Hsinchu Zhongzhengtai Shopping District

This famous shopping district formed in the late 1970s and early 1980s as street vendors organized and began retailing apparel and other items in front of Zhongzhengtai, a post-war stage built for concerts and other events. In a time before department stores this was a popular place to shop, and the market subsequently self-organized over the following decades, becoming something like Wufenpu (五分舖) in Taipei. There is also a night market of the same name (中正台夜市) for snacking after dark. Nowadays business is nothing like it once was, but it’s still fascinating to walk through the cramped streets of this old market.