Tainan shops in markets. For seafood, our favorite is the Anping Fish Market, where we always go for the sashimi and the squid balls. Further up the coast, a small fishing harbor runs an afternoon fish auction that visitors can join. In the old town, wet markets that go back to the Japanese era still feed the city every morning. And out in Xinhua, a wholesale fruit market with a rolling green roof shows you what is in season.
Markets keep their own hours and some close one day a week, so check the details below before you set out, and bring cash.
Seafood: harbors and fish markets
Anping Fish Market
The Anping Fish Market is our favorite seafood wharf, and it is right in the city, on Yunhe Road in Anping. Our favorites there are the sashimi and the squid balls. Pair it with an afternoon in Anping and stay for the sunset over the harbor. → Anping guide
- Address: No. 97, Yunhe Rd (運河路97號), Anping District, Tainan.
- Hours: we couldn't find official hours, so check the market's map listing before you go.
Qingshan Fishing Harbor, Jiangjun
Qinkunshen Qingshan Fishing Harbor (青鯤鯓青山漁港) is a small harbor in Jiangjun District, on the coast north of the city, with a traditional fishing-village feel. Every afternoon, when the boats come back, the harbor fills with buyers, and Tainan's tourism site notes that visitors can bid directly on the catch. Around the harbor you'll find oysters, flame-grilled shrimp, fish fillets and old-fashioned shaved ice, and if you don't win a bid, the eateries nearby will feed you.
- Market hours: 14:00 to 15:30 daily, per the city's tourism site. Arrive early if you want to see the bidding.
- Address: No. 101, Nan 26 District Road (南26區道101號), Jiangjun District, Tainan.
- Nearby: the Qinkunshen Fan-shaped Salt Fields are about 600 meters away.
Xingda Harbor, just south of Tainan
Down the coast in Kaohsiung's Qieding District, Xingda Harbor (興達港) is a bigger working port with a tourist fish market, sashimi off the boats and a dusk auction. It makes a good half-day drive. → Xingda Harbor fish market
The old town's wet markets
Tainan's traditional markets are morning places: go early, when the stalls are full and the city is doing its shopping, and eat breakfast while you are there.
Shuixian Gong Market
Shuixian Gong Market (水仙宮市場) grew up around Shuixian Temple (水仙宮), a temple to the sea deities built in 1703 with money from local merchants, when this spot was Nanshi Harbor on the old Five Channels waterfront. The market now fills most of the ground the temple once covered, and the temple sits deep inside it. The city's tourism site calls it Tainan's kitchen. SuperTaste counts it among the oldest markets still running in the city, with about 125 stalls and a one-stop mix of seafood, fresh produce and cooked local food, plus a few long-running small eateries tucked inside.
- Hours: about 06:00 to 12:00 daily, busiest from 07:30 to 11:30 (SuperTaste, 2026). Individual stalls set their own days off.
- Address: No. 230, Sec. 2, Hai'an Rd, West Central District.
Yamuliao Market
Yamuliao Market (鴨母寮市場) on Chenggong Road is a classic neighborhood market from the Japanese era. CNA reported that it turned 100 in 2018. It was the Meiji branch market (明治分市場) under Japanese rule and Guangfu Market (光復市場) after the war, and it took back its old local name in 2007. The name means "duck shed": families once raised ducks along the creek beside it. The city's tourism site says many of the old capital's street foods started here, and it is still where locals do their everyday shopping. It even appeared in the 2017 Japanese film What's for Dinner, Mom?, based on the book by Taiwanese-Japanese author Tae Hitoto.
- Hours: 04:00 to 13:00, closed Monday. The city's listing gives a later 07:00 start on Wednesday.
- Address: No. 148, Chenggong Rd, North District, across from Chenggong Elementary School, with most stalls along Yumin Street.
Yongle Market and the West Market
Two more old-town markets are already in our food-street guide. Yongle Market (永樂市場), on Guohua Street, runs together with the Shuixian Gong market and is packed with classic Tainan food stalls. The West Market (西市場), the old Big Vegetable Market, reopened in August 2025 after a long restoration. → Guohua Street, Yongle Market and the West Market
Fruit markets
Xinhua fruit and vegetable market
We've been to the big fruit market in Xinhua ourselves, the Xinhua fruit and vegetable market (新化果菜市場), and it is a great way to see what is in season. It is a wholesale market in Xinhua District, designed by the Dutch firm MVRDV with LLJ Architects, and the press has billed it as Taiwan's most beautiful fruit and vegetable market. Instead of the usual metal shed, the trading floor sits under an open structure, open on all sides, with a green roof that rolls like a series of hills. Planted terraces step up to the roof, which is open to visitors, with a walkway and views of the countryside.
The market had its trial opening on 16 September 2022 and officially opened on 14 December 2022. Most of the trade is wholesale, but Global Views reported in 2023 that some vendors also sell retail to the many visitors, and SuperTaste said at the opening that shoppers can buy fresh fruit there. In July 2026 the market held a summer produce festival with a fruit auction.
- Hours: when it opened in December 2022, SuperTaste listed 08:00 to 17:00 daily. We couldn't find a current official timetable, so check before you make the drive.
- Where: Xinhua District, east of central Tainan. The map link goes to the market.
The Yujing fruit market
In mango season, the place to go is the Yujing fruit market (玉井青果集貨場) in the hill town known as the home of the mango. → Tainan's fruit seasons
Tips for market mornings
- Go early. Wet markets wind down by midday, and the best stalls sell out.
- Bring cash and a bag.
- Check the day. Yamuliao closes on Monday, and many stalls take their own days off.
- Taking food home? Many countries restrict fresh fruit, meat and seafood in your luggage, so check your home country's rules first.
Want a market morning built into your trip? → Work with us
Sources
Travel Tainan, Tainan City Government: Qinkunshen Qingshan Fishing Harbor, Shuixian Temple, Yamuliao Traditional Market. SuperTaste: Tainan's five big markets (February 2026) and Xinhua fruit and vegetable market opening (December 2022). CNA via TVBS: Yamuliao Market at 100 (2018). MVRDV: Tainan Market completed (2023). Liberty Times: Xinhua market trial opening and opening date (November 2022). Global Views: Xinhua market, one year on (2023). UDN: Xinhua market summer festival (July 2026). Checked October 2026.