Chien-Cheng Circle 2.26

The Chien-Cheng Circle or Taipei Circle, was once a bustling food market and a city landmark in the Datong district of Taipei. It existed 96 years from its opening during the Japanese colonial era, to its official closing on Sunday, July 2, 2006 after years of decline in resulting from two conflagrations in the 1990s and an unsuccessful project to revitalize the market in 2003. After some replanning, it was set to reopen in June 2009, but as of 2010 the reopening date is uncertain.HistoryThe original night market was a circular structure located on a roundabout between Nanjing West Road (南京西路) and Chongqing North Road (重慶北路). It covered an area of 1,722 square meters and dated to the Japanese colonial era.BeginningsThe circle started out as a fish pond at the intersections of the two roads which the Japanese Government at the planted with trees at the edges and turned into a park. Due to its location, the park attracted a wide variety of cart-based food vendors turning it into the most popular night market in northern Taiwan during the Japanese rule, with the vendors operating well beyond 4am. A bomb shelter was also constructed there during World War II and the pond used as a reservoir for water to put out fires from air raids.Following the war, the reservoir was drained and vendors began setting up permanently at the park, growing into and organizing the space among themselves organically, eventually converting all the park space into restaurants. The 1960s and 1970s were the heyday of the night market with booths numbering close to 200 and serving Taiwanese snacks and delicacies such as glutinous rice dumplings, oyster omelettes, fish ball noodles, and unfried spring rolls.