Tonight’s Crazy New Year’s Eve: Food & Transport Info for 3 Major Countdowns Across Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan

This year’s “Taipei’s Most Exciting New Year City 2014 Countdown” will connect Taipei City Hall Plaza with the world, featuring a three-location live simulcast with Japan’s NHK Red and White Song Festival and Fukuyama Masaharu’s Yokohama concert. The lineup includes Blue Lan, Jolin Tsai, Yoga Lin, Wei Bird, Liu Zhiqian, Bii, Dream Girls, Patty Hou, Ma Nianxian, Chairman Band, Luan Tan, Wilber Pan, and SHE, among other top-tier performers.

The newly opened Xinyi Line of the MRT passes through stations such as Dongmen and Xinyi Anhe, with nearby Yongkang Street and Tonghua Street night markets being must-visit food destinations. Before heading to the countdown, stop by these night markets for a hearty meal and greet 2014 full of energy.

Take public transport like the Bannan Line, Xinyi Line, or buses, and consider getting off a few stops before key stations like City Hall Station or Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station, then walk to the venue.

 

Regarding traffic control, starting at 7 PM tonight, three phases of road restrictions will be enforced in the Xinyi Planning District and surrounding government areas. Phase one (7–8 PM) restricts the area bounded by Keelung Road, Ren’ai Road, Zhongxiao East Road, Songren Road, Xinyi Road, Songshou Road, and City Hall Road—vehicles are only allowed to exit, not enter. Phase two (8 PM–10 PM) extends the restricted zone to include Yixian Road and Ren’ai Road (between Yixian Road and Guangfu South Road), with no vehicle entry or exit from 8 PM until 3 AM on January 1. Keelung Road’s two-way underground passages will also be restricted, with only the southbound tunnel open to cars and motorcycles. Phase three (10 PM–3 AM on January 1) prohibits all vehicle entry or exit in the area bounded by Guangfu South Road, Zhongxiao East Road, Section 5, Lane 236 of Zhongxiao East Road, Songde Road, Xinyi Road, Keelung Road, Songren Road, and Zhuangjing Road.

This year, Taichung City Government has themed its celebration as “The Best Choice ! The Best City !,” organizing simultaneous events at National Taiwan University of Sport Stadium (Taichung site) and Dajia Stadium (Dajia site). Using the nation’s only “dual live sites, multi-channel” broadcast, artists including Jam Hsiao, Ding Dang, Lina Lee, Vivian Hsu, Waa Wei, Wang Shihan, Yan An-lun, A Xi, as well as veteran entertainers like Chen Meifeng, Luo Shifeng, Ye Huan, and Chen Yingjie, will join the public in Taichung city and Dajia to count down and welcome 2014.

 

Near National Taiwan University of Sport, there’s the Yizhong Night Market, formed around Yizhong Street, Zunxian Street, Yucail Street, and Sanmin Road, with Yizhong Street serving as the hub for all kinds of street food. Around 2–3 PM, various food stalls start setting up, offering affordable eats like Dongshan duck head, spicy tofu, fried chicken cutlets, and Luwei. One local favorite is the 60-year-old retro dessert, Yizhong Fengren Ice, known for its unique sweet-sour-salty flavor—a nostalgic treat for many Yizhong students. The name “Fengren Ice” comes from how delicious it is that even in winter people eat it like “crazy people” (feng ren), later adapted phonetically to “Fengren.”