Crazy New Year's Eve Tonight: Food and Transport Info for 3 Major Countdown Events in Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan

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

The recently 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 rushing to the countdown party after work, why not grab a bite at a night market to head into 2014 full of energy?

Take the MRT Bannan Line, Xinyi Line, or buses, and it’s recommended to get off a stop or two early at major stations such as City Hall Station or Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station, then walk to the venue.

 

Regarding traffic control, starting at 7:00 PM tonight, the Xinyi Planning Area and roads around Taipei City Hall will implement a three-phase traffic control plan. The first phase runs from 7:00–8:00 PM, covering an 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. The second phase, from 8:00–10:00 PM, extends the first phase’s area to include Yixian Road and Ren’ai Road (between Yixian Road and Guangfu South Road); no vehicles are allowed to enter or exit between 8:00 PM and 3:00 AM on January 1st. Keelung Road’s two-way underpass will also be restricted—only the southbound long tunnel remains open for cars and motorcycles. The third phase, from 10:00 PM to 3:00 AM on January 1st, prohibits all vehicle entry and exit in the area bounded by Guangfu South Road, Zhongxiao East Road, Section 5 of Zhongxiao East Road Lane 236, Songde Road, Xinyi Road, Keelung Road, Songren Road, and Zhuangjing Road.

This year, the Taichung City Government has chosen the theme “The Best Choice！The Best City！” and has planned simultaneous events at National Taiwan University of Sport Stadium (Taichung venue) and Dajia Stadium (Dajia venue). Through the nation’s only “dual-live, multi-channel” broadcast, artists such as JJ Lin, Ding Dang, Lina Lee, Wenford Hwang, Annie Wang, Irene Wan, Ah Xi, as well as veteran entertainers like Chen Meifeng, Luo Shifeng, Ye Huan, and Chen Yingjie, will join the public in counting down to 2014 in both central Taichung and Dajia.

 

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 being the hub for various street snacks. Around 2–3 PM, food stalls start popping up, offering dishes like Dongshan duck head, spicy tofu, chicken cutlets, and luwei (braised meats) at affordable prices that let you eat well and feel full. For example, Yizhong Fengren Ice, a retro dessert that has been around for 60 years, offers a uniquely sweet, sour, and salty taste—a shared memory for many Yizhong students. It’s called Fengren Ice because it’s so delicious people want to eat it even in winter, as if they’ve gone “crazy”—later adapted phonetically to “Fengren” (abundant kindness) Ice.