Taipei, Taiwan Hotels and City Guide

Taipei - Shopping

Shopping in Taipei

The sheer abundance and assortment of shopping options in Taipei seems almost like a dichotomy. How did Asian frugality allow the development of such a vast amount of shopping choices and enormous malls and even more so, how does that same frugality support the various complexes? There are massive department stores and shopping malls throughout the city, with the crown jewels being the extraordinary Living Mall and the elite Taipei 101 Mall. The night markets are bargain hunters bonanzas, and every fashion item ‘under the moon’ can be found at these marvelous magnets for a shopper’s merriment.

Taipei's Shopping Areas

Of the 11 major shopping districts that Taipei enjoys, The Xinyi District is considered the premiere shopping area here, if not in all of Taiwan. The Taipei World Trade Center, Taipei 101 Mall and various shopping malls and large department stores make Xinyi the most modern cosmopolitan district of Taipei. Ximending is a much trendier shopping area, just west of Downtown. It's popular with local students and younger tourists. For high-end labels, visit Zhongshan North Road, a lovely tree-lined avenue displaying numerous top names in high-end fashion, including Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

For anything related to photography, a few blocks west of Taipei Main Station on Hankou Street has the highest density of photography shops in Taiwan, selling anything camera-related. Strolling through the Tihua Street area gives visitors a taste of the city's history. Crammed with quaint shops selling various traditional goods such as Chinese medicines, temple icons and incense, multihued bolts of cloth, and bamboo and wooden crafts from local artisans, Tihua Street is a delightful experience.

On Yuanling Street, there is an area specifically for shoe stores, including shops selling handmade shoes, while Chongqing South Road is home to over 40 bookstores from very old shops to large-scale newer ones.

Taipei's Shops by Type

Jade Jewellery and Statues

Taiwan is renowned for producing beautiful works of jade, and one of the world's biggest jade markets is held in Taipei every weekend at The Chienkuo Jade Market, which hosts around 900 dealers, showing some of the finest crafted jade jewelry and statues you will find anywhere.

The jade is in an astounding array of colors, and any type of bracelet, necklace, earring, or ring imaginable can be discovered among the dazzling displays. Intricately carved statues of every shape and size have delighted many a browser into becoming a buyer! The market is under the freeway overpass at the intersection of Chienkuo South Road and Jenai Road in east Taipei.

Malls

The Core Pacific Living Mall
Located on Bade Road near Guangfu South Road
Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
This immense mall is actually two buildings - an L-shaped futuristic building that contains specialty boutiques connected to a sphere that contains the Mira Department Store. The complex consists of 12 aboveground stories and 7 underground levels. The beautifully designed mall is also home to a large food court, cinema complex and the nightclub Plush.

The Breeze Center
39 Fu Hsing South Rd, Sec 1
Sun-Wed: 11AM-9:30PM, Thurs-Sat: 11AM-10PM
The Breeze Center is a super mall with six floors that combine shopping, dining, entertainment and recreation all under one roof. The shopping portion is divided into the Modern Stars Area and Fashion Sunshine Avenue. Fashion Sunshine Avenue has upscale boutique type shops such as Prada, Burberry, Ferragamo and Kenneth Cole.

East MetroMall
Between the Zhong-Xiao Fu-Xin Station and Zhong-Xiao Dun-Hua Station
This completely underground mall has seven separate plaza areas with 35 stores, including a major bookstore, coffee shops and clothing stores.

Taipei 101
Sinyi District
This exclusive mall is a gathering place for some of the finest shopping in all of Taipei. Laid out in specialized areas, shoppers can easily locate their favorite designer among the many high-end fashion labels. Avenue 101 assembles the latest trends in international labels, including accessories and cosmetics. Within the Designer Walk, shoppers discover the newest fashion concepts, right off of the runway, along with SOGO 101, which offers shoppers premium service and personal care to satisfy even the most discerning tastes of cosmopolitan professionals. Galleries Couture is Taiwan’s most elegant destination for premium fashion goods. In addition to the extraordinary fashion and level of individualized customer service, some of the finest dining experiences you will ever have in a mall can be experienced at Taipei 101.

