Celebrating Lunar New Year with Festive Shopping: Year-End Markets and Traditional Bazaars Launch Promotions

By MOOK Travel & Living Li Xinyi, compiled and reported

 

Taipei City Government launched the "Taipei Lunar New Year Shopping Month" from yesterday (the 23rd) to February 17th to encourage the public to shop and spend during the Lunar New Year. With three major themes—"Fight Inflation," "Great Deals," and "Fresh Finds"—it has called on seven major department stores, three major mass merchandisers to launch storewide discounts of up to 70% off to fight inflation, while nine major commercial districts and nine traditional markets' Year-End Markets also offer promotions such as raffles for million-dollar prizes when spending reaches certain amounts. There are also court-style festive items, Year of the Snake lucky charms for wealth and fortune, and other fresh holiday goods available at Taipei’s Year-End Market, aiming to capture tens of billions in holiday business opportunities.

Among them, the Dihua Street Year-End Market will run from tomorrow (the 25th) to February 8. Dihua Street dried goods, Rongbin Fresh, and Yuanling Leather Street, among others, are launching anti-inflation Year-End Markets. Taipei Underground Mall is offering chances to win a total of one million dollars’ worth of prizes for spending over NT$500. The back station area and Huayin Street are featuring court-style festive apparel and other fresh goods. In addition, markets including Nanmen, Shidong, Yongchun, Yongji, Guangfu, Xining, Muxin, Muzha, and Xinglong are also offering the freshest and most authentic classic New Year dishes and fresh ingredients for the holidays. Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the 228 Memorial Museum will be open during the Spring Festival until February 17, 2013. As long as visitors present unified invoices from Taipei City shops for January and February 2013, they can enter for free. Visitors to Taipei can also purchase the Taipei Pass to explore the city and take advantage of discounts at participating shops with the tourist passport.

 

Huang Qingwen, Chairman of the Republic of China Department Store and Retail Enterprise Association, said that the Lunar New Year has always been a peak shopping season for the department store industry. Not only that, but major department stores are also ready to attract year-end bonuses from office workers. Department stores will not only stay open throughout the Spring Festival, but also offer deals such as “spend NT$1,000 and get NT$100 off,” and further discounts. For example, SOGO, Far Eastern Department Store, ATT4fun, and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi are offering end-of-season discounts starting at 50% off, while Jingtai is starting at 30% off. Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s holiday lucky bags feature grand prizes such as Star Cruises free cruises and resort suite stay certificates at Beitou Lishii. In addition, three major mass merchandisers will stay open 24 hours during the Spring Festival. Carrefour offers NT$200 cash vouchers for members who spend NT$2,000 or more between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. every day.

The Taipei City Lunar New Year Shopping Month event provides options to fight inflation, great deals, and fresh finds. From tomorrow (the 25th) to February 8, spend any amount at 1,200 accredited shops in Taipei City, and present your invoice or receipt at the 2013 Come to Taipei for a Great New Year official website to register as a member and log your invoice/receipt number to join the lucky draw, with a total prize pool of nearly NT$500,000. In addition, the mayor will visit the back station area, Dihua Street, and Rongbin Commercial District on January 25, 30, and February 3 respectively, to walk the streets, wish everyone a happy new year, and distribute “lucky money.”

