(Ecns.cn)—Though trips are often about exotic landscapes and fascinating cultures, local cuisine never fails to steal the show. This is certainly the case in China, especially when you take a stroll through one of its many bustling and aromatic night markets, where a seemingly endless variety of xiaochi, or "small eats," can be found.
Here's a quick guide to some of the late-night delicacies to be found in some of China's most fashionable cities, both on the mainland and off.
1) Taipei
Any visit to a night market should be partly about sampling the local delicacies, and in Taiwan's capital city, there are many to choose from.
First of all, don't skip the noodles, especially those most popular among the locals. There are four that top the list: lasagna, spaghetti, oil noodles and Taiwan rice cakes (or aberdeen tube rice cakes), which can all be found at Yong Kang, Fuxing Middle and Nanchang Roads. If you're a hungry tourist, there are also staple foods like braised pork rice and wontons to choose from.
And don't forget to spoil yourself with some sweet treats as well, which are certainly some of the best in China. Milk tea, creamed puffs and rice cakes, for example, are all available on Taipei's streets.
There are a number of night markets to choose from in the city, such as Raohe, Wanhua, Shihlin, Shida, Tonghua, Ningxia Night, Liaoning and the south airport night markets. At Jingmei and Wanhua night markets, you can eat delicious traditional Taiwanese snacks every night of the week.
2) Hong Kong Temple Night Market
Nowhere in China can be noisier and more crowded than Hong Kong's night markets –when asking for prices, you may find yourself yelling at a stall owner who stands only 10 centimeters away just to be heard.
But this doesn't stop the tides of people who come and here's why: the variety of snacks and dishes is simply too good.
The Temple Street Night Market is named for its location on Temple Street in Yau Ma Tei. Kicking off at 4 p.m. and buzzing till past 10, this is the perfect place to hang out in Hong Kong and eat a bowl of wontons, fish balls or crab porridge after browsing through the dazzling collection of goods for sale.
Here's a tip: this is the place where Hong Kong's fortune tellers gather.
3) Wuhan Hubu Lane Night Market
The locals are proud of their city, and the hot steamed noodles with sesame paste and spicy Wuhan duck enjoy a high reputation across the country. It seems every corner of this city, which lies along the Yangtze River in central China, smells like spicy noodles.
The place to go is Hubu Lane Night Market, an ancient lane which dates back to the Ming Dynasty, to satisfy your nocturnal snack cravings. In the 1930s, many breakfast stalls began to gather in Hubu Lane, where now you can find 70 kinds of dishes, 30 of which are local Wuhan snacks.
The bean curd skin without pepper (a popular breakfast dish for locals), chicken soup in ceramic pots and steamed buns all come highly recommended.
