Taiwan night market finds new home in Chinese mainland

KUNMING -- In downtown Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, a vibrant night market blends the flavors of Taiwan with the charm of Yunnan.

Under a lantern-lit archway, Chen Chi-han busily prepares her famous Taiwan-style sticky rice sausages, while her son Yeh Yu-hsiang serves up braised pork rice nearby. The lively scene at Kunming's newly opened "Taipei Street" closely resembles their former stall at the Monga Night Market in Taipei.

"Back in Taipei, we lived on Kunming Street, while in Kunming here, we're on Taipei Street. It feels like coming home," Chen said.

Last year, Chen, director of the Monga Night Market, was invited to visit Kunming and was inspired to bring authentic Taiwan street food to the city. Within months, her vision came to life, with her, her son and more than 60 other vendors from Taiwan becoming the first to cross the Strait for this unique venture.

The 138-meter-long snack street has been jointly developed by Kunming's bureau of culture and tourism and other departments, as well as entrepreneurs from Taiwan.

Since its opening in April, the street with 29 stalls, all operated by people from Taiwan, has attracted an average of 10,000 visitors daily.

"People here love Taiwan snacks. They spend about 30 yuan (about 4.2 U.S. dollars) to 40 yuan per person every time," said Chen Chii-jaan, manager of the Kunming-based cultural tourism company called Yuntai that runs the street.

Chen Chi-han's stall often sells out, with 250 portions of her signature sausages with sticky rice flying off the grill.

"Locals queue up, chat with me and add my WeChat account. I've made over 100 new friends," she said with a smile.

Nearby, shaved ice vendor Peng Chun-chang and his wife Wang Yan, a mainlander from the city of Chengdu, work side by side. Their love story began at Monga Night Market, and now their business is thriving in Kunming.

"Using local ingredients with Taiwan-style techniques cuts costs and boosts sales," Peng said.

Beyond the flavors, the street exudes Taiwan's famed hospitality. Visitors can hear vendors cheerfully greeting, serving food and expecting customers to return in melodic Taiwan accents.

"It's like entering a night market straight out of a Taiwan TV drama," said Ye Qing, a tourist from Sichuan Province.

The bustling food street is a microcosm of the close people-to-people exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

In 2024, cross-Strait exchanges surged, reaching 4.4 million trips with a 53.8 percent increase. Among them, 4.02 million people from Taiwan visited the mainland, up 54.3 percent, while 382,000 mainlanders traveled to Taiwan, a 49.2 percent rise.

"Connection starts with food. When people stroll, eat and chat, understanding naturally blossoms," said Huang Feng-Hui, who works in investment services at Yuntai.