Yilan Morning Market - Unlocking the Secrets of Local Markets

In the wave of modernization, large supermarkets, warehouse stores, and even online ordering have gradually replaced some functions of traditional markets. However, traditional markets still maintain a unique role: they are not just places for transactions, but also spaces where residents exchange feelings and share stories. The rich human warmth there is an indispensable cultural memory of every city.

Visiting a Living Museum
The Nanbei Guan Market, located near Yilan Railway Station, is an excellent place to experience local culture and daily life. Fang Tzu-wei, who grew up in the market, leads visitors from home and abroad to deeply understand this living museum in the city.

As a "market child," Fang Tzu-wei has been emotionally attached to the market since childhood. After studying marketing in school, he learned agricultural knowledge in Australia and Japan after graduation. By chance, he took foreign friends to explore the market and taste local food. This experience was well-received by his friends and inspired him to establish a social enterprise offering market tours, promoting Taiwan's distinctive market culture in innovative ways.

Tzu-wei goes by the name "Young Grandpa," leading visitors to reminisce about market life from his grandfather's era. Today, Fang Tzu-wei has guided friends from 32 countries to deeply understand Yilan's markets, earning recognition through international agritourism innovation awards. With humor and sincerity, he tells market stories, emphasizing the concept of "the more local, the more international," allowing every visitor to feel the unique charm of Yilan's markets.


"Young Grandpa" Fang Tzu-wei has led visitors from 32 countries to understand Taiwan's market culture


Visitors follow Fang Tzu-wei's footsteps to visit market vendors

The Market Reflects Life and Seasons
Crossing the road to the first stop in the market, Tzu-wei warmly greets the vegetable stall owner - they clearly know each other well. Tzu-wei mentions that by observing the fresh produce at the stalls, one can glimpse the current season. For example, now in winter when the weather is cold, chrysanthemum greens, a favorite hot pot ingredient, are a key item for housewives. Additionally, visiting markets in different regions reveals local variations. For instance, in northern Taiwan, mustard greens are used as "longevity vegetables" during the Lunar New Year. However, if you visit markets in Tainan, Kaohsiung, or some areas of Pingtung and ask the vegetable vendor for longevity vegetables, you might receive a bunch of spinach instead.

Market tours are usually scheduled in the morning, corresponding to vendors' working hours. However, visitors are advised not to eat too much for breakfast that day, as Tzu-wei will lead everyone to visit different food stalls along the way, tasting from one to the next, savoring Yilan's authentic flavors.


The vegetables displayed at the stalls reveal the current season


Bring eco-friendly utensils and taste authentic dishes from stall to stall

At the corner, "Chiao Chen Hsiang Radish Cake" offers not only Taiwanese and Hong Kong-style radish cakes, taro cakes, and sticky rice, but also introduces us to the handsome owner who jokingly claims to be "held back by his sticky rice business" in the market. The owner's stall is constantly busy, with barely a moment's rest from serving customers. Simply watching the owner's smooth transactions with customers - from greeting, picking up goods, packaging, weighing, to collecting payment - all done in one seamless flow, is quite enjoyable.

Further ahead, "Shang Ching Beverages" sells soy milk, black tea, herbal tea, and roselle perilla plum drink. The owner starts from the principle of "beverages I would let my family drink," carefully selecting various ingredients for brewing. He insists on not using imported tea leaves, instead using local Yilan tea. Since the shop's black tea is sold as a cold drink, he specially visited tea farms in Dongshan, Yilan, to consult with tea masters about tea leaves suitable for cold brewing. The shop's soy milk has also been adjusted to reduce sugar, lessening the health burden.

During the interview, we witnessed the ecosystem of mutual support among market vendors. The owner of Shang Ching not only manages his own beverage shop and the dried tofu and whitebait stall in front, but also helps look after the neighboring twin cake and twisted roll stalls, fully demonstrating the warmth in the market. When crowds of customers gather, even Tzu-wei pitches in, continuing his tour narration while serving as a helper at the stalls.


