Night market
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Night markets or night bazaars are street markets operating at night mainly in urban or suburban areas that are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets.
The most well-known night markets are those in Taiwan or other areas inhabited by ethnic Chinese such as Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, and Chinatowns worldwide. The larger and more formal of these markets might take place in purpose-built marketplaces while smaller or more informal ones tend to occupy streets or roads that are normal thoroughfares by day. Although some of these markets are specialized (e.g., in certain types of food), most have a mixture of individual stalls hawking clothing, consumer goods, xiaochi (snacks or fast food), and specialty drinks. The atmosphere is usually crowded and noisy with hawkers shouting and fast-paced music playing over loudspeakers. Some individual vendors may take advantage of the informality of the market to offer counterfeit, pirated or grey market consumer goods.
Night markets are also hosted in various areas of North America to celebrate Chinese culture. The Taiwanese Student Association at the University of Washington in particular hosts an annual night market on campus in May. This event generally attracts an attendance of 2000 people from the Pacific Northwest area. In San Francisco, a large night market with almost 100 booths takes place every autumn Saturday in Chinatown's Portsmouth Square. In Vancouver, BC, large night markets take place every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from May to September in Chinatown, as well as in an industrial area near suburban Richmond, BC's Golden Village; The Richmond Night Market features more than 400 booths and attracts in excess of 30,000 people per night (attendance in 2005 was almost 2 million). Toronto Night Market, formerly known as Asian Night Market, has been and continues to be the Power Unit's flagship project, attracting tens of thousands to a two-day celebration of Asian food and culture in Markham, Ontario (Attendance was over 60,000 in year 2006). Each year, Power Unit selected a non-profit organization to be their beneficiary and money raised in the Toronto Night Market was donated to their beneficiaries.
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[edit] History
Chinese night markets appeared in history as early as AD 836 when the Tang dynasty issued regulations for what were already advanced operations and, by the Song dynasty, these markets had spread throughout the realm. These markets sold an array of goods and prepared food and were often located on main thoroughfares or near red-light districts.
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Richmond Summer Night Market
- San Francisco Chinatown Night Market
- Vancouver Night Market
- Vancouver Chinatown Night Market
- Advice on how to bargain in China
- Toronto Night Market
[edit] References and further reading
- Shuenn-Der Yu "Hot and Noisy: Taiwan's Night Market Culture" in The Minor Arts of Daily Life: Popular Culture in Taiwan David K. Jordan, Andrew D. Morris, and Marc L. Moskowitz, (eds.), Honolulu: Univ. of Hawai'i Press, 2004.
