Dongdamen Night Market is a tourist night market in Hualien City. There aren’t any specific foods to try, but it’s a great place to grab a bite after a long day at the Taroko Gorge. Keep reading to learn more.
I want to help you find the best night markets in Taiwan to visit. I’ve covered many details on Hualien’s night market to help you figure out whether it’s worth seeing.
Foods To Try
The best foods to try at Dongdamen Night Market are as follows:
| Food | Restaurant/Stand | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Coffin bread | Nowhere specific | NA |
| Stinky tofu | Nowhere specific | NA |
| Taiwanese hamburger | Nowhere specific | NA |
| Grilled mochi | Nowhere specific | NA |
| Magao pepper cocktail & bamboo rice | Aboriginal Street | NA |
You’ll find several streets that specialize in various foods:
- Taiwan Market Lane: local Taiwanese dishes
- Aboriginal Street: runs from the North to the South
- It has various indigenous dishes
- Chinese Food Street: adjourned with red lanterns and has different foods from China
Coffin bread is a hollowed thick bread slab filled with soup or other fillings. While famous in Tainan, it’s also a snack worth trying while at Dongdamen.
I wrote a separate guide on Taiwanese cuisine to describe what Taiwanese burgers and stinky tofu are. A 割包 (gua bao), or Taiwanese burger, is a slice of pork belly stuffed between steamed buns. I love them.
How To Get There
If you’re coming from the train station, it’ll take you between 30 and 35 minutes to walk to Dongdamen Night Market.
City Bus
Take buses 1123, 301, or 1121. It’ll cost you around NT$25 ($0.88), but it will take you over 15 minutes.
Also, you’ll need to consider the waiting time for the bus. They don’t often run in this area, so you’ll likely wait at least 20 minutes for a bus. By that time, you could have walked.
Taxi or Uber
Otherwise, you may want to consider taking an Uber or taxi. A taxi will cost you around NT$100 ($3.00). If you’re coming from the train station, it might take you about 8 minutes.
Many taxi drivers throughout Taiwan don’t speak English, or only know basic English, so just show them the night market’s address.
What’s There To Do Near Dongdamen Tourist Night Market
Check out these nearby tourist hotspots to Dongdamen Night Market:
| Attraction | Walking Time | To Do |
|---|---|---|
| Hualien Railway Culture Park | 3 min. | Various historical exhibitions |
| Beibin Park | 9 min. | Oceanside bicycle path |
| Hualien Port Lighthouse | 3 min. | Scenic view |
| Nanbin Park | 14 min. | Seaside park |
| Stone Art Street (石藝大街) | 4 min. | Stone sculptures |
History
One of the newer night markets, Dongdamen Night Market—東大門夜市 or Dōngdàmén Yèshì—surfaced in July 2015 in an area where an old train station was. Otherwise, there isn’t much history behind the night market.
Information for Visitors
| Hours | Daily: 6:00 PM – 11 PM |
| Number of Stalls | 400 |
| Closest Rail Station | Hualien Train Station |
| Opening Date | July 2015 |
| City Located | Hualien City |
| Address | No. 415號, Chongqing Rd, Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan 970 |
| Chinese Name | 花蓮東大門觀光夜市 (Huālián dōngdàmén guānguāng yèshì) |