The handsome owner not only has striking looks but also attracts attention with his smooth service


The beverage shop owner shows photos on his phone, explaining in detail the process of selecting tea leaves

Young People Returning and Market Succession
Passing through the arcade to the courtyard of the South Hall Market, wisps of steam rise from the fish ball shop at the corner, with the aromatic and chewy fish balls making mouths water. The shop owner not only generously introduces her fish balls, shumai, and water chestnut balls, but also proudly praises her children. It turns out the young generation proposed ideas to modify the recipes, making traditional fish paste products more diverse and closer to current customer preferences. The brothers working together in unity brings great comfort to their mother.

Compared to the colorful outside world, traditional markets may not be the career choice young people aspire to. However, not just at the fish ball shop - throughout the Nanbei Guan Market tour, many young vendors can be seen. Some carry a mission of "succession," while others start from caring for their families. Their involvement not only continues market traditions but also gives the market new vitality. Markets are not entirely old-fashioned places; the younger generation of vendors brings many new sparks to the market.

A Lifestyle of Cherishing Things
The connection between markets and people's lives is reflected not only in "food" but also in all aspects of "clothing, housing, transportation, education, and entertainment." At the other end of the courtyard, "Min Chun Nan Guan Knife Shop" displays various types of knives in its showcase - some suitable for home kitchens, others as working tools for market vendors. The forging and use of various knives reflect local cuisine and culinary techniques, revealing differences between Eastern and Western cultures, allowing visitors to appreciate world differences from market alleys.

In the past, every market had at least one knife shop, skilled not only in sharpening knives but also in maintaining and repairing metal farming tools like hoes. Although knives themselves get smaller with each sharpening, a good knife can last a lifetime. If the habit of cherishing things continues, perhaps the knife shops in markets, the craftsmen who protect knives, and the related knowledge, skills, equipment, and industries behind them can continue to exist.


The use of different knives also shows the differences in culinary cultures across regions


Traditional markets usually have at least one knife shop, but this scene is gradually disappearing

Interactive Experience at Gong Ping Hao
Crossing Guangfu Road from the South Hall to the North Hall Market, this side has a more Japanese-style layout. Some Japanese tourists who appreciate the Showa-era nostalgic style find this particularly interesting. The neat red and yellow alternating signs in the alleys often attract foreign visitors to take photos.


The alley scenes in the North Hall Market are particularly attractive to foreign visitors

Passing through the only remaining wall in the market building with nearly 120 years of history, visitors arrive at "Gong Ping Hao," an old shop specializing in spring roll wrappers. The spring roll wrappers here are made only with flour, water, and salt, maintaining the purest flavor. Owner Wang is the third-generation inheritor of "Gong Ping Hao," making spring roll wrappers since age 13 for over 60 years, with his wife accompanying him for half a century - truly a model of dedicating a lifetime to perfecting one craft.

At Gong Ping Hao, visitors experience using freshly made spring roll wrappers, sprinkling peanut powder, ice cream, and cilantro (optional) to create their own unique peanut roll ice cream. Peanut roll ice cream is a famous Yilan snack, with stalls selling it at many attractions, later becoming a "standard item" at many old streets and night markets. However, rolling ice cream yourself is probably a fresh experience for most people! During market tours, Tzu-wei adjusts the visits and experiences according to different seasons, maintaining rich and fresh feelings for visitors.


Owner Wang of Gong Ping Hao has focused on making spring roll wrappers for over 60 years


Visitors participate in the experience of making their own peanut roll ice cream

Markets Are Windows to Agriculture
Following Tzu-wei's footsteps, visitors understand market culture from more diverse perspectives. Throughout the tour, he mentions several times that "markets are the gateway for cities to connect with agriculture." For ordinary city residents, daily life may be somewhat distant from the origins of agriculture, forestry, fishery, and animal husbandry, yet they cannot live without the blessings from the land. Markets are the source of food diversity in cities, the starting point of numerous delicacies. And it is precisely because of the quiet efforts of craftsmen in the market that city food can have so many variations!

If you want to follow Fang Tzu-wei and the "Music Rice Creative Marketing Enterprise" team's detailed explanations to further understand Yilan's Nanbei Guan Market and feel the timeless charm of traditional markets, you can refer to the "Yilan Morning Market" tour on "Farm Travel Supermarket." If you want to introduce Taiwan's market culture to foreign friends, tours can also be conducted in English or Japanese.


Markets are the gateway for cities to connect with agriculture, and also the starting point of numerous delicacies

This content was translated by AI. Please refer to the original text if you have any concerns.