The Hsinchu Weekend Flower Market sits next to the Hsinchu Municipal Stadium (Google Maps link), with the zoo, insect museum, and Hsinchu Municipal Glass Museum all nearby. It opens Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 19:00 and consists of two parts: the weekend flower market and a traditional market. The traditional market is packed with food and drink stalls — a rare sight in Hsinchu.

It's a great place for couples on a date or parents taking the kids out for a walk. The stadium's running track is right next door for the little ones to burn off energy, and there's a sheltered area that works well as a picnic spot. The one thing to watch is your timing — there's very little shade over the market, so midday visits can get really hot and you won't feel like eating. I'd suggest going in the late afternoon instead.

Hsinchu Weekend Flower Market — Perfect for Weekend Strolls and Family Outings

The red box on the map below marks the market's area — you can enter from either the Shipin Road or Gongyuan Road end. The walkways are quite spacious overall, so pushing a stroller isn't a squeeze, but the route isn't that long. Without stopping to shop, you could walk it in 20~30 minutes, so budget a little over an hour for a proper browse!

Next to the Shipin Road entrance there's the zoo's underground parking garage for cars; if you're on a scooter, just park in the roadside scooter spaces~

Hsinchu Weekend Flower Market
▲The area covered by the Hsinchu Weekend Flower Market (and market)
Scooter parking
▲Scooters can simply park in the roadside spaces
Parking garage
▲You can park at the zoo's underground garage

The Weekend Flower Market

Despite being called a flower market, you'll rarely see flowers — most stalls sell potted plants. Compared with the weekend flower market at Labor Park in Kaohsiung that I used to visit, this one feels a bit plainer, but if you enjoy buying plants and pots, it's well worth a browse.

Flower market
▲The weekend flower market is very spacious
Flower market
▲Stalls at the flower market
Flower market
▲A lush green flower market with no flowers XD
Flower market
▲Plenty of potted plants for sale at the flower market

The Traditional Market

The traditional market here really is old-school. Unlike, say, the Pier-2 markets in Kaohsiung where young vendors sell artsy handmade goods and creative hipster snacks from tricycle carts, you won't find many young sellers hawking trendy cultural-creative products here. The food and drinks are relatively cheap, which actually gives this place a charm of its own.

Traditional market
▲The traditional market

Food and Drink Stalls

Lemon aiyu jelly
▲Lemon aiyu jelly
Squid balls / takoyaki
▲Squid balls / takoyaki
Fried snacks
▲Fried snacks
Soy-milk fried chicken
▲Soy-milk fried chicken
Egg cakes
▲Taiwanese egg cakes
Crispy pork ribs
▲Crispy pork ribs
Egg waffles
▲Hong Kong egg waffles
Bomb scallion pancake
▲"Bomb" scallion pancake with egg
Fried king oyster mushrooms
▲Fried king oyster mushrooms
Grilled stinky tofu
▲Grilled stinky tofu
Wild boar meat
▲Wild boar meat
Old-brand stinky tofu
▲Old-brand stinky tofu
Fruit / dried fruit
▲Fruit / dried fruit
Sweet potato balls / quail eggs
▲Sweet potato balls / quail eggs
Sea snails in wine
▲Sea snails braised in wine
Traditional tea drinks
▲Traditional tea drinks
Sachima
▲Sachima (sweet fried pastry)
Stone-baked pancakes
▲Stone-baked pancakes
Fried snacks
▲Fried snacks
Sugarcane juice
▲Sugarcane juice
Night market steak
▲Night-market-style steak
Pickled plums
▲Stir-fried chicken
Charcoal-grilled corn
▲Charcoal-grilled corn
Cheese sticks
▲Cheese sticks
Watermelon juice
▲Watermelon juice (recommended)
Pig blood soup / stinky tofu
▲Pig blood soup / stinky tofu — the noodles and squid thick soup were ordinary, but the stinky tofu was tasty
Honey-glazed sweet potato
▲Honey-glazed sweet potato
Brown sugar bubble milk tea
▲Brown sugar bubble milk tea

Traditional Night Market Games

These are truly old-school night market games — come try ring toss or fish scooping, which are getting hard to find elsewhere.

Ball rolling game
▲Ball rolling game
Ring toss
▲Ring toss
Fishing game
▲Fishing game
Ring toss
▲Ring toss
Pinball table
▲Pinball table
Fish scooping
▲Fish scooping

Treasure Hunting for Household Goods

The market also sells everyday household goods — come treasure hunting and see what you find.

Folk religion items
▲Folk religion items
Household tools / hand tools
▲Household tools / hand tools
Leather goods
▲Leather goods
Dress trousers
▲Dress trousers
NT$100 clothing
▲NT$100 clothing
Toys
▲Toys
Night market clothing
▲Night market clothing
Tea leaves
▲Tea leaves
Night market clothing
▲Night market clothing
Hats
▲Hats
Vintage toys
▲Vintage toys
Honey / honey water
▲Honey / honey water

Picnic in the Space Beside the Track

The space next to the market is great for picnics and letting the kids run around.

Sports field
▲The sports field next to the market — kids can run around here, and I think you could bring a picnic mat and eat here too
Sports field
▲The sports field is spacious and quite breezy

Hsinchu Weekend Flower Market — Visitor Information

If you're looking for more things to do in Hsinchu, check out Hsinchu Food (Chinese) and Hsinchu Travel (Chinese)!