Department of Cultural Affairs

Shilin Public Market

The Shilin Public Market is located in front of Cixian Temple. In the Qing dynasty, Cixian Temple, dedicated to the goddess Mazu, was situated in the center of Shilin, and the plaza in front of it held a busy market. In the early period of Japanese rule, the Japanese colonial government began exacting public health fees, used to help Japanese people purchase goods and to ensure their health. In 1896, they established the Xinqi Street Market in the Ximen area, the first of Taipei City’s government-administered markets.
Later on, the Japanese initiated a city-restructuring plan, converting the plaza in front of Cixian Temple into a public market in 1913. A symbolic merger of traditional temple forecourt markets and modern public markets, it is of significant historical and folkloric value. Other public markets representative of that era, such as those in the Ximen, Dadaocheng and Nanmen districts, have for the most part been altered. Only the Shilin Public Market retains its original appearance and remains a market of considerable scale. In addition to the central building, arched shopping arcades stand on either side. Its special architectural features include tall brick walls at both ends, roof vents, numerous buttresses along the side walls, and pointed-arch window