Asiaworld Shopping Mall
Songshan District
Sun-Thurs: 11AM to 9:30PM, Fri and Sat: 11AM-10PM
This upscale mall in the Songshan District offers many high-end boutiques such as the French fashion designer Agnès b, Max Mara and Aquascutum along with other well-known international fashion brands. Asiaworld is also the place to go for home furnishings, with IKEA and Working House having stores here as well.

Markets

Wufenpu Garment Wholesale Market
Songshan Station
11AM - 10PM
Wufenpu is Taipei's largest wholesale market for clothes. This is the place where street vendors come to purchase their goods for reselling, however the public is welcome, also. Located by Songshan Station, the market has over one hundred clothing shops offering the latest fashions at very reasonable prices.

Shi Lin Night Market
Yang Ming Theater, Shi Lin district
Without a doubt, this the most famous night market in Taipei, and a long-time favorite among locals and tourists. Located in the Shi Lin district, it surrounds Yang Ming Theater, extending in all directions as far as Wen Lin, Ji He, Da Dong and Da Nan roads. Since it's such a massive market, almost any product imaginable, not to mention any kind of food, can be found there. The products are very inexpensive and usually of a nice quality.

Other notable night markets in Taipei include the Raohe Street Night Market (Songshan), Tong Hua Street Night Market (Daan), Huaxi Street Night Market and Wanhua Night Market, (both in Wanhua), Gongguan Night Market (Zhongzheng), Shida Night Market (Daan), Jingmei Night Market (Wenshan), the Nanjichang Night Market (Zhongzheng), Ningxia Road Night Market (Datong), and the Shuangcheng Street Night Market (Zhongshan). Most night markets in Taipei open around 4PM and stay open until well past midnight.

Art and Antiques

Chaoheting Antique District
YongKang Street
A wide variety of antique stores and curio shops line Yungkang Street, offering an interesting choice of items from Taiwan's Japanese colonial era (1895-1945). These include jewelry, toys, jade ornaments and lacquered furniture.

Chinese Antique Market
Ba De Rd and Civic Boulevard
Another wonderful area to discover antiques is on Ba De Rd and Civic Boulevard on the weekends, however you must be very knowledgeable, since some items may not be as old as they appear. This is an amazing area with little alleys selling every sort of Chinese antique, such as scroll paintings, hand-painted ceramic plates framed in carved teak, cinnabar jewelry boxes and many oriental style art objects.

Lao Mian Cheng Lantern Shop
Dihua Street
This delightful shop first opened its doors on Dihua Street nearly a century ago. The shop offers an incredible variety of beautifully hand-painted paper lanterns, which have the delightful quality for travelers of being easily collapsible, and therefore easy to pack.

The Chinese Handicraft Mart
Intersection of Chungshan S. Road and Hsuchow Road, Taipei
For over 50 years, this non-profit center, dedicated to the development and promotion of the handicraft industry in Taiwan, has provided a one-stop shopping environment for those seeking certified indigenous products. Also know as The Taiwan Handicraft Promotion Center, the mart offers more than 40,000 items in art, furniture, jewelry, and fine gift items.

Taipei Tax Refunds

Foreign travelers who make purchases of at least NT $3,000 in one day from the same refund-eligible store, are eligible for a refund of the 5% VAT paid on those purchased goods. To claim the refund, they must apply at the port of their departure from the R.O.C. within 30 days following the date of purchase, and they must take the purchased goods out of the country with them. Present your application form for VAT Refund, your passport or other designated travel document, the purchased goods to be taken out of the country, and original copy of invoice to the customs officers.

After verification, the customs officers will issue a "VAT Refund Assessment Certificate." Present the "VAT Refund Assessment Certificate" to the designated bank at the airport or seaport for issuance of refund due.

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