District Name	Promotion Details
Dihua	1. Taiwan’s largest dried goods and snacks wholesale center; prices down 20% for Mexican wheel abalone and 15% for red dates compared to last year 2. Daily 2:00–3:00 PM, Jan 25–Feb 8, at Yongle Plaza main stage: sell “Good Pregnancy” charm bags
Ningxia	Visit night market, win a TV: Jan 10–Feb 24, present 2013 Year-End Frenzy Passport at Taipei Roundabout service desk to exchange for a stamp card, then enter the raffle; grand prize is a 42-inch LED TV
Back Station	Hat, scarf, and woolen hat accessories wholesale center; Shu De Department Store offers 20% off all items, Shinshi Watches 30% off all items, Zhengqun Department Store 50% off all items
Huayin Street	Taipei’s main leather goods wholesale center; Sijun Trade selected leather goods 30% off, selected suitcases 45% off, Qianqian Accessories Department Store selected accessories 50% off and up, Chuan Sheng Leather Goods selected suitcases 63% off and up
Taipei Underground Mall	1. Dec 29, 2012–Feb 24, 2013: spend NT$500 to enter raffle for a scooter; total prize value one million dollars 2. Eight merchants offer refined court-style items, 30 merchants offer Year of the Snake fire-element wealth-attracting crystals
Rongbin	Taipei’s star-rated hotel kitchen supply hub, a great place for citizens to buy fresh Year-End goods; prices down 10% for Argentine squid compared to last year
Nanchang	1. Year-end furniture sale: Yihua original stone tea table 42% off for NT$2,800, Yimei double sofa 46% off for NT$23,000 2. Jan 2–31, “Welcome New Year Fortune Month”: spend NT$10,000 to get a fortune-attracting wealth lamp
Beimen	1. Exclusive discounts on Canon, Nikon, and Sony brands; Citibank cardholders enjoy 0% interest for 15 installments 2. FB fans hit 1,000+ – extra chances to win digital cameras
Yuanling	Northern City Leather Shoe Outlet Center, 2/1–2/8 select stores offer leather shoes starting from 50% off

Market Name	Promotion Details (Store Info)
Nanmen Market	Multiple vendors launch special promotions for the holiday season at great value prices A. Golden Dragon Dried Meat, Golden Dragon Gift Box original price NT$1,100, special price NT$1,000 B. Lao Lin Ji festive meal set original price NT$1,299, special price NT$1,088 C. Wan You Quan Cantonese-style cured meat gift box original price NT$640, special price NT$600 D. Yi Xiang Zhai festive meal set original price NT$2,990, special price NT$2,880 E. Long Ji Nanjing Style Salted Duck & Braised Pork Shank special price NT$240, Osmanthus Saltwater Chicken special price NT$700
Shidong Market	Multiple vendors launch special promotions for the holiday season at great value prices A. Auspicious Blessings – Lamb Hot Pot special price NT$700, Purple Rice Eight Treasure Rice special price NT$300 B. Fu De Xing – Buddha Jumps Over the Wall original price NT$1,600, special price NT$1,500 C. Jia Wei Barbecued Meats – Mixed braised meats platter original price NT$800, special price NT$700 D. Shidong Beef Shop – Prosperous Beef Pot original price NT$700, special price NT$500 E. Shidong Seafood – Silver Pomfret original price NT$700, special price NT$500
Yongchun Market	Bai Jinshan Handmade Meatballs – Golden Meatball Gift Box original price NT$799, special price NT$750
Xining Market	Jin Liang Seafood – White Pomfret per jin special price NT$680, King Crab per jin special price NT$320, Abalone per 20 pcs special price NT$560, Cuttlefish Roe per jin special price NT$1,500, Cooked Shrimp Gift Box per box special price NT$750, Red Mouth Grouper per jin special price NT$280, Flower Scale Fish per jin special price NT$260, Spotted Mandarin Fish per jin special price NT$260. Taiwanese Food – Dried Scallop per jin NT$2,200, Jellyfish Strips per jin NT$250, Shiitake Mushrooms per jin NT$1,000, Sakura Shrimp per jin NT$900.
Muxin Market	Xin Long Meat & Snack – Meat Jerky Gift Box
Muzha Market	Ming Ji Barbecued Meats – Meat Floss, Meat Jerky, Roast Pork Gift Box Baozhu Traditional Delicacies – Rice Cakes, Steamed Sponge Cakes, and Turnip Cakes
Xinglong Market	Lao Li’s Hunan-Style Home-Cooked Preserved Meats – Drunken Chicken, Lion’s Head Meatballs, Pickled Mustard Greens, and Assorted Preserved Meats Platter
Guangfu Market	Yiyuanxing – Handmade Dumplings
Yongji Market	Shangpinxiang – Roast Chicken and Soy-Sauce Chicken