Wufenpu: The Pratunam of Taipei

Wufenpu: The Pratunam of Taipei

Taipei is the capital city of Taiwan. It is a colourful and vibrant city popular with its street food, night markets as well as the beautiful Taipei 101. Thus, we enjoyed their street food as it is unique and they are easily available in food courts and the night markets.

The last time we went to Taipei was 1998 and the landscape of the city is now more vibrant and more convenient with the subway trains.

We were traveling with our family and our son (his first overseas trip) so we didn’t venture many places in the city. Traveling with baby is tiring but it is sort of fun and memorable. Thank god, Taipei is a very child friendly to travel to. Of all the places we visited in Taipei, Wufenpu is one of the highly recommended places to visit.

What is Wufenpu?

Wufenpu is a wholesale market for clothes and it is located in Taipei city itself. Thus, this is the place where locals come and shop because when you purchase in bulk, it is cheaper since this is a wholesale market.

This place is similar to the Pratunam market of Bangkok. There are rows of small shops in this wholesale market and it connected to each other. Wufenpu is more organised and not as packed as  Pratunam.

The lanes in this market are small and there are motorcycles passing by from time to time to deliver goods. Everything here is fast moving, the items and the shoppers.

You can find things such as children and adults clothing, dresses and shoes. Their stock comes from few countries but the pricey ones are usually from South Korea. The cheaper items are usually from China. Thus, you can tell from the pricing and the quality of items. What you pay is what you get.

Of course, there are local brands and boutique. You need to visit the shops one by one as most shops sell different items. Thus, there are always promotional items but mostly, everything in sold in bulk of three and above.

You can bargain the prices but don’t expect a big discount as most of the prices here are fixed (and discounted). Since it is a wholesale market, buying items in bulk is always cheaper.

In between lanes, you can find one or two food stalls that keep you energetic enough to scout and to shop.

Most of the shops are open from noon but we prefer to visit the shops in late afternoon. Most of the shops closed at 10pm so you can go there early to hunt and shop.

Wufenpu is near MRT Houshanpi Station via (Banqiao-Nangang) Line and it takes a few minutes of walking after exiting the station. We prefer to take the taxi as Taipei taxis are metered and it is not that expensive (depending where you stay).

Wufenpu is definitely one of the places to visit in Taipei especially for girls as most of the items here are reasonable and the designs are up to date. Expect to spend hours shopping here at Wufenpu and in our opinion, they are the Pratunam of Taipei.

Wufenpu Opening Hours:

11 am to 10 pm

Wufenpu Address: Next to Songshan Railway Station

How to go to Wufenpu:

MRT Station：

1.Songshan Station

2.Houshanpi Station – On foot 10 min.

The best way to get there is by MRT. Take the Bannan (Banqiao-Nangang) Line to the Houshanpi Station and walk a few minutes.

Flying to Taipei

We flew direct from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei with Malaysia Airlines. Thus, we were flying business class as we use the MH Upgrade to get our business class tickets cheaper than usual rates. This is our first time flying on business class and we truly enjoyed it. Our son enjoyed his flight too as we had a smooth flight. With this experience, we also wrote the 12 Tips for Flying with Baby, Infant or Toddler. For more info on the latest promotions from Malaysia Airlines, visit www.MalaysiaAirlines.com