty mountain production and seafood production, but also includes many delightful sweets that have been introduced in conjunction with the Chinese New Year, such as:  pastries, preserves, sweets, biscuits, peanut seeds and other snacks…...