Short answer
For Hsinchu's classic snacks, go to the City God Temple area, at lunchtime or before about 19:00. For a big open-air night market with games and grilled food, go to Zhubei Night Market on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday evening. The market behind Hsinchu TRA Station runs two evenings a week. Shulintou Night Market, once the city's biggest, closed in January 2026.
If you've lived in Taipei or Tainan, Hsinchu's night markets will surprise you. Most are rotating markets that set up on an empty lot on set evenings and pack up again, and the classic food area, around the City God Temple, is mostly a daytime one. Know which runs when, and you'll always have somewhere to go.
| Market | Where | When | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| City God Temple food area (城隍廟小吃) | North District, old city | Every day, late morning to early evening | Hsinchu's classic snacks |
| Zhubei Night Market (竹北夜市) | Huanbei Road, Zhubei | Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings | A big open-air market with games |
| Hsinchu Back Station Night Market (新竹後站夜市) | Behind Hsinchu TRA Station, East District | Two evenings a week (see below) | A market night near the station |
The City God Temple food area (城隍廟)
The Hsinchu City God Temple (新竹都城隍廟), at 75 Zhongshan Road in the North District, is where Hsinchu's snack culture began. It's often called a night market, but it isn't really one. The core is a covered food court in the temple forecourt (廟埕), where stalls share seating, plus old shops along Zhongshan Road, Beimen Street and the lanes around the temple. Many have been there for decades.
What to eat: smoked duck rice, braised pork rice, oyster omelettes, spring rolls, grilled mochi, and the two Hsinchu classics, rice noodles and pork meatballs. The best-known shop is Miao Kou Ya Xiang Fan, the duck rice place beside the temple, which is on the MICHELIN Guide list; expect a queue at mealtimes. For a stall-by-stall guide with the sign text to look for, see NightMarket.tw's guide to the City God Temple food area.
- Hours Google Maps lists 11:00 to 21:00 every day (as read in late October 2026), but some shops close around 19:00 and several close on a Tuesday or Wednesday or break in the afternoon. Treat it as lunch or an early dinner.
- Getting there About a 10 to 15 minute walk from TRA Hsinchu Station along Zhongzheng Road, past the East Gate roundabout. Several city buses stop at the temple.
- Weather Mostly under cover, so it works in the rain.
- Parking Hard: the streets are narrow and busy. Come by train, bus or taxi.
Look inside the temple while you're there. It's one of Taiwan's best-known City God temples, and the food area exists because of it.
Zhubei Night Market (竹北夜市)
Zhubei Night Market is the big open-air one: grilled meat, fried snacks, drinks, clothes and fairground games on a large lot at Huanbei Road Section 5 (環北路五段) and Xinguang 2nd Street (新光二街), on the west side of Zhubei. It's usually described as the biggest night market in Hsinchu County. It moved to this site in January 2013, after the earlier market near the county hall was closed in 2012.
- Days Saturday and Sunday evenings, its long-standing market days, and Friday evenings since 6 February 2026, when vendors from Shulintou Night Market began trading here on Fridays as a temporary arrangement after that market closed.
- Hours Evenings. We couldn't find official opening hours, so don't arrive late and expect everything to be open.
- Getting there Drive or ride: it's on the west side of Zhubei, beyond the old town around TRA Zhubei Station, and a short taxi ride from the county-hall area.
Reports in February 2026 described the first Friday markets as quieter than Shulintou used to be. The Friday arrangement was described as temporary, so check the market's or the vendors' Facebook pages before a Friday trip. More on eating in the area in where to eat in Zhubei.
Hsinchu Back Station Night Market (新竹後站夜市)
The Back Station Night Market sets up at Nanda Road (南大路) and Gongzhu Road (公竹路), about three minutes' walk from the rear exit of Hsinchu TRA Station, close to the Hsinchu bus station too. After six years away, it reopened in a trial run on 28 December 2023 with nearly 200 stalls: Taiwanese snacks, foreign food stalls, a crafts lane and games for children.
Days: when it reopened, it ran on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. A 2025 TVBS listing gives Tuesday and Friday, 17:00 to 23:00. We couldn't confirm which is current, so check the market's Facebook page before you go.
Closed: Shulintou Night Market (樹林頭夜市)
Closed: Shulintou Night Market (樹林頭觀光夜市), at Dongda Road and Tiedao Road in Hsinchu City, closed after its last night on 30 January 2026. Its land, owned by the Ministry of National Defense, was sold to Chunghwa Post for a new Hsinchu post office building. The city government said it was looking for a new site; we found no confirmed new market as of November 2026. Some of its vendors now trade at Zhubei Night Market on Fridays.
Other night markets
The county towns have their own weekly markets, set up on one or two evenings a week. They change days and sites more often than the big ones, and we haven't been able to confirm their current schedules, so we don't list them here. Ask a neighbour, or search the town's name with 夜市 on Facebook for the latest.
Good to know: Bring cash and a bag for rubbish, since bins can be hard to find. Rotating markets are open-air, so heavy rain or a typhoon warning can empty them or cancel the night.
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Sources: NightMarket.tw, City God Temple food area (verified 30 October 2026); MICHELIN Guide, Miao Kou Ya Xiang Fan; Storm Media on Shulintou's closure and the Friday move to Zhubei (30 January 2026); EBC News via Yahoo on the land sale and the city's search for a new site (January 2026); CTWANT on Shulintou vendors at Zhubei Night Market (9 February 2026); FTV News via Yahoo on the move to Huanbei Road (February 2026); Wikipedia (Chinese), Zhubei Night Market history; TVBS Supertaste on the Back Station market reopening (December 2023); TVBS Supertaste listing for the Back Station market (2025). Checked November 2026.