Ximending district experiences boom with return of Japanese and Korean tourists

Ximending district experiences boom with return of Japanese and Korean tourists

2023-02-07

The tourist Mecca of Ximending in Taipei is in a renaissance! Since Taiwan reopened its borders to international tourists, business is booming in the commercial district. Today we take a look at the stores and service industries which cater to the market of Japanese and Korean visitors. There are lots of souvenirs which appeal to East Asian tourists more than any others. Stores that can cash in are having a great New Year. The massage industry is also experiencing a renaissance.

A salesperson greets customers in fluent Korean. With its eye on Taiwan’s newly open borders, this retailer introduced a special Taiwanese souvenirs section near the cashier last October.

Most Korean and Japanese tourists stay near the Ximending Commercial District in Taipei – and that’s bringing a boom to local retailers.

The most popular product is this package of jelly – almost 4,000 boxes are sold each month. Another 3,000 boxes of these pineapple cakes are sold monthly. Other top sellers are the milk tea bags, the face masks, and even the Made-in-Taiwan whiskey. The most popular items are collected here in this section, which makes as much as NT$4.5 million every month.

Chang Chun-hung
Retail PR manager
This is a 24-hour store. Actually, sometimes from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. we have a second wind, another rush hour.

But Japanese and Korean consumers are not just shopping at night. Aside from souvenirs, massages are another item on the bucket list for many. This business has extended its weekend opening hours until 2 a.m. for that exact reason.

Hanna
Massage studio owner
They seem to go out in the morning to different tourist destinations to check them out. Then in the evening they come to Ximending. They might come to get a massage before going back to the hotel to go to bed. We’ve hired 33% more employees.

The business has taken on new staff members fast, to respond to soaring demand. As Taiwan reopens to hosting the world, the stores and professionals of Ximending are enjoying a very busy spring.

日韓客來台夯! 西門町伴手禮專區銷量超驚人

2023-02-07

自從去年十月，國門重啟後，越來越多的國外觀光客，會來台灣旅遊，尤其又以韓國客最多，其次是日本人，因此西門町商圈內的賣場，特地設置伴手禮專區，像是鳳梨酥、果凍，銷量都很驚人，就連西門町內的按摩店，來客數也增加，每天要工作到深夜一、兩點。

用親切韓文，向客人問好，賣場看準邊境解封，從去年10月，就在結帳口處，設置台灣伴手禮專區。

日韓觀光客，大多住在西門町商圈，讓賣場買氣強強滾。

最受歡迎的，是這一包包果凍，一月狂銷近4千包，鳳梨酥賣了3千盒，奶茶沖泡包、面膜，甚至是國產威士忌都很夯，業者把熱賣的品項，集中在同一區，單月銷量，就高達450萬元。

[[賣場公關經理張君鴻]]
“這是24小時店，其實有時候夜間的晚上11點到1點，反而是另外一波的高峰期”

日韓客不只喜歡在深夜時段，就近在西門町買伴手禮，來按摩店放鬆，也是必走行程之一，像是這家店，就把假日營業時間，延長到凌晨2點。

[[按摩店店長漢娜]]
“他們好像平常早上都會出去各個旅遊景點去踩點，那晚上回來西門町，可能進飯店前就會先進來按摩，按摩完再進飯店睡覺，(人力)增加大概三分之一左右”

緊急加派人力，要應付暴增的來客數，從按摩店、賣場，到西門町街頭，都在國門重啟後，有感復甦。

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After 14 hours flying over from Taiwan, a first search and rescue team finally landed in Istanbul.

After arriving at Istanbul Airport, the team transferred to a domestic flight bound for Adana in southern Turkey, and then on to Gaziantep, which is the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake.

This first group of rescuers from Taiwan departed for Turkey at 10:30 on Monday. It was accompanied by several dozen large containers filled with equipment, as well as specially trained rescue dogs.

Following the devastating earthquake, President Tsai Ing-wen issued a statement offering condolences to the families of victims. She also announced that the government would donate US$200,000 to Turkey to aid rescue efforts, and send rescue personnel from Taiwan to help.

Lin Yu-chang
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We are sending a total of 130 rescuers, which includes medical personnel. We’re also sending five rescue dogs and about 13 tons of equipment.

After it received an aid request from the Turkish government, Taiwan’s government arranged for the immediate departure of an initial group of rescuers, which included 10 firefighting personnel, 30 search and rescue personnel from Taipei, and three rescue dogs.

A second group of 90 personnel is being dispatched too, with six medical personnel and one veterinarian, as well as two rescue dogs.

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Twenty-four years ago with Taiwan was struck by the Jiji Earthquake, rescuers from around the world came to Taiwan’s aid. The first international rescuers to arrive were a team of 30 rescue personnel from Turkey, who rescued survivors from a toppled building in Changhua County’s Yuanlin City. Now, Taiwanese rescuers hope they can have similar success pulling survivors out of the rubble.

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Tsai sits with Finnish delegation as Speaker You meets Swiss representatives

President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday received a delegation from the Parliament of Finland at the Presidential Office. The guests voiced strong condemnation of China’s oppression of Taiwan, saying that only Taiwan had the right to decide its own future. Also on Tuesday, a delegation of Swiss representatives sat with Legislative Yuan Speaker You Si-kun, sharing a similar sentiment.

The first Finnish Parliament delegation to visit Taiwan since the pandemic, was received by President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday. Tsai thanked the parliament’s Taiwan group for their support for Taiwan, voicing hope that Taiwan-Finland relations could grow stronger.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
At this moment, faced with the continuing expansion of authoritarianism, the international democratic alliance must work together more closely than ever to jointly safeguard regional prosperity, supply chain security and the values of freedom and democracy.

Mikko Karna
Finnish parliamentarian
Where there are those in the world who break, there are us who build. We must together condemn China’s aggression towards Taiwan. Taiwan has the right to decide for its own future.

And the Finnish delegation was not the only one making a pro-Taiwan statement.

After sitting with Tsai on Monday, the members of a Swiss parliamentary delegation headed to the Legislative Yuan to meet Speaker You Si-kun.

You Si-kun
Legislative speaker
Even after receiving stern warnings from the Chinese embassy, you all still decided to stick with your plan and visit Taiwan. For that, we are especially touched.

You took the opportunity to stress to the world that Taiwan is not part of China.

You Si-kun
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Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other. And Taiwan is absolutely not part of China. The CCP continues to ignore this fact, sending military aircraft and vessels closer and closer, undermining the stability of the Indo-Pacific and revealing its intention to annex Taiwan.

Nicolas Walder
Swiss National Council member
As it is important to express here again our full support to the Taiwanese population that courageously, today, defend its right for freedom, its right to live in a democratic state, as you stated here.

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The prototypes will be delivered on July 31. After that date, they will be tested before entering mass production next year. If we find that there are some functions that need to be improved after the handover, the manufacturers responsible can make any adjustments in August and September.

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Chi Li-pin
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Andrew Wylegala
American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan
The 21st century addresses a lot of important topics, that can reach into digital economies, support for small and medium sized enterprises, and the like, to really push the needle, and move our trade and investment relationship. It will benefit the United States, U.S. workers, the environment and labor. It will benefit Taiwan’s situation, it will lead to further engagement with other partners.

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We have to deepen Taiwan’s economy and Taiwan’s competitiveness. Only through the positive growth and development of Taiwan’s economy will problems in the Taiwan Strait and other political issues be easily solved.

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Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
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A wide range of books sits on the shelves of this bookstore in Xincheng新城. An old residential building was converted into this special store, which only lends books. No selling.

Yu Chun-ying
Etude Bookstore manager
The rules of book borrowing are: you can borrow any book you like, and you can take as many as you want.

The store is more than five years old, and thousands of people have borrowed books here. Many thank you cards adorn the store, expressing gratitude for the generosity of the store’s founder, Hu Wen-wei胡文偉. As a book collector, he founded the store as a library, for the benefit of the people of Xincheng. Many non-locals have also been moved to give books to the store, swelling its collection.

Hu Wen-wei
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The first floor has children doing their homework and a place to cook them food and eat. Now the store sells coffee and some stationery and cultural items. We also have lectures on the second floor.

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Hu Wen-wei
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Later I realized that there are more and more things I can do. So I started extracurricular classes, and then dormitories for kids.

Alongside the bookstore, Hu founded a cultural company, which worked with businesses and government to convert a former Taipower office into an exhibition space. A disused kindergarten in a local village turned into a space to study arts and crafts. He even opened a tofu pudding shop, creating jobs for young people.

Hu Wen-wei
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We can be self-sufficient, and work with the government, applying for funding to create a suitable living environment, where we can live, work and play peacefully, and achieve a living wage.

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Stephany Yang
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There are currently 480,000 flowers in bloom at the Guting Riverside Park. There are also light installations which makes the park a good place for an evening stroll as well.

People pose for photos with flowers at Taipei’s Guting Riverside Park. The flower sea is located next to the basketball courts. Many visitors bike or walk along the riverside to view the beautiful flowers, which will be in bloom till about Feb. 15.

Member of public
I think this year’s is more spectacular. I actually visit it once a year. The scope of this year’s festival is wider than last year and the year before that. When you take pictures, the whole view is amazing.

Member of public
The colors of the park have different layers, so I think it’s great. For example, the lavender flowers and the yellow flowers next to it, there’s contrast. I think it’s gorgeous.

Member of public
It’s a great place for a walk. It’s also fun to ride a bike and walk around to admire the flowers.

There’s also the Shan-Tseng-Chi Flower Festival in Beitou, which showcases beautiful flowers like scarlet sage, silver ragwort, lavender, French marigold, and others. It’s a recreation of Japan’s famous Furano flower fields.

Member of the public
It’s like mini-Furano here. This is quite a bargain. You don’t have to go to Japan to see it. I think it’s quite beautiful. It’s full of colorful flowers.

The 12 flower events include The Camphor Trail Flower Carnival at Maokong from Jan. 15 to Feb. 15, the LOHAS Cherry Blossom Festival in Neihu from Feb. 3 to Feb. 28, and more. The full list in English can be found on the “2023 Flowers in Taipei” website